Mercian Regiment

The Mercian Regiment
(Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords)

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 Camp
2nd Battalion - Dale Barracks, Chester
4th Battalion - Wolverhampton
Nickname(s) The Heart of England's Infantry
Motto(s) "Stand Firm and Strike Hard"
March Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie/Under the Double Eagle (Quick)
Stand Firm and Strike Hard (Slow)
Mascot(s) Ram (Private Derby XXXI)
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 (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the 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.

History

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.[1]

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]

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.[3]

The Regiment has been deployed to Afghanistan (Herrick 6, Herrick 10, Herrick 12, Herrick 14, Herrick 15 and Herrick 17) and Iraq (Telic 11).[4]

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.[5][6][7]

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.[8]

3rd Battalion

The 3rd Battalion was an armoured infantry battalion, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade based in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany.[9] It was disbanded in July 2014[10] as part of the Army 2020 defence review.[3]

4th Battalion

The 4th Battalion is the regiment's Army Reserve Light Infantry battalion. The battalion, whose HQ is based in Wolverhampton and Kidderminster, England, has five rifle companies, a HQ Company and a Mortar Platoon.[11]

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.[12] Accordingly, a slightly modified design featuring two colours of metal was adopted.[13]

In 2012, following the announcement that the 3rd Battalion (ex-Staffordshire Regiment) was to be disbanded, a proposal was submitted to the Army to have the name of the Mercian Regiment changed to reflect its entire lineage and maintain the Staffords name.[14] In July 2014, this proposal was approved, and the regiment was renamed as The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords).[15]

Mascot

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

"Derby", a Swaledale ram, is the regimental mascot, inherited from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. The 30th iteration of the Mascot was known as Lance Corporal Derby XXX, before he died on 27 November 2015.[16] His successor, now back to Private Derby XXXI, was announced on 20 February 2016 [17]

Dress

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

Lineage

1880[20] 1881 Childers Reforms[20] 1921 Name changes 1957 Defence White Paper 1966 Defence White Paper 1990 Options for Change 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World
22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot The Cheshire Regiment The Mercian Regiment
29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot The Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment
36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot
45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot The Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment)
renamed in 1902:
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)
95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot
38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot The South Staffordshire Regiment The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's)
80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot
64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's)
98th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of Foot

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

References

  1. ↑ "In detail: army restructuring plans". BBC. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Mercian Regiment". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Army Loses 17 Major Units In Defence Cuts". Sky News. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Mercian Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "1 Mercian". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "4th Mechanised Brigade". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Army 2020" (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Dale Barracks Chester welcomes 2 Mercian Regiment". Chester Chronicle. Ministry of Defence. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "3 Mercian". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Mercian Regiment: Final marches for disbanded battalion". BBC. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "4 Mercian". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Regiment's 'strangled chicken' badge rejected, (telegraph.co.uk), accessed August 22, 2007
  13. ↑ "Regimental Customs and Traditions". The Mercian Regiment. 2009. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  14. ↑ "MoD to look at Staffords endorsement". BBC News. BBC. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "New regiment will now keep its links to the area". Burton Mail. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Derby XXX – a British Army ram promoted to Lance Corporal as regimental mascot – dies". Western Morning News. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Mercian Regiment announces new Private Derby XXXI". BBC. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Dress Regulations for the Mercian Regiment" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. June 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "Regimental customs and traditions". The Museum of the Mercian Regiment. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  20. 1 2 The London Gazette, Page 3300-3301 (1 July 1881). "Childers Reform" (24992). Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
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