10th Armoured Brigade ( United Kingdom ) 10th Armoured Brigade was a short - lived armoured formation of the British Army in World War II . It had been converted from infantry battalions , and never saw action . Formation . 10th Armoured Brigade came into existence on 1 November 1941 when 125th ( Lancashire Fusiliers ) Brigade based at Barnard Castle was converted to the armoured role . The brigade had been serving in 42nd ( East Lancashire ) Infantry Division which was being converted to an armoured division . The brigade comprised three battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers , which were converted to regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps ( RAC ) , and a motor battalion was added . The brigade commander , Brigadier Philip Bowden - Smith , was a cavalryman ( and former Olympic Equestrian ) who had joined 125 Bde shortly before it was converted . He commanded 10th Armoured for its entire service . Composition . 10th Armoured Brigade was constituted as follows : Service . Four days after the official conversion , 10th Armd Bde received its first equipment . The War Diary records : ' The first two tanks arrived , two Vickers Medium tanks dated 1923 and 1924 . These were not in going order , and were practically useless ' . The brigade got its first cruiser tanks – four Covenanters – on 1 December , and over the next two years received a trickle of widely varied tanks , including Cruiser Mk I , Cruiser Mk II , Cruiser Mk II a , Covenanter and Crusader cruiser tanks , Valentine and Churchill infantry tanks , and later some Sherman V s . In May 1942 , 10th Armd Bde left 42nd Armoured Division and the motor battalion was withdrawn . Then on 25 July the brigade was redesignated 10th Tank Brigade . The role of a tank brigade was infantry support , and on 17 October 1942 the brigade was placed under the command of 48th ( South Midland ) Division . This was a reserve formation , and 10th Tank Bde was given the role of holding and training reinforcements for other tank units . For training , 10th Tank Brigade was based in the ' Dukeries ' area of Nottinghamshire , with HQ at Carlton - in - Lindrick and the regiments at Thoresby Hall , Welbeck Abbey and Rufford Abbey . Disbandment . The brigade maintained Lancashire Fusilier traditions , initially wearing the regimental badge on the black beret of the RAC , and celebrating Minden Day on 1 August ' in traditional style . Each unit held a ceremonial parade and march past ' . When rumours began to circulate that 10th Tank Brigade was scheduled for disbandment , Members of Parliament for the Lancashire towns complained about the loss of their TA battalions . In August 1943 a recruiting team persuaded about 60 other ranks of the brigade to volunteer for the Parachute Regiment if the brigade disbanded . The brigade moved to Wensleydale in September , with Brigade HQ at Bedale , but shortly afterwards the impending disbandment was confirmed , the brigade came under direct War Office control , and the regiments began to dispose of their equipment to other regiments . Brigade HQ and Signals were disbanded with effect from 25 November and completed by 16 December . Of the three tank regiments , 108 and 109 RAC ( formerly 1 / 5th and 1 / 6th Lancashire Fusiliers TA ) were ' dispersed ' , while 143 RAC ( formerly the hostilities - only 9th Lancashire Fusiliers ) was disbanded . Of these battalions , only 5th Lancashire Fusiliers was reconstituted in the TA after the war .