[4] In August 1939, 49 RTR had still not received any tanks, so it mobilised as an infantry unit, and spent the Phoney War on guard duty in North East England.

[6] In August, 49 RTR and the rest of the brigade moved to Northumberland to guard the coastline with machine gun posts along the cliffs and sand dunes.

[3] Later in 1941, the regiment came once more under 25th Army Tank Brigade, which had reconverted from the motor machine gun role and moved to the South Coast.

In January 1942, 49 RTR moved to Lowther Castle, near Penrith, to train in a new role as a night fighting tank battalion equipped with Canal Defence Lights (CDLs).

Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, commanding XXX Corps, later wrote that Kangaroos 'proved a great boon in the closing stages of the war...

[13] On 3 December, 49 APCR took part in Operation Guildford, the assault on Blerick, a heavily defended suburb of the Dutch town of Venlo.

[14] During February 1945 49 APCR was kept busy during Operation Veritable, the advance on Kleve, and made newspaper headlines by the manner in which they forced their way into Goch.

The operation was carried out under 'artificial moonlight' (searchlights shining onto the cloud cover) and during the assault on Rees by the 51st (Highland) Division the Grants both illuminated the crossing and engaged the enemy on the far bank with their 75mm guns.

[3] As a hostilities-only unit, 49 RTR was quickly disbanded after the end of World War II, a process that was complete by 13 December 1945.