General Officer Commanding (GOC):

03.09.1939	Maj.Gen. P.C.S. Hobart
16.11.1939 (acting)	Brig. J.A.L. Caunter
04.12.1939	Maj.Gen. M. O'M. Creagh
06.03.1941	Maj.Gen. Sir M. O'M. Creagh
01.04.1941 (acting)	Brig. J.A.L. Caunter
13.04.1941	Maj.Gen. Sir M. O'M. Creagh
03.09.1941	Maj.Gen. W.H.E. Gott
06.02.1942 (killed 26.02.1942)	Maj.Gen. J.C. Campbell
23.02.1942 (acting)	Brig. A.H. Gatehouse
09.03.1942	Maj.Gen. F.W. Messervy
19.06.1942	Maj.Gen. J.M.L. Renton
14.09.1942	Maj.Gen. A.F. Harding
20.01.1943 (acting)	Brig. G.P.B. Roberts
24.01.1943	Maj.Gen. G.W.E.J. Erskine
04.08.1944	Maj.Gen. G.L. Verney
22.11.1944	Maj.Gen. L.O. Lyne

 

Divisional troops

Royal Armoured Corps (RAC)
 

11th Hussars	10.04.1940-03.11.1943
8th Hussars	16.12.1943-31.08.1945

Royal Engineers (RE)
 

4th Field Squadron RE	17.05.1941-14.03.1942 & 24.08.1942-31.08.1945
21st Field Squadron RE	04.10.1942-13.08.1943
621st Field Squadron RE	14.08.1943-31.08.1945
143rd Field Park Squadron RE	17.05.1941-31.08.1945
7th Bridging Troop RE	06.12.1943-31.08.1945

Royal Signals (Sigs)
 

7th Armoured Divisional Signals

03.09.1939-31.08.1945

Royal Artillery (RA)
 

1st Royal Horse Artillery	24.08.1942-13.09.1942
3rd Royal Horse Artillery	24.08.1942-31.08.1945
4th Royal Horse Artillery	24.08.1942-21.09.1942
5th Royal Horse Artillery	01.12.1942-31.08.1945
4th Field Regiment RA	18.09.1942-10.12.1942
74th Field Regiment RA	13.09.1942-18.09.1942
97th Field Regiment RA	13.09.1942-01.12.1942
146th Field Regiment RA	10.12.1942-06.11.1943
21st Anti-Tank Regiment RA	21.06.1945-31.08.1945
65th Anti-Tank Regiment RA	13.09.1942-29.05.1945
15th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA	02.08.1942-31.08.1945

Infantry

Machine Gun Company
 

3rd Independent Machine Gun Company (Northumberland Fusiliers)

01.02.1944-31.08.1945

Brigades
 

Light Armoured Brigade (Egypt)	03.09.1939-15.02.1940
7th Light Armoured Brigade	16.02.1940-13.04.1940
7th Armoured Brigade	14.04.1940-18.05.1940 & 02.07.1940-30.04.1941 & 20.05.1941-27.11.1941

 

Heavy Armoured Brigade (Egypt)	03.09.1939-15.02.1940
4th Heavy Armoured Brigade	16.02.1940-13.04.1940
4th Armoured Brigade	14.04.1940-29.07.1941 & 01.11.1941-19.12.1941 & 04.01.1942-25.06.1942
1st Army Tank Brigade	29.07.1941-09.11.1941

 

22nd Armoured Brigade

04.01.1942-08.02.1942 & 26.07.1942-31.08.1945

 

7th Support Group	22.01.1940-12.04.1941 & 06.06.1941-04.01.1942 & 19.01.1942-08.02.1942
7th Motor Brigade	09.02.1942-26.06.1942 & 05.07.1942-11.09.1942
131st Lorried Infantry Brigade	01.11.1942-03.03.1944
131st Infantry Brigade	04.03.1944-31.08.1945

Literature

• [Martin Lindsay & M.E. Johnston]. History of 7th Armoured Division, June 1943-July 1945 [cover title begins: A short history of the ...]  ([Germany : 7th Armoured Division, 1945]) 171 p.
• G.L. Verney. The Desert Rats : the history of the 7th Armoured Division 1938 to 1945 (London : Hutchinson, 1954) 312 p.
• George Forty. Desert Rats at war. 1: North Africa (London : Ian Allan, 1975) 192 p. 2: Europe (London : Ian Allan, 1977) 160 p.
• John Sandars & Mike Chappell. British 7th Armoured Division, 1940-45 (London : Osprey, 1977) 40 p. [Vanguard series ; 1]
• Robin Neillands. The Desert Rats : 7th Armoured Division, 1940-1945 (London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1991) xvi, 284 p.
• Patrick Delaforce. Churchill's Desert Rats : from Normandy to Berlin with the 7th Armoured Division (Stroud : Alan Sutton, 1994) viii, 200 p.
• Patrick Delafoce. Churchill's Desert Rats 2 : 7th Armoured Division in North Africa, Burma, Sicily and Italy (Stroud : Alan Sutton, 2002) viii, 216 p.

• A.C. Dow. A padre's parables ([Scotland? : A.C. Dow, 1980?] (Greenock. Orr, Pollack & Co)) 75 p.