Mercian Regiment

The Mercian Regiment

Cap Badge of the Mercian Regiment
Active 1 September 2007-
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Branch  British Army
Type Line Infantry
Role 1st Battalion - Armoured Infantry
2nd Battalion - Light Infantry
4th Battalion - Light Infantry
Size Three battalions
Part of Prince of Wales' Division
Garrison/HQ RHQ - Lichfield
1st Battalion - Bulford
2nd Battalion - Chester
4th Battalion - Wolverhampton
Nickname(s) The Heart of England's Infantry
Motto "Stand Firm and Strike Hard"
March Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie/Under the Double Eagle (Quick)
Stand Firm and Strike Hard (Slow)
Mascot Ram (Lance Corporal Derby XXX)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief HRH The Prince of Wales
Colonel of
the Regiment		 Brigadier AP Williams OBE
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Arm Badge Stafford Knot and Glider
From Staffordshire Regiment
Abbreviation MERCIAN

The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from the five counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as 'The Heart of England's Infantry', it was formed on 1 September 2007 by the amalgamation of three existing regiments. The Regiment has deployed on eight operational deployments since its formation, making it one of the most operationally experienced regiments in the British Army.

The regiment originally had three regular army battalions and one Army Reserve battalion, though the 3rd Battalion was disbanded as part of the restructuring of the British Army.[1]

Formation

The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by the then Secretary of Defence Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the British Army Infantry - it consisted of three regular battalions, plus a territorial battalion, and was created through the merger of three single battalion regiments. The three remaining battalions are all known formally as 'The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords); however, this is usually abbreviated to MERCIAN.

The antecedent Regiments were, The 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, The 1st Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment . The reserve West Midlands Regiment, with elements of the King's and Cheshire Regiment and the East of England Regiment formed the 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment.[2]

Structure

1st Battalion

The 1st Battalion has deployed on three operational tours since its formation in 2007, one to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. It is an armoured infantry battalion, part of the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade based at Bulford Camp, England.[3][4][5]

2nd Battalion

The 2nd Battalion deployed on three operational tours to Afghanistan. It is a Light Infantry battalion, part of 42 Infantry Brigade, and has been based at Dale Barracks in Chester, England since July 2014.[6]

3rd Battalion

The 3rd Battalion was an armoured infantry battalion, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade based in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany.[7] It was disbanded in July 2014[8] as part of the Army 2020 defence review.[1]

4th Battalion

The 4th Battalion is the regiment's Army Reserve Light Infantry battalion.[9] The battalion, whose HQ is based in Wolverhampton, England, has five rifle companies and a HQ Company.

Regimental Distinctions

The regiment's cap badge is a double headed Mercian Eagle with Saxon crown. This has been chosen because it forms a link to the regiment's recruiting area, which encompass a number of divergent counties that do not have modern traditional links, only under the ancient Kingdom of Mercia (unlike the other new regiments from Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire). It was originally intended to use the old Mercian Brigade badge worn by the Cheshire Regiment, Staffordshire Regiment, Worcestershire Regiment and Sherwood Foresters from 1958 to 1968, rather than create an amalgamated badge that would require elements from all of the antecedents. In 2005, this badge was rejected by the Army Dress Committee on the grounds that it had been the badge of a territorial unit, The Mercian Volunteers, which was junior to the amalgamating regiments.[10] Accordingly, a slightly modified design featuring two colours of metal was adopted.[11]

Mascot

Mercian Regiment in Ashbourne, Derbyshire on 18 March 2010
Grave of a Mercian Regiment veteran

"Lance Corporal Derby", a Swaledale ram, was the regimental mascot, inherited from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. Lance Corporal Derby XXIX died on 6 December 2013. A new ‘Derby’ was kindly given to the regiment by his Grace, the 12th Duke of Devonshire KCVO CBE[12] and was presented to the Colonel of The Regiment, Brigadier Andrew Williams, by the Duchess of Devonshire at Chesterfield Town Hall on 8 April 2014.[13] The latest iteration of the Mascot was the 30th of its line; known as Lance Corporal Derby XXX, he died on 27 November 2015.[14]

Dress

Various "Golden Threads", representing the traditions of predecessor units, are incorporated in the Mercian Regiment's uniform:

History

The Regiment has been deployed to Afghanistan (six times), Iraq (once) and Cyprus (once) in 2014.

Alliances

All of the previous alliances of the three individual regiments were carried over into the Mercian Regiment.

Affiliated Ships

Order of precedence

Preceded by
Yorkshire Regiment		 Infantry Order of Precedence Succeeded by
Royal Welsh

Lineage

Lineage
The Mercian Regiment
The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment
The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) The Worcestershire Regiment The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment
The 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment
The Sherwood Foresters
(Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)		 The 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment
The 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment
The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) The South Staffordshire Regiment The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot
The North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales's) Regiment The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot
The 98th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of Foot

References

  1. 1 2 "Army Loses 17 Major Units In Defence Cuts". Sky News. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Mercian Regiment". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "1 Mercian". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "4th Mechanised Brigade". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Army 2020 page 7" (PDF). Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Dale Barracks Chester welcomes 2 Mercian Regiment". Ministry of Defence. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "3 Mercian". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Mercian Regiment: Final marches for disbanded battalion". BBC. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "4 Mercian". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  10. ↑ Regiment's 'strangled chicken' badge rejected, (telegraph.co.uk), accessed August 22, 2007
  11. ↑ "Regimental Customs and Traditions". The Mercian Regiment. 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  12. ↑ "Mascots". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "Four-Legged Derbyshire Recruit for Mercian Regiment". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  14. ↑ "Army regiment mascot ram who was promoted to Lance Corporal dies". Boston Standard. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Dress Regulations for the Mercian Regiment" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. January 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2011.

External links

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