Great Britain; Light brown and white embroidered silhouette of a rat on a black wool base, white cotton mesh backer, 51 mm (w) x 62 mm (h), extremely fine.
Footnote: The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army that saw distinguished active service during the Second World War, where its exploits in the Western Desert Campaign made it famous as the Desert Rats. After the Munich Agreement, the division was formed in Egypt during 1938 as the Mobile Division (Egypt) and its first divisional commander was the acclaimed tank theorist Major-General Sir Percy Hobart. In February 1940, the name of the unit was changed to the 7th Armoured Division. The division fought in most major battles during the North African Campaign. Later, it would land and fight in the Italian Campaign during the early stages of the invasion of Italy before being withdrawn to the United Kingdom where it prepared to fight in Northwest Europe. It began landing in Normandy during the afternoon of D-Day, June 6, 1944, and fought its way across Europe ending the war in Kiel and Hamburg, Germany. Although the division was disbanded during the 1950s, the history, name and the famous "Desert Rat" flash is carried on by the 7th Armoured Brigade. (C:17)