Tony Copson, Eric Binnie with some real desert rats’, North Africa, 1942 (b/w photo)

Tony Copson, Eric Binnie with some real desert rats’, North Africa, 1942. Photograph by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, North Africa, 1942. Two men of 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) examine a number of desert rats. The regiment were part of 7th Armoured Brigade in North Africa. The Division was nicknamed the ‘The Desert Rats’ and adopted the jerboa, or desert rat, as its unofficial insignia. The insignia was made official in 1943. The 3rd County of London Yeomanry War Diary records the death of Sergeant George Eric Binnie on 15 July 1942. The unit was in action with German tanks and was also attacked by Stuka dive-bombers. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Binnie was 25 years old when he was killed and his name appears on the Alamein Memorial. From an album containing 189 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).