Churchill Platoon

The first proper Churchill tanks into combat, the 31st Tank Brigade (consisting of 7th and 9th Battalions, Royal Tank Regiment), landed at Juno Beach on 19 June. Later they were heavily involved in Operation Epsom, expanding the beachhead, and then Operation Jupiter, which sought to retake the infamous Hill 112. In these operations the brigade fought with 15th (Scottish) Division, 43rd (Wessex) Division and 53rd (Welsh) Division. The 31st Tank Brigade later fought in Operations Totalize and Tractable that took Falaise.

The 31st Tank Brigade’s third regiment, the 141st (The Buffs) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, had been converted to Churchill Crocodile flame-throwing tanks prior to the invasion. As such it was permanently attached to the 79th Armoured Division, and like all the other regiments of that division, was allocated out to different units along the front as the situation required.