“PLAYBOYS” B Squadron 141 RAC (The Buffs) 1944-45

In 1941 orders were received for the conversion of 7th Battalion The Buffs into a unit of the Royal Armoured Corps, and training began. By November 1941, 141 Regiment RAC had assembled at Folkestone, the old companies became squadrons and platoons became troops. The officers and men insisted that they retained the Buff Dragon cap badge, and special permission was granted except that the badges had to be in silver (an RAC tradition). The title of the regiment, The Buffs, was retained after RAC as a clear indication of the proud origins of this unique unit.

B Squadron’s daring and costly close support of 1st Battalion 116th US Infantry’s assault on the heavily defended port of Brest enhanced the reputation of the whole regiment. After the German surrender of the port, the Americans paid tribute to the men of B Squadron in a special memorandum issued by 12 US Army Group which mentioned “the splendid co-operation between The Buffs and the US Infantry, the great courage displayed by the flame-thrower personnel and the skill with which the Crocodiles were handled.”The operations at Caen, the campaign west of the Maas river, The Scheldt, S’Hertogenbosch, Geilenkirchen, the Siegfried Line, the Reichswald, Xanten and the Rhine Crossing tell a similar story.

B Squadron’s nickname, ‘The Playboys’, came about after a month of being stationed in Antwerp; its pennants, that were attached from their wireless masts, were from that point embroidered with the image of a top-hatted Mayfair playboy!