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

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

based in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, 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 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 Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

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

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

(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, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

(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, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...

(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. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

with a platoon in

Northwich Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Ma ...

(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 ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

commitment, in the event of mobilisation and war with the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

, the battalion would move to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

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 Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, 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 in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. 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 ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

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 ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, 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 an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, 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, an unfin ...

, 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. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

. 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 the mid-to-late 2010s, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. As its name suggests, it was a "refinement" of Army 2020, an early 2010s reorganisa ...

', 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 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, 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