The Staffordshire Regiment
Encyclopedia
The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales') (or simply "Staffords" for short) was an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

, part of the Prince of Wales' Division
Prince of Wales' Division
The Prince of Wales's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. The Prince of Wales's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Mercian Brigade, Welsh Brigade and Wessex Brigade...

. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of The South Staffordshire Regiment and The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's). The Staffords can trace their history back to 1705 when a regiment known as the 38th Foot
38th Regiment of Foot
The 38th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army.-History:It was formed in 1705 and amalgamated into the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1881....

 was raised at Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...

 by Colonel Luke Lillingstone
Luke Lillingstone
Luke Lillingstone or Lillingston was a British Army officer.Both Lillingstone's father, Henry Lillingstone, and maternal uncle, Thomas Dolman, were colonels in the Anglo-Dutch Brigade. Luke was himself first commissioned as an officer in the Brigade in 1673...

.

Africa

After the creation of the regiment, its first overseas posting was a six month exercise in Kenya, followed by a year in Colchester and then a return to Kenya for a further two years. On the tour the regiment had to deal with a mutiny by the Ugandan Army. Returning home the regiment was the last unit of the British Army to serve in East Africa. A home tour in Dover followed, then came a two year posting to Berlin followed by tours in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

 and Sharjah in the Persian Gulf where the regiment again recorded a 'last unit' distinction being the last unit to serve in Sharjah.

Northern Ireland

Five tours in Northern Ireland were undertaken between 1972 and 1984. For the rest of the 1980s the regiment served in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Gulf War

In October 1990 The Staffordshire Regiment was deployed to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 as part of 7th Armoured Brigade, better known as the 'Desert Rats'. The deployment was in response to the dictator Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

's invasion of the sovereign territory of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, claiming it to rightfully belong to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. The Staffords comprised 45 Warrior APCs, with a company from the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...

 and the 1st Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire being attached to the regiment. They were involved in fierce fighting with Iraqi forces from the beginning of land operations to the end. They covered an astonishing 290 km/180 miles in just 100 hours.

Iraq War

Following a first deployment in Iraq in 2005 at the end of October 2006 the Staffordshire Regiment commenced its final overseas deployment with a second deployment in Iraq.

Amalgamation

Under Options for Change
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....

 it was announced that the Regiment would amalgamate with the Cheshire Regiment
Cheshire Regiment
The Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...

 to form a single battalion regiment called the Cheshire and Staffordshire Regiment. This amalgamation was suspended in 1994.

As part of the reorganisation
Delivering Security in a Changing World
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 and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the...

 of the infantry announced in 2004, it was announced that the Staffordshire Regiment would merge with the Cheshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment
Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters
The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division...

 into a new three-battalion regiment to be called the Mercian Regiment
Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of three existing regiments on 1 September 2007.The regiment has three regular army battalion's and one Territorial Army or reserve battalion...

. On 1 September 2007 the Staffordshire Regiment became the 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Staffords), and will operate permanently in the armoured infantry role. Initially based at Tidworth
Tidworth
Tidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire, England with a growing civilian population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east...

, the battalion moved to Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel is the district town of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of Bad since 5 August 2002. It has close ties to Walsrode, a few miles to the west...

, Germany in August 2009, where it is now permanently based as part of 7th Armoured Brigade (The Desert Rats).

Battle honours

  • Pre-WWI: Guadeloupe 1759, Martinique 1794, Hafir, South Africa 1878-79
    Anglo-Zulu War
    The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...

    , Egypt 1882, Kirbekan, Nile 1884-85, South Africa 1900-02
  • World War I:
    • France and Flanders: Mons
      Mons
      Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...

      , Retreat from Mons
      Mons
      Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...

      , Marne 1914, Aisne 1914-18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914-17, Langemarck 1914-17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers
      Aubers
      Aubers is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is west of Lille.-Heraldry:-References:*...

