The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales') (or simply "Staffords" for short) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of the South Staffordshire Regiment and the North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales'), and in 2007 was amalgamated with the Cheshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment to become the 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment.
The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II.
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Published under the then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects. This was justified due to the implementation of a policy termed Network Enabled Capability. The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of British Army Infantry regiments.
The Mercian Regiment 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 had fifteen operational deployments since its formation.
The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The regiment served as the county regiment for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.
The West Midlands Regiment was a short-lived British Territorial Army regiment from 1999 until it was re-designated as 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment, in 2007.
The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out in support of the civil powers. It first sent units overseas at the time of the Second Boer War and saw distinguished service in Egypt and Palestine in World War I. During World War II it gave up its horses and became a tank regiment, serving in the Western Desert and landing in Normandy on D-Day. Postwar the Staffordshire Yeomanry became part of the Queen's Own Mercian Yeomanry with one of the squadrons being designated 'Staffordshire Yeomanry' until 2021.
The Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry (QOWWY) was a regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps, forming part of the Territorial Army (TA). Following reductions in 1969 and 1971 respectively the regiment was reduced to two and later one company sized sub-unit in 1999. Following a reorganisation in 2021, there are now two successors to the regiment: one squadron in the Royal Yeomanry as light cavalry, and one squadron in the 37th Signal Regiment as a support squadron.
The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into the Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry in 1956. The lineage is maintained by B Squadron, part of The Royal Yeomanry.
The Mercian Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1964. The Brigade administered the infantry regiments from the area of England between the Trent, Mersey and Severn rivers that roughly corresponded to the ancient kingdom of Mercia.
The Home Service Force (HSF) was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. Each HSF unit was placed with either a Regular Army or Territorial Army regiment or battalion for administrative purposes and given that formation's title, cap badge and recruited from volunteers aged 18–60 with previous British forces experience. It was introduced to guard key points and installations likely to be the target of enemy special forces and saboteurs, so releasing other units for mobile defence roles. It was stood down in 1992.
The Light Infantry Volunteers was a short lived Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, that existed from 1967 to 1972, composed of companies from the Light Infantry regiments. In 1972, it was re-designated as 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry, serving as such until amalgamation in 1999.
The 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters was a former territorial infantry battalion that existed for a short time towards the end of the Cold War. Following reductions to the Territorial Army (TA) in 1992, the battalion was disbanded with elements helping to form RHQ & HQ Sqn of 37 Signal Regiment, and 96 Signal Squadron. This squadron was then reduced to a signal troop in 2009, but continues to exist as part of 48 Signal Squadron.
The 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers was an infantry battalion of the only full Territorial Army (TA) regiment in Yorkshire. The battalion was formed along with the 2nd Battalion of the same regiment in 1971. However, in 1992 following the end of the Cold War, the 3rd and 4th battalions amalgamated, thus ending the official lineage.
The Light Infantry and Mercian Volunteers was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1971 to 1975.
The Mercian Volunteers was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1988. Upon formation, it consisted of a singular battalion, however it later raised a second in 1975.
The 6th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment was a part-time infantry unit of the British Army part of the Territorial Army (TA). Originally formed in 1971 from the expansion of many cadres, the battalion would eventually be disbanded in 1999 and formed sub-units in the new East of England Regiment. Today, the battalion's successors still form part of the Army Reserve (AR) component of the Royal Anglian Regiment's only remaining reserve unit, the 3rd (V) Bn.
The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was a part-time infantry battalion based in Cheshire, England and tasked with home defence during its tenure. The battalion was formed in the latter part of the Cold War, but later disbanded forming two companies in the new local Territorial Army (TA) regiment, the King's and Cheshire Regiment. Today, the battalion's lineage is continued in Mortar Platoon, B Company, 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment.
The 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers was an infantry battalion of Yorkshire's only Territorial Army (TA) regiment, and existed for just around four years before amalgamating with another battalion of the Yorkshire Volunteers.
The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales was an infantry battalion of the British Army, part of the Royal Regiment of Wales. The battalion was formed during the expansion of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1971, and later disbanded and merged with the 4th (V) Battalion of the same regiment to form the new 2nd (V) Battalion. The battalion's lineage is currently carried on by two company-sized units: C Company, part of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh and 580 (Glamorgan) Transport Squadron of 157th Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.
United Kingdom 
British Army