2007: Creation of the Mercian Regiment

The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, and Staffordshire) 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.

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 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.

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 in 2015

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

In 2017 the Mercian Regiment moved to the King’s Division.

The 1st Battalion is an armoured infantry battalion, part of the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade based at Bulford Camp, England.

The 2nd Battalion is a Light Infantry battalion, part of 42 Infantry Brigade, and was based at Dale Barracks in Chester, England from July 2014, to August 2018, when it moved to Episcopi, Cyprus.

The 3rd Battalion was an armoured infantry battalion, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade based in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany. It was disbanded in July 2014 as part of the Army 2020 defence review. On 13 January 2018 the colours of the 3rd Battalion were laid up in Lichfield Cathedral.

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, an HQ company, a mortar platoon and an anti-tank platoon.

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. 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. Accordingly, a slightly modified design featuring two colours of metal was adopted.

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. In July 2014, this proposal was approved, and the regiment was renamed as The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, and Staffordshire).

Private “Derby”, a Swaledale ram, is the regimental mascot, a tradition inherited from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.