51st ( Leeds Rifles ) Royal Tank Regiment 51st ( Leeds Rifles ) Royal Tank Regiment ( 51 RTR ) was an armoured regiment of the British Territorial Army that fought in the Tunisian and Italian campaigns during World War II and continued to serve during the 1950s . Origin . In April 1938 the 7th ( Leeds Rifles ) Battalion of the Prince of Wales ' s Own West Yorkshire Regiment converted to the armoured role as 45th ( Leeds Rifles ) Bn , Royal Tank Regiment . The Leeds Rifles was a long - standing Territorial Army ( TA ) infantry unit , founded by volunteers from the city of Leeds in 1859 . In June 1939 , the company based at Morley was split off to form the cadre for a duplicate unit , the 51st ( Leeds Rifles ) Bn , Royal Tank Regiment . World War II . On the outbreak of war in September 1939 , 51 RTR , was part of 25th Army Tank Brigade , in Northern Command , alongside the Newcastle - based TA regiments 43 RTR and 49 RTR . Motor Machine Gun Battalion . At the end of May 1940 , with the British Expeditionary Force being evacuated from Dunkirk and the imminent threat of German invasion of England , 25th Army Tank Brigade was redesignated 2nd Motor Machine Gun Brigade and its regiments reorganised accordingly . Each of 51 RTR ' s three MMG squadrons consisted of three troops , each with six Humber Snipe or Hillman Utility ( ' Tilly ' ) two - seat cars , two carrying Vickers medium machine guns , two Bren light machine gun s and two Boys anti - tank rifle s . In July 1940 , volunteers from the units of 25th Army Tank Brigade formed No 5 Troop of No . 5 Commando at Bridlington . In August , 51 RTR and the rest of the brigade moved to Northumberland to guard the coastline with machine gun posts along the cliffs and sand dunes . 25th Army Tank Brigade was reconstituted at the end of 1940 , and its regiments began to receive a trickle of tanks on which to train . By the end of 1942 , 51 RTR was fully trained and fully equipped with Churchill tank s . In January 1943 , the regiment embarked with 25th Tank Brigade for North Africa , where it came under the command of British First Army in the Tunisia campaign . . Tunisia . On 7 – 8 April 51 RTR supported IX Corps at Fondouk Pass . 128th Brigade of 46th Infantry Division crossed the Wadi Marguellil during the night and at 5 . 30 am on 8 April began its main attack , supported by ' C ' Sqn 51 RTR , and by noon was on its objective . The regiment ended the campaign in Army Reserve . 25 Tank Brigade came under the command of Brigadier Noel Tetley of the Leeds Rifles at the end of the Tunisia campaign . He was the only Territorial Army RTR officer to command a brigade on active service . The brigade , including 51 RTR , remained training in North Africa for almost a year , before they were required for the Italian campaign . The regiment celebrated Cambrai Day ( 20 November , commemorating the tank Battle of Cambrai ) in Algeria . 51 RTR embarked on 16 April 1944 and landed at Naples , where it was equipped with Churchill tank s , with a few Shermans and Stuarts . Italy . The brigade distinguished itself in support of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division in the assault on the Adolf Hitler Line in May 1944 . At the request of the Canadians , its regiments adopted the Maple leaf as an additional badge , later worn by 51 RTR ' s successors , the Leeds Detachment ( Leeds Rifles ) , Imphal ( PWO ) Company , The East and West Riding Regiment . Brigadier Tetley , formerly of the Leeds Rifles himself , was the only Territorial Army RTR officer to command a brigade on active service . 51 RTR went on to fight in the Gothic Line battles of August – September 1944 . To deal with the successive enemy lines of defences anticipated in the later stages of the campaign , it was decided late in 1944 to convert 25th Tank Brigade into 25th Assault Engineer Brigade , equipped with specialised armour ( ' funnies ' . Organised on 5 January 1945 , this was primarily a Royal Engineers formation , but 51 RTR remained in the brigade and was also converted to specialised armour . ' B ' Squadron received 15 Crab Mark II flail tanks , while ' A ' and ' C ' sqns had a total of 32 Churchill Crocodile flamethrowing tanks . Each squadron in the brigade was self - administering , so that they could be detached where required . 25 Armoured Assault Brigade first went into action at the crossing of the Senio on 9 April 1945 . 51 RTR was attached to the New Zealand and 8th Indian Divisions . The flamethrowing tanks crept forward during the preliminary bombardment and positioned themselves close to the floodbank as possible . One minute before the infantry assault started the positions were flamed . Most of the Crocodiles had to be 60 feet behind the bank to be able to direct their flame over the bank . World War II in Europe ended shortly after this operation . Postwar . When the Territorial Army was reformed after the war , it included a combined 45th / 51st ( Leeds Rifles ) RTR . The personnel received their tank training from ' A ' Sqn of 6 RTR at RAF Worksop . Brigadier Noel Tetley was the Honorary Colonel . In 1956 the 45th / 51st ( Leeds Rifles ) RTR returned to the infantry role under its old title of 7th ( Leeds Rifles ) Bn West Yorkshire Regiment . It carried the honorary distinction on its colours and appointments of the badge of the Royal Tank Regiment with dates ' 1942 - 45 ' and two scrolls inscribed ' North Africa ' and ' Italy ' .