9th Royal Tank Regiment The 9th Royal Tank Regiment ( 9 RTR ) was an armoured regiment of the British Army during the Second World War . It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment , itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps . It was reformed in late 1940 as a hostilities only regiment . History . The " original " 9th RTR was formed in December 1916 as the 9th Battalion , Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps and was designated I Battalion . The unit served at the Battle of Cambrai where , along with III Corps of the Third British Army , achieved complete surprise and pushed the German forces out of the town . Through the remainder of the War , the 9th were used to great effect , using the tactics they had learnt at Cambrai . The Battalion were awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palmes as a regimental decoration , an honour that is shared with only three other units in the British Army , all of which are infantry . The 9th were also awarded the honour of wearing the badge of General Bourgon ' s French 3rd Division . A replica of the badge was worn on the sleeve of everyone serving in the 9th Battalion , and later by everyone in the 9th RTR . The 9th took their unofficial motto from this badge : " " Qui s ' y frotte , s ' y brule " " which translates as " Touch me , and you burn " . Although the exact details are not known , the 9th were disbanded after the war ended . The road to the 9th ' s reformation started in May 1940 when the majority of the 3rd Battalion RTR was destroyed near Calais , with only eight men returning to Britain . A number of the reinforcements intended for the 3rd Battalion RTR were hived off to become " a detachment of the 3rd Battalion " , a Home Details Unit . Soon after this , in November 1940 , the 9th Battalion RTR was created . Service during World War 2 . Despite forming in November 1940 , it was not until mid - 1941 , when the regiment was based in Otley , that the 9th received the tanks it was to use in its role as a Heavy Tank Unit . The 9th RTR was one of the first units to be equipped with the Churchill . These vehicles were almost identical to those used by the Calgary Regiment of the Canadian Army at Dieppe in 1942 . Between 1941 and 1944 the regiment moved around the country , from Otley , to Eastbourne , South Lancing , Charing , and eventually Aldershot . Along with this , the regiment ' s tanks and their crews often moved around the country to various gunnery ranges , such as at Bovington Camp in Dorset and Castlemartin in Wales . The 9th finally went into action shortly after D Day , ( weather conditions had not permitted them to land on the planned date ) . Some of the regiment was able to get on shore on 19 June , but a large part was held up for another two days . Shortly after its arrival in Normandy , 9th RTR ( as part of 31 Tank Brigade ) , was involved in General Montgomery ' s Operation " Epsom " , the push inland to secure the Normandy Beachhead and the city of Caen . The regiment was part of the right hand attack towards Grainville and Colleville , supporting 15 ( Scottish ) Infantry Division . After " Epsom " , the 9th was part of Operation " Jupiter " , the attack on Hill 112 . The Hill was defended by elements of Schwere Panzer - Abteilung 502 , which led to heavy losses for the regiment , although eventually the Hill was retaken from the German Forces . The next major engagement for the 9th was the Falaise Pocket . The regiment supported the 1st Canadian Army for the first part of the battle . However , it was soon returned to British command for the push east across the north of France , to take bridges across a number of rivers in the area . Following the rapid push east , the 9th RTR took part in the capture of Le Havre as part of Operation " Astonia " . In a combined assault of land , naval and air forces , the port city of Le Havre was taken in three days , despite being considered " " one of the strongest fortresses of the Atlantic Wall " " . Unlike previous operations , the regiment took very light casualties . The end of Operation " Astonia " led to a fortnights rest for the regiment , after they had been fighting for around 100 days . After its rest period , 9th RTR moved into Holland and took part in enlarging the Nijmegen Salient in support of 51st ( Highland ) Division and 49th ( West Riding ) Division . Later on in the Dutch campaign , the 9th participated in Operations " Rebound " and " Thruster " , which lead to the capture of Roosendaal and aided the clearing of the banks of the River Scheldt . Between late December 1944 and the end of January 1945 , 9th RTR aided in victory in the Ardennes , acting as a defensive force near Liege , under the command of the First US Army . After the Ardennes , the 9th were attached to 53rd Canadian Infantry Division for the battle in the Reichswald , during early to mid - February 1945 . Following this , the 9th , in support of the 52nd Lowland Division , pushed further into Germany . Between March and April , the 9th had an extended period of refitting and maintenance , repairing or replacing tanks that had travelled thousands of miles and participated in countless engagements , anticipating the final push across the Rhine . The assault never truly came , the final tasks for the 9th was to clear and secure a small area of Germany . Organisation . The main fighting element of the 9th RTR was split into the Regimental Headquarters consisting of six tanks and three squadrons , further split into Squadron HQs , which was made up of four tanks each , and five troops each with three tanks . In total , the 9th had 63 tanks , served by over 300 crew . Alongside the fighting elements was the recce troop , equipped with Jeeps and Daimler Dingo Scout Cars , and the Supply Section , which was in charge of providing the regiment with equipment , food and spare parts for the regiment ' s tanks . The structure of the Fighting Element of the regiment is shown below : Regimental HQ : Fighting Squadrons : * Officer Commanding < br > * * Reconnaissance Officer < br > * * * Armoured Recovery Vehicle