144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
| 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Armoured |
| Size | Regiment |
| Part of | Royal Armoured Corps |
| Disbanded | 1 March 1945 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Alan Jolly |
The 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (144 RAC) was an armoured regiment of the British Army raised during World War II as part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It fought in the campaign in North-West Europe, from June 1944 to May 1945.
The origin of 144th Regiment RAC was a company of men of the East Lancashire Regiment in a Mixed Holding Battalion formed at Huyton, near Liverpool, Lancashire early in World War II. The company formed the nucleus of the 50th (Holding) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, and after the Fall of France a draft of veterans from the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was added and the battalion became the 8th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment.
144th Regiment RAC was formed at Rufford Abbey on 22 November 1941 by the conversion of the 8th East Lancashire Regiment to the armoured role. The Commanding Officer (CO), Lieutenant Colonel S.T. James, remained in command. In common with other infantry battalions transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, all personnel would have continued to wear their East Lancashire cap badge on the black beret of the RAC. 144th Regiment RAC was assigned to the 33rd Tank Brigade for training in the United Kingdom, and remained with this brigade for virtually its entire service.
The regiment trained in the infantry tank ('I' tank) role on Churchill tanks, and in the winter of 1942–43 was mobilised for the Allied invasion of Sicily. But the orders were changed, 144 RAC had to hand its Churchills over to a Canadian regiment, and was re-equipped instead with Sherman tanks. The following autumn it reverted to Churchills, then finally, in the winter of 1943–44, it was converted back to Shermans for the Normandy landings. The training was also broadened and 33rd Tank Brigade was redesignated 33rd Armoured Brigade. The plan was still for it to land in the infantry tank role, supporting 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, but if one of the armoured divisions suffered heavy casualties, 33rd would be ready to switch roles and replace its armoured brigade. It was therefore equipped with a proportion of Sherman Firefly tanks armed with the 17-pounder, and the tank gunners practised with this weapon at Holkham Field Firing Range. Lieutenant Colonel A. Jolly, Royal Tank Regiment, (later General Sir Alan Jolly), took command on 10 April 1944.
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