The West Midlands Regiment was a short-lived British Territorial Army

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

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

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), ...

s: 5th Battalion,

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

; 5th Battalion,

The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Bri ...

; and 3rd Battalion,

Staffordshire Regiment The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) (or simply "Staffords" for short) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales's Division. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of the South Staffordshire R ...

. 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: *HQ Company, at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

*A (Fusilier) Company, at Sheldon and

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

''(from HQ and B Companies, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers)'' * B (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment) Company, at

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

''(from A Company, 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry)'' *C (Staffords) Company, at

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

''(from C Company, 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment)'' *D (Staffords) Company, at

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 ...

''(from B Company, 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment)'' *E (Light Infantry) Company, at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

and

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

''(from HQ and C Companies, 5th Battalion, Light Infantry)''

Structure prior to re-designation

Not long prior to re-designation of a battalion of the

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 ...

, 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: *HQ Company, at Wolverhampton *A (Cheshire) Company, at

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 ...

and

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 ...

''(from B (Cheshire) Regiment,

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 ...

)'' *B Company, at Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent
''(from D (Cheshire) Company, King's and Cheshire Regiment)'' *C (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment) Company, at

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

''(from C (Stafford) Company, West Midlands Regiment; and D (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment)) Company,

East of England Regiment 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 An ...

)'' *D (Staffordshire) Company, at Wolverhampton,

, and Burton upon Trent
''(from D (Stafford) Company; and Platoon of B (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment) Company)'' *F (Fusilier) Company, at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

''(from A (Fusilier) Company)'' *L Company (Light Infantry), at Shrewsbury
''(from E (Light Infantry) Company, less Hereford Platoon to B (Shropshire Yeomanry) Squadron,

Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the United Kingdom's Territorial Army. It served in the armoured replacement role, providing replacement tank crews for regular armoured regiments. History The regiment was for ...

)''

4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment

On 1 September 2007, the regiment was re-designated as the 4th Battalion of the Mercian Regiment. It now serves as the reserve infantry battalion for

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 ...

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, ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, West Midlands,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Current Structure

Its current structure is as follows: *Headquarters Company, at Wolseley House,

**Rifle Platoon, at Dancox House, Worcester ** Javelin Platoon, at Kidderminster ** Band of the Mercian Regiment * B Company, 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, ...

**Rifle Platoon, 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 ...

**Mortar Platoon, in Stockport *C Company, at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

**Assault Pioneer Platoon, at Mansfield *D (Staffords) Company, at Stoke-on-Trent **Machine Gun Platoon, at Burton upon Trent

References

{{reflist Wolverhampton Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1998 Military units and formations disestablished in 2007 Mercian Regiment