| West Midlands Regiment 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1999 – present |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | One Battalion |
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 regiment was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of three territorial infantry battalions: 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers; 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry; and 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment. [1]
The regiment was composed of a headquarters company and five rifle companies, continuing to use the insignia of the regular regiments to which they were affiliated. Its initial structure was as follows: [2] [3]
Not long prior to re-designation of a battalion of the Mercian Regiment, the regiment absorbed the companies from other regiments that were within the new regiment's recruiting area, in order to ease the re-designation process. After this, its structure was as follows: [3]
On 1 September 2007, the regiment was re-designated as the 4th Battalion of the Mercian Regiment. [4] It now serves as the reserve infantry battalion for Cheshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, West Midlands, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire.
Its current structure is as follows:
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.
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The historic county of Staffordshire includes Wolverhampton, Walsall, and West Bromwich, these three being removed for administrative purposes in 1974 to the new West Midlands authority. The resulting administrative area of Staffordshire has a narrow southwards protrusion that runs west of West Midlands to the border of Worcestershire. The city of Stoke-on-Trent was removed from the admin area in the 1990s to form a unitary authority, but is still part of Staffordshire for ceremonial and traditional purposes.
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 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.
The East of England Regiment (EER) was the infantry unit of the Territorial Army of the East Midlands and East Anglia from 1 July 1999 to 1 April 2006. Upon the re-organisation of the infantry in 2006, the regiment became 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment.
The Staffordshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army. Raised in 1794 following Prime Minister William Pitt's order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion, the Staffordshire Yeomanry began as a volunteer cavalry regiment.
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 was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th 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 Regiment of Foot to form the Prince of Wales's . In 1921 the regimental title was altered to the North Staffordshire Regiment .
The Home Service Force 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.
Forward Operating Base Khar Nikah or more simply FOB Khar Nikah is a former Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan operated by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) under Operation Herrick.
Stockport Armoury is a military installation in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Light Infantry Volunteers was short lived a 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 (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.
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 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 Worcestershire Rifles was a volunteer, part-time unit of the British Army based in the county of Worcestershire which had a long, yet split history in two units before merging into the larger Worcestershire Regiment. Following active service in both World Wars, during which its strength was doubled into three battalions, the unit was reduced to a company, and later expanded to two companies. Following reductions in the early 21st century, the two companies were merged and later reduced to a platoon in 2006. Today, the regiment's lineage is continued in the anti-tank platoon of the 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment, still based in Kidderminster where the first volunteers had formed.