Mercian Regiment
The
Mercian Regiment is one of the new large infantry regiments of the
British Army. The regiment's formation was announced on
16 December 2004 by
Geoff Hoon and
General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the
infantry - it will be formed of three regular battalions, plus a
TA battalion, and will be created through the merger of three single battalion regiments:
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22nd (Cheshire) Regiment - 1st Battalion
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Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment - 2nd Battalion
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Staffordshire Regiment - 3rd Battalion
The new structure will see the regiment having a single battalion of
armoured infantry and two battalions of
light role infantry:
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1st Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Cheshires) - Light Infantry based at Catterick
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2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) - Light Infantry based at Holywood, Northern Ireland
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3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Staffords) - Armoured Infantry based at Fallingbostel (although it will move there in 2009 from Tidworth).
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4th Battalion (V), Mercian Regiment - A T.A battalion created from the
West Midlands RegimentIt is called the Mercian Regiment as it is generally located within the ancient English kingdom of
Mercia. It was expected that the regiment's
cap badge would have be a double headed Mercian Eagle with
Saxon crown, but this has been rejected by the Army Board due to its strong
Territorial Army connection. However, this badge has been displayed on the regiment's website since early
2006, suggesting that it has been adopted unless/until a new design is approved.
The regiment will be formed on
August 24 2007; at this point, 1 CHESHIRE will move to
Catterick as part of
4 Mechanised Brigade, becoming 1 MERCIAN. At the same time, 1 WFR will become 2 MERCIAN while on
public duties in London, and 1 STAFFORDS to become 3 MERCIAN at
Tidworth. The 4th Battalion will retain a multi-badge structure, with E Company (
Light Infantry) West Midlands Regiment being badged as
Rifles.
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Regimental Website
