7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom) consisted of the 1/5th, 1/6th and 1/7th Territorial battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment) relieved its 'sister' duplicate, the 169th (Queen's) Infantry Brigade, (consisting of 2/5th, 2/6th and 2/7th Queen's, all formed in 1939), which was part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division, and had been in continuous combat since 9 September. The assembley of six battalions of a single regiment has since been considered a unique moment in the regiment's history. The 169th Brigade was commanded at the time by Brigadier Lewis Lyne, who would later command the 7th Armoured Division from November 1944 onwards. Then, as part of
6th Armoured Division (South Africa) be necessary to convert one infantry division to an armoured division, as an armoured division would require fewer men. Later, the vision was to establish two armoured divisions, as lower manpower levels became more pronounced. After the Second Battle of El Alamein, the 1st Infantry Division was withdrawn to Quassasin with the understanding that its 1st Brigade would return to South Africa to regroup with the 7th Infantry Brigade (at this time the 7th Infantry Brigade was in Madagascar) to form the 1st South African Armoured Division. 1st Infantry Division's 2nd and 3rd Brigades would remain in Egypt to form