7th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) 14 November 2014, the brigade formally stepped out of its armour role into that of an infantry brigade. The composition was as follows: Recent commanders have included: 7th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) The 7th Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the British Army. The brigade is also known as the 'Desert Rats', a nickname formerly held by the 7th Armoured Division, of which the brigade formed a part of during the Second World War until late 1941. The brigade was raised from garrison troops stationed in North Africa in 1938. It was initially known as the Light Armoured
2/7th Armoured Regiment (Australia) Wales, at this time. The delay in equipping the units of the 1st Armoured Division meant that their deployment was set back. Initially it had been planned to deploy the 2/7th Armoured Regiment, along with the rest of the 1st Armoured Brigade, in December 1941, however, this was not possible. Shortly thereafter, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and invasion Malaya meant that the decision was made not to send the 1st Armoured Division to the Middle East as the situation in the Pacific had the potential to directly threaten the Australian mainland. In June 1942 the regiment was re-equipped