The Ontario Regiment and The Three Rivers Regiment were transferred from the incomplete 1st Canadian Armoured Division to provide the nucleus of 1st Canadian Tank Brigade in February 1941, with The Calgary Regiment joining the new brigade in March.

1st Tank Brigade moved to the UK in the summer of 1941; personnel arrived in the Clyde on 30 June and were promptly moved to Salisbury Plain and issued sufficient Churchill tanks for training purposes. The Calgary Regiment participated in the Dieppe landing in 1942, and the entire brigade moved to the Mediterranean in 1943, with The Three Rivers Regiment in the assault landing at Pachino. The brigade campaigned on Sicily and was in reserve and preparing for the crossing to Italy when it was redesignated 1st Canadian Armored Brigade at the end of August 1943.

Organization:

The Ontario Regiment The Three Rivers Regiment The Calgary Regiment