Military unit
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 infantry battalions: 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers; 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry; and 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment.[1]
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:[2][3]
- HQ