      , Festubert 1915 Loos
      Loos
      Loos may refer to:Places* Loos, Nord, France* Loos-en-Gohelle, France* Loos Islands, also known as Îles de Los, Guinea* Loos, British Columbia, Canada* Los, SwedenPeople*Loos Other...

      , Somme
      Somme
      Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

       1916-18, Albert 1916-18, Bazentin
      Bazentin
      Bazentin is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Situated between Amiens to the southwest and Arras to the north, on the D73 road.-Population:-External links:* * * *...

      , Delville Wood
      Delville Wood
      The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...

      , Pozières
      Pozières
      Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...

      , Guillemont
      Guillemont
      Guillemont is a commune roughly 8 miles east of Albert in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction...

      , Flers-Courcelette, Morval
      Morval
      Morval is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Morval is situated south of Arras, on the D11 road, completely surrounded by the department of the Somme...

      , Thiepval
      Thiepval
      The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...

      , Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Bapaume
      Bapaume
      Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...

       1917-18, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Arleux
      Arleux
      Arleux is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.-Heraldry:-References:*...

      , Bullecourt
      Bullecourt
      Bullecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in France.-Geography:Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. This shows Bullecourt just north of centre. Quéant is the larger of the two...

      , Hill 70, Messines 1917-18, Ypres
      Ypres
      Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...

      1917-18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcapelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917-18, St. Quentin, Bapaume
      Bapaume
      Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...

       1918, Rosières
      Rosières
      Rosières may refer to the following places in France:* Rosières, Ardèche, a commune in the department of Ardèche* Rosières, Haute-Loire, a commune in the department of Haute-Loire* Rosières, Oise, a commune in the department of Oise...

      , Avre
      Avre
      Avre may refer to:*Avre , a river in northwestern France, tributary of the Eure*Avre , a river in northern France, tributary of the Somme*Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, a military vehicle of the British Army...

      , Lys
      Lys
      Lys may refer to any of the following:Places*The Lys or Leie, a river in France and Belgium*Lys , a stream of Aosta Valley in Italy*Lys, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in France...

      , Bailleul
      Bailleul
      - France :*Bailleul, Nord, in the Nord département*Bailleul, Orne, in the Orne département*Bailleul, Somme, in the Somme département*Bailleul-aux-Cornailles, in the Pas-de-Calais département*Bailleul-la-Vallée, in the Eure département...

      , Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Drocourt-Quéant
      Drocourt-Quéant
      The Drocourt-Quéant Line was a set of mutually supporting defensive lines constructed by Germany between the French cities of Drocourt and Quéant during World War I...

      , Hindenburg Line
      Hindenburg Line
      The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...

      , Havrincourt
      Havrincourt
      Havrincourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in Nord-Pas-de-Calais in France.-Situation:The village lies about 14 kilometres south-west of Cambrai near the Havrincourt service area on the Autoroute A2...

      , Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir
      Beaurevoir
      Beaurevoir is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Population:...

      , Kortrijk
      Kortrijk
      Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...

      , Selle
      Selle
      For the composer, see Thomas SelleThe Selle is a river of Picardie, France. Rising at Catheux, just north of Crèvecœur-le-Grand, Oise, it flows past Conty, Saleux, Salouël and Pont-de-Metz before joining the Somme River at Amiens.In many places along its course, the river widens to form or fill...

      , Valenciennes
      Valenciennes
      Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...

      , Sambre
      Sambre
      The Sambre is a river in northern France and Wallonia, southern Belgium, left tributary of the Meuse River. The ancient Romans called the river Sabis.-Course:...

      , France
      France
      The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

       and Flanders
      Flanders
      Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

       1914-18
    • Gallipoli: Suvla
      Suvla
      Suvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.On 6 August 1915 it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as part of the August Offensive during the Battle of Gallipoli...

      , Landing at Suvla
      Suvla
      Suvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.On 6 August 1915 it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as part of the August Offensive during the Battle of Gallipoli...

