Description
Physical description
A white shield with a diagonal band (top right to bottom left) of blue, red, blue, a gold sword, point uppermost, superimposed on all.
History note
The badge reflected the Crusader theme of many British formations, with the white shield and the sword, in this case particularised by the addition of a strip of Household Brigade colours. It is not clear when the badge was adopted. A rather ambiguous reference in the Brigade history suggests that it may have been as late as April 1944.
The Brigade was formed as 6th Guards Armoured Brigade on 15 September 1941 by conversion of 30th Independent Brigade (Guards). On formation it became part of the Guards Armoured Division.
On 15 February 1943 the Brigade was redesignated and reorganized as 6th Guards Tank Brigade, with Churchill tanks, and became part of 15th (Scottish) Division. This was in response to the decision to amend the establishment of armoured divisions to include just one armoured and one infantry brigade but to exchange one infantry brigade for a tank brigade in some infantry divisions to form 'mixed' divisions.
The Brigade left 15th Division on 9 September 1943 when the mixed division experiment was wound up and thereafter served as an independent formation, initially as 2nd Army but later as 21st Army Group troops.
Despite at least two attempts to disband the Brigade, to help alleviate the severe recruitment problem in the Guards, it survived by appeals to the highest political authorities.
It landed in Normandy on 17 July 1944 and thereafter fought with 21st Army Group throughout the rest of the campaign in North West Europe.
On 2 February 1945 it was redesignated an Armoured Brigade Type 'B', that is an armoured brigade without an infantry component and outside a divisional organization. It retained its Churchill tanks. On 17 June 1945 it converted from armour to infantry and was redesignated 6th Guards Brigade and became part of Guards Division, which had itself converted from Guards Armoured Division to an infantry division on 12 June.