| Prince of Wales's Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1968–2014 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Administrative Command |
The Prince of Wales's Division was a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. It merged with the Scottish Division, to form the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division; at the same time the Mercian Regiment joined with the King's Division. [1]
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| Arms of the British Army |
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| Combat Arms |
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The Prince of Wales's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Mercian Brigade, Welsh Brigade and Wessex Brigade. The depot was established at Whittington Barracks in Staffordshire. [2]
Under the restructuring announced in 2004, the Prince of Wales's Division lost the remaining Westcountry infantry regiments and was reorganised into two large regiments: [3]
The Division maintained a regular army band, The Band of The Prince of Wales Division through the amalgamation of the two former divisional bands, the Clive Band and the Lucknow Band. [5]
Under the Army 2020 reorganisation, the 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Staffords) and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh (Royal Regiment of Wales) will both be disbanded, while the Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) will be transferred to the administration of the Prince of Wales' Division. [6]
In December 2016, the government announced changes to the administrative structure of the infantry as part of the continuing reorganization of the Army under "Army 2020". This saw the Mercian Regiment being moved to the King's Division, with the Royal Regiment of Scotland (which encompassed the entirety of the Scottish Division) transferred to a single administrative formation with the Royal Welsh and the Royal Irish Regiment. This new administrative formation became known as the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division. [7]
Past units include: [8]
The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49 infantry battalions, from 19 regiments. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the Regular army and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, including armoured, mechanised, air assault and light.
The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) (or simply "Staffords" for short) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales's Division. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of the South Staffordshire Regiment and the North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's), and in 2007 was amalgamated with the Cheshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment to become the 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment.
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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 King's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England.
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 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 North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, the 64th Regiment of Foot was merged with the 98th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of Foot (originally raised in 1824) to form the Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment). In 1921 the regimental title was altered to the North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's).
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The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment was a Territorial Army unit of the regular Staffordshire Regiment which was formed in 1988, but disbanded in 1999. The battalion's successor continues to serve in the Mercian Regiment to this day.