      , Scimitar Hill, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915-16
    • Mesopotamia: Egypt 1916, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Bagdhad, Mesopotamia 1916-18
    • Italy: Piave
      Battle of the Piave River
      The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...

      , Vittorio Veneto
      Battle of Vittorio Veneto
      The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...

       1918
    • North West Frontier India: Baku
      Baku
      Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...

      , Persia 1918, North West Frontier India 1915
  • Inter-War: Afghanistan 1919
  • World War II:
    • North West Europe: Dyle, Defence of the Scheldt
      Scheldt
      The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...

      , Ypres-Comines Canal, Caen
      Caen
      Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

      , Orne
      Orne
      Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne.- History :Orne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche.- Geography :Orne is in the region of...

      , Noyers
      Noyers
      Noyers may refer to the following communes in France:*Noyers, Eure, in the Eure département*Noyers, Loiret, in the Loiret département*Noyers, Haute-Marne, in the Haute-Marne département*Noyers, Yonne, in the Yonne département...

      , Mont Picton, Brieux
      Brieux
      Brieux is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. The town famously gave its name to the ancestors of Robert the Bruce, Bruce being the Anglicisation of "Brieux"....

       Bridgehead, Falaise
      Falaise pocket
      The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...

      , Arnhem 1944, North West Europe 1940 -1944
    • North Africa: Sidi Barrani
      Sidi Barrani
      Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk, Libya.Probably named after Sidi Mohammed el Barrani, a Senussi fighter in the early 1900s, the village is mainly a Bedouin community...

      , Djebel Kesskiss, Medjez Plain, Gueriat el Atch Ridge, Gab Gab Gap, North Africa 1943
    • Italy: Landing in Sicily
      Sicily
      Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

      , Sicily 1943 Anzio
      Anzio
      Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...

      , Carroceto, Rome
      Rome
      Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

      , Advance to Tiber
      Tiber
      The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...

      , Gothic Line
      Gothic Line
      The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...

      , Marradi
      Marradi
      Marradi is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 45 km northeast of Florence...

      , Italy
      Italy
      Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

       1943 and Italy 1944-45,
    • Burma: Chindits
      Chindits
      The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines...

       1944, Burma 1943-1944
  • Post-WWII: Gulf 1991, Wadi al Batin

Alliances

- 4e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment (Châteauguay)
Royal 22e Régiment
The Royal 22nd Regiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army...

 - The Royal Victoria Regiment
Royal Victoria Regiment
The Royal Victoria Regiment is an Infantry Regiment of the Australian Army, consisting of two battalions, the 5th/6th Battalion and the 8th/7th Battalion.-History:...

 - The Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force - The Jamaica Regiment
The Jamaica Regiment
The Jamaica Regiment is the main formation of land troops in the Jamaican Defence Forces. It is a non-mechanised infantry regiment consisting of three battalions, two regular and one territorial...

 - 7th Battalion
126th Baluchistan Infantry
The 126th Baluchistan Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1825 as the 2nd Extra Battalion of Bombay Native Infantry. It was designated as the 126th Baluchistan Infantry in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 10th Baluch Regiment in 1922...

, The Baloch Regiment
Baloch Regiment
The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of the Regiment to more than fifty battalions...


Staffordshire Regiment Museum

The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum is a military museum in Staffordshire, England, dedicated to preserving the honour and history of The Staffordshire Regiment , its antecedent regiments and its successor regiment, The Mercian Regiment, from 1705 to the present day...

 (52.6596°N 1.7778°W) is located in Whittington, Staffordshire
Whittington, Staffordshire
Whittington is a village and civil parish which lies approximately 3 miles south east of Lichfield in the Lichfield district of Staffordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,591. The parish council is a joint one with Fisherwick...

, next door to Whittington Barracks. The exhibits focus on the regiment's history, activities and members, and include photographs, uniforms, weapons, medals, artifacts, memorabilia and regimental regalia. Outdoors is a replica trench
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...

 from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and several armoured fighting vehicle
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....

s.

External links

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