In the latter half of 1938, six TA infantry battalions were converted to tank battalions with a further six created in 1939 following the "duplication" of the TA. With the preparations for war in the late 1930s, two more Regular Army battalions were formed: the 7th in 1937 and the 8th in 1938. In 1934, the 1st (Light) Battalion, RTC was formed in England with personnel drawn from the 2nd, 3rd & 5th Battalions. In 1933, the 6th Battalion, RTC was formed in Egypt by combining the personnel of the 3rd and 5th Regular Army Armoured Car Companies. It was at this time that the motto, "Fear Naught", the black beret, and the unit badge were adopted. On 18 October 1923, it was officially given the title Royal making it the Royal Tank Corps (RTC) by Colonel-in-Chief King George V. Interwar period Īfter the war, the Tank Corps was trimmed down to a central depot and four battalions: the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th battalions. The Corps saw much action at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. The first commander of the Tank Corps was Hugh Elles. The formation of new battalions continued and, by December 1918, 26 had been created though only 25 battalions were equipped with tanks, as the 17th had converted to armoured cars in April 1918. On 28 July 1917, the Heavy Branch was separated from the rest of the Corps by Royal Warrant and given official status as the Tank Corps. In November 1916 the eight companies then in existence were each expanded to form battalions (still identified by the letters A to H) and designated the Heavy Branch MGC another seven battalions, I to O, were formed by January 1918, when all the battalions were changed to numbered units. At that time the six tank companies were grouped as the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps (MGC).
They were at first considered artillery, and crews received artillery pay. Tanks were first used at the Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War. The formation of the Royal Tank Regiment followed the invention of the tank. Further information: Tanks in World War I
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