Who Were the Desert Rats in WW2? 8 Inspirational Stories from the 7th Armoured Division

Len Burritt – the “first” Desert Rat

Generally regarded as the original ‘Desert Rat’, it is incredible to think that Sergeant Major Len Burritt served on the front line across more than 100 battles in 15 countries during WW2.

After joining the army in 1936, he plied his skills for the 7th Armoured Division as a wireless operator in North Africa in 1938, personally serving the first five generals – Percy Hobart, Michael O’Moore Creagh, William Gott, Jock Campbell and Frank Messervy.

Burritt used Morse Code to send vital communications from North Africa to Hong Kong, Palestine and India, keeping commanders posted on troop positions from the middle of the Sahara.

Working close to the front line to communicate directions, all while pushing through sandstorms and dodging the ricochets of bullets, his military shifts were as dangerous as they were arduous.

The tale behind the Desert Rats

It was Burritt himself who coined the division’s nickname while in Egypt in 1940, where he would sit with Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh in his armoured command vehicle (ACV).

The story goes that one day, a young boy came by with a rodent in his pocket – a jerboa, which would hop in and out of the opening like a kangaroo. Inspired by the quick little creature, the General decided to dub his troops the Jerboa Division, until Burritt pointed out that they were ‘desert rats’.

The name stuck, and was then made official when nurses at the hospital in Cairo produced six badges with the emblem of a rat. The General gifted one to Burritt to attach to his topee hat, and the rest – as they say – is history.

Burritt went on to receive 10 medals in his career, and was even awarded the French Légion d’Honneur in 2016 for his contribution to the liberation of France.

Jimmy Sinclair – a local hero

Jimmy Sinclair, a Scottish veteran from Kirkcaldy, Fife, was one of Britain’s oldest surviving Desert Rats until he passed away in the spring of 2020. At the age of 107, he was also Scotland’s oldest man at the time.

Full of fascinating stories from the war, he was known to light up a room.

Sinclair served in the Territorial Army with the Newburgh platoon of the Black Watch between 1931 and 1934. After the war began in 1939, he joined the Royal Artillery in Perth before training with the Royal Horse Artillery in the south of England.

He then spent four years in North Africa, serving as a gunner with the Chestnut Troop of the 7th Armoured Division. He arrived in Cairo as part of a 3,000-strong contingent after a six-week voyage from Liverpool, travelling aboard the requisitioned MV Britannic. The ship sailed stealthily via Sierra Leone and Cape Town, avoiding the Mediterranean due to the presence of German submarines.

Living among the rats

Sinclair received medals for his contributions at the siege of Tobruk and the battles of El Alamein and Monte Cassino. However, he chose not to wear them out of respect for friends and fellow soldiers lost over the years.

During the siege of Tobruk, the Desert Rats would shelter in dug-outs, trenches, caves and crevasses – but they weren’t alone. Sinclair had his own encounters with real desert rats.

While visiting the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes), which supported military bases with recreational facilities and services, he showed his friend a piece of chocolate in his hand. Before long, a rat ran out from the nearby sandbags and stole the chocolate from his palm. In other encounters, he’d wake up to find rats gnawing on his ear.

Did you know?

Once the British forces reached El Alamein in early July 1942, much of their initial time in North Africa was spent out of battle.

El Alamein was approximately 60 miles from Alexandria, the first major city to the east. Although the climate was unpleasant, particularly during the middle of intense summer heat, the Allies had plenty of shelter and infrastructure set up to prepare them for long-term defence.

The British forces even hosted visitors, including Winston Churchill and members of the press. This time spent out of combat was utilised for training behind the line, in preparation for the fight to come.

Higher ranking soldiers and officers would rotate back to Alexandria and Cairo, going so far as throwing raucous parties at Cairo’s grand Shepheard’s Hotel.

A touching friendship

At El Alamein, Britain’s Desert Rats came up against Germany’s ‘Desert Fox’ – infamous German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. During the battle, the Allies would use clever tricks to deceive German aerial reconnaissance photographs – such as disguising Allied tanks as regular trucks with camouflage until they could open fire.

Following on from the war, Jimmy Sinclair developed a remarkable friendship with Rommel’s son – Manfred Rommel – after they met at a concert in Aachen, Germany. They wrote to one another for years until Manfred’s death in 2013.

Sinclair also nurtured a fond friendship with Camilla, Queen Consort (formerly the Duchess of Cambridge) due to her father’s own connection as a Desert Rat. Paying tribute to Sinclair, she noted:

“He was a true one-off, a man of remarkable humility, kindness and good humour.”

John McOwan – fixing up the front line

Sergeant John McOwan was a specialist instrument mechanic in the Desert Rats army between 1939 and 1946. After joining the Territorial Army in 1939, he spent his first few months on coastal defence near Edinburgh, but was then transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) – later the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).

McOwan had experience working in his father’s jewellers, which was also a clock making and repair shop, and this made him a fine fit for his role in the 7th Armoured Division’s Mobile Troops Workshop while in North Africa.

Stationed at the Abbassia Barracks in Cairo to begin with, his workshop ultimately began to follow the 7th Armoured Division across the desert – becoming a vital cog in this elite machine.

Specialising in repairing military instruments, they followed the front line closely to repair tanks and other essential items, such as binoculars, liquid compasses, pocket watches and even typewriters. Sand gets everywhere, as any soldier of the time would know, which helped keep the workshop busy.

Championed by Churchill

“Between July and October… The British are shot when it comes to morale,” notes Prof Ball.

“They have no trust in their commanders. They’ve been defeated repeatedly. The whole thing is wobbling.”

After the Allies fell back to El Alamein, Winston Churchill called upon the retreating to end, and a fighting stand to be made. General Bernard Montgomery was then appointed as the commander of the British 8th Army in August 1942. Popular among the troops, Montgomery declared:

“There will be no more belly-aching, and no more retreats”.

Montgomery – by now a veritable expert at training and preparation – instilled morale and ensured his troops were well briefed and drilled. Meanwhile, the Americans agreed to re-equip the British armoured divisions, sending Sherman tanks from overseas to bolster their forces.

The Desert Rats formed a vital part of this newly rejuvenated fighting force.

Hungry for victory, the Allied forces then fought the Axis in the relentless battle of El Alamein – ultimately winning a famous victory.

Desolate desert life

In the memoirs of his time spent in North Africa as a Desert Rat during WW2, Sgt McOwan describes the inhospitable terrain of the desert. While the Allies and Axis army were at battle with one another, they shared a sense of comradery over their common enemy – the desert environment.

No doubt the dunes could be beautiful when the winds were gentle, but soldiers would suffer the grit of the sand at all times. It was all quite the contrast to the rolling hills of Peebles, McOwan’s hometown in the Scottish Borders.

Living among scorpions, flies and suffocating heat, Montgomery’s army finally pushed the Axis troops across North Africa to Tunisia. After thousands of miles of attrition, the Germans then finally surrendered in May 1943.

• McOwan notes the significance of the jerboa rat emblem on the WW2 Desert Rats uniform. Often stitched on facing forward, this is quite apt – as after El Alamein, they never looked back.
• At the age of 101, during the COVID-19 pandemic and despite his failing eyesight, Sgt McOwan chronicled his experience in the desert – dedicating his memoirs to his great-grandchildren.

“Dear Desert Rats! May your glory ever shine! May your laurels never fade! May the memory of this glorious pilgrimage of war which you have made from Alamein, via the Baltic to Berlin never die!”

- Winston Churchill at the opening of the Winston Club, Berlin, July 1945.