Two local MPs have written to the Prime Minister about the future of the Mercian Regiment.
The letter was signed by eight Staffordshire MPs – including Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) and Chris Pincher (Tamworth) – following the announcement that the 3rd Battalion would be axed as part of cuts to the armed forces.
In their message to David Cameron, the MPs said:
“Following the announcement last week by the Secretary of State for Defence on Army 2020, I am saddened that the 3rd Battalion of the Mercian Regiment, The Staffords, will be disbanded as a regular unit.
I have received assurances that ‘most if not all of the 3rd Battalion will be absorbed into other battalions and regiments’. The Secretary of State has said that it will be up to the Mercian Regiment to determine how the Staffords name, identity and traditions can be maintained within the Mercian Regiment.
“It is important that serving soldiers have an assured future and that the traditions of the Staffords – originally raised in Lichfield – be maintained. I would very much appreciate your thoughts on how this might be achieved.”
Mr Fabricant has already written to the Colonel of the Staffordshire Regiment, Brigadier Andrew Sharpe OBE, seeking similar assurances that the identity of the Staffords is not lost.
“The Staffordshire Regiment was founded in 1705 at the King’s Head pub in Lichfield,” Mr Fabricant said.
“On September 1 2007, the Staffordshire Regiment became the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords). It is that battalion that is being disbanded though the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has given me personal assurances that virtually all serving soldiers in the battalion will be deployed elsewhere within the Army.”
Meanwhile Mr Pincher joined five other MPs to meet the Defence Secretary about preserving the name of the battalion.
Mr Hammond told the group that the government is keen for the heritage of former regiments to be preserved, but that the decision how to do that is always left to the regiment in question.
“Regiments must of course be responsible for their own history but they must also be mindful of what former and serving soldiers think,” said Mr Pincher.
