The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (3 CHESHIRE) was a part-time

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

based in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and tasked with home defence during its tenure. The battalion was formed in the latter part of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, but later disbanded forming two companies in the new local Territorial Army (TA) regiment, the

King's and Cheshire Regiment The King's and Cheshire Regiment was a regiment of the British Territorial Army, with headquarters in Warrington, Cheshire. History The regiment was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of the 5th/8th (Volunteer) Battalion of the King's Regiment a ...

. Today, the battalion's lineage is continued in Mortar Platoon, B Company, 4th Battalion,

Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) 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 Infant ...

Formation

Following the 1983 Defence White Paper, the remaining 'Volunteer Regiments' formed in 1967 and 1971 – 1975, as a result of the reorganisation of the Territorial Army (TA), with the exception of the

Yorkshire Volunteers The Yorkshire Volunteers was an infantry regiment of the British Territorial Army. The regiment was raised on 1 April 1967 and disbanded on 25 April 1993. Following subsequent amalgamations and reorganisations the regiment is represented by th ...

and

Wessex Regiment The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1995. Initially consisting of a singular battalion, the regiment was later expanded to also have a second. Formation The regiment was fo ...

, were disbanded. The former regiments were split, with their companies distributing form new TA battalions being formed in the regular infantry regiments. Therefore, on 5 April 1988 the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was formed from two companies of the

Mercian Volunteers 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. Formation The regiment was form ...

, along with three new companies formed in 1986.Drenth, p. 113. The new battalion's structure was as follows: * Battalion Headquarters, in

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

* Headquarters Company, in Runcorn (formed in 1986) * A Company, in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

(by redesignation of A (Cheshire) Coy, 1 MERCIAN) — (successor to 7th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment) * B Company, in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

(formed in 1986) * C Company, in

Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...

(by redesignation of C Coy, 2 MERCIAN) — (successor to 4th/7th (Territorial) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment) * D Company, in

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

with a platoon in

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

(formed in 1986) * E (Home Service Force) Company, in RuncornBritish Army, Master Order of Battle 1991 – Forces within the United Kingdom. Retrieved 9 October 2021. As part of the battalion's

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

commitment, in the event of mobilisation and war with the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

, the battalion would move to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and became the communications defence unit for Commander Communications, BAOR.

Reductions

In 1992, as part of the Options for Change reform announced following the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the battalion was reduced to a three company order of battle, thereby bringing it in-line with the Regular's infantry battalions. Therefore, as part of the reductions, on 1 April 1993; B Company in Macclesfield was disbanded, while battalion headquarters and headquarters company were moved to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. On 1 April 1995, as part of the minor Front Line First reform, the battalion was converted to a Fire Support Battalion and the new companies used battle honours for designations. Salerno Company was in Stockport by redesignation of A Coy, with the

MILAN Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

platoon in Macclesfield, while Gaza Company was in Crewe with its mortar platoon in Ellesmere Port and General Purpose Machine-Gun (Support Fire) (GPMG (SF)} platoon in Northwich by amalgamation of C and D Coys. The battalion's new structure was as follows: * Battalion Headquarters * Salerno Company, in Stockport (formed by redesignation of A Coy) ** Milan (AT) Platoon, in Macclesfield * Gaza Company, in Crewe ** Mortar Platoon, in Ellesmere Port (formed by amalgamation of C and D Coys) ** GPMG (SF) Platoon, in Northwich In 1998, the TA was again reduced, this time with an emphasis on the reduction of the infantry and expansion of the armoured (yeomanry) and royal Artillery (air defence elements). As part of this reorganisation, the infantry-heavy TA was significantly reduced, especially in the area of fire support. Another change was the formation of new Territorial Army Regiments. One of the new regiments was the

, which became the successor to the TA in the following counties;

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, and Cheshire.Drenth, p. 182. Therefore, on 1 July 1999 the battalion was disbanded with HQ Company of the 5th/8th Battalion, The King's Regiment and Salerno Coy amalgamating to form B (Cheshire) Company in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, while Salerno Coy was reduced to a platoon, as Mortar Platoon in Stockport. At the same time, Gaza Company was redesignated as D (Cheshire) Company based in Crewe, with its GPMG (SF) Platoon in Northwich.

Further Lineage

On 1 April 2006 the King's and Cheshire Regiment was broken up, and B (Cheshire) Company became A (Cheshire) Company in the

West Midlands Regiment 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. History The regiment was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of three territorial in ...

Peninsula Barracks The Peninsula Barracks are a group of military buildings in Winchester, Hampshire. History The barracks, which were originally known as the Upper Barracks, Winchester, were built in the early 20th century on the site of King's House, Winchester ...

, Warrington and Stockport, and D (Cheshire) Company became D (Cheshire) Company, in Crewe with the Mortar platoon in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

. On 24 August 2007, these companies transferred to the new

4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment 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. History The regiment was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of three territorial in ...

, maintaining their location, and A Coy maintaining its subtitle '(Cheshire)'. Under the Army 2020 programme, D (Cheshire) Coy was redesignated as D (Staffords) Coy and consolidated in Stoke-on-Trent, thereby ending the Cheshire lineage there. Under this programme, A (Cheshire) Coy was also disbanded and the Warrington, thereby ending the Cheshire lineage in the

. In 2015, a further supplement was provided to the Army 2020 programme entitled '

Army 2020 Refine Army 2020 Refine was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Army 2020 Refine The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced that the structure of the Reac ...

', and the following occurred: new B Company was formed at Ubique Barracks,

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

while new platoons were formed in Ellesmere Port and Stockport (Mortar Platoon). At the same time as the above changes, D (Staffords) Coy was consolidated in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, while B Coy was consolidated in Cheshire, thereby re-linking the lineage. In addition, A Company, 4th Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment moved to Peninsula Barracks, Warrington restarting the northern lineage.

Footnotes

References

* * {{cite book, last=Frederick, first=J. B. M., title=Lineage book of British land forces 1660 – 1978 : biographical outlines of cavalry, yeomanry, armour, artillery, infantry, marines and air force land troops of regular and reserve forces (Volume I), publisher=Microform Academic, year=1984, isbn=978-1851170074, publication-place=Wakefield, oclc=830764316 Military units and formations established in 1988 Military units and formations in Cheshire Cheshire Regiment Battalions of the British Army