The 7th Armoured Division had a red jerboa (a nocturnal rodent indigenous to North Africa) as its emblem and became known as "The Desert Rats".

Italy launched an invasion of Egypt, then a British Protectorate, shortly after entering the war on Germany's side in June 1940.

[3] After being briefly converted to "Task Force Alpha" in the late 1970s, the brigade was reinstated in 1981,[4] assigned to the 1st Armoured Division again[5] and was based at Bournemouth Barracks in Soltau.

[7] The Desert Rats, along with the rest of the 1st Armoured Division, carried out a left-hook manoeuvre that swung round the Iraqi Republican Guard.

[10] Just before Operation Telic began (Britain's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq), the brigade, commanded by Brigadier Graham Binns, moved to Kuwait where it undertook extensive training and was "desertised" for service in the Middle East.

The brigade, consisting of 112 Challenger 2 tanks, 140 Warriors and 32 AS-90 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, entered Iraq on 21 March.

The main objective of the Desert Rats was to advance towards Iraq's second largest city, Basra, and help encircle and isolate it.

The brigade, led by the 1st Fusiliers Battlegroup, made a rapid advance towards the city and soon reached its outskirts, securing Basra Airport and the critical bridges across the Shatt al-Arab.

[11] The 1st Armoured Division, including 7th Brigade, then undertook a number of raids into the city against specific targets, but in a plan that was very patient bided their time on the outskirts of Basra.

[17][18] The decision was met with regret by former 7th Armoured Brigade commander Patrick Cordingley, who said that the "changes would still dismay veterans and the general public".