During my research of the famous “Desert Rats” I have come across a particular burning argument about who is entitled to wear the famous red rat insignia of the 7th Armoured Division. The following two letters taken from the 8th Army saying something blue letter box, which appears in the Crusader highlights the inter unit disagreements that were going on. I guess they felt really strong about their origins. I thought this maybe of some interest:- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taken from the Crusader August 29th 1943 Cpl. J.W. Forth of a Signals Troop: I have noted with some amusement the discussion on desert rats. The basic fact which seems to be missed is that no unit spends it time in the desert or anywhere else for that matter, without orders from higher up, and therefore, whether you spend eighteen months or eighteen hours in the desert is due to circumstances entirely outside the individual’s control. It follows then that desert service is simply a matter of fortune or misfortune. It is hard to see what all the fuss is about. Further, what about the ((attached)) like myself who have spent the last two and half years flitting from one unit to another. It can safely be said that if desert service is the prerequisite there are hundreds, if not thousands, who are fully entitled to wear a ((Desert Rat,)) H.D., or rhino, whether his unit is front, middle or back, whether it’s large, small or medium, you will certainly bump into someone there wearing the badge of the Royal Corps of Signals Sgt E Woodward, H.Q. Sqn., 7th Armoured Div.: For months – even years I have suffered from reading about ((Desert rats)) (with inverted commas0. so now for a few facts. Q. What is a desert rat? A. A jerboa Q. What Division wears it for its flash the jerboa or desert rat? A. THE 7TH ARMOURED DIVISION. So, for god’s sake, non-rats, cease worrying about the 7th armoured Divisions name and sign. It belongs to them – and they are proud of it. The originators of this division took their name and flash from the Jerboa back in the thirties, when they chartered unknown deserts using out of date maps. That was when they took the despicable name of rat and made it famous, so famous that many are glamorously claiming the name. A good many soldiers out there have never even seen a wild desert rat. Why not be good sports and think of something original like desert scorpions, the latter lives in the desert just as much as the rats. Editor writes:-These are two representative letters from scores of epistles from rats (with and without inverted commas0, rhinos, mice etc., who have written replies to Fritz Maus. We thought Fritz had started something-but we’re stopping it. This correspondence is closed-finally and forever. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sgt E Woodward was killed in action 4 weeks later on mainland Italy and is buried in Salerno War Cemetery.
