144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
The 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps was an armoured regiment of the British Army. Originally raised during World War II as a battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment it was later transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps. It fought in the campaign in North-West Europe, from June 1944 to May 1945.
East Lancashire Regiment cap badge worn by 144 RAC
Churchill tank of 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps being hauled onto a tank transporter at Burleigh in Hampshire, August 1942.
The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th Regiment of Foot with the militia and rifle volunteer units of eastern Lancashire. In 1958 the regiment was amalgamated with the South Lancashire Regiment to form the Lancashire Regiment which was, in 1970, merged with the Loyal Regiment to form the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. In 2006, the Queen's Lancashire was further amalgamated with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and the King's Regiment to form the present Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
Second Lieutenant Alfred Victor Smith 1/5th Battalion, posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry at Helles in December 1915
Members of the 4th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment in trenches near Givenchy on 28 June 1918
Spencer John Bent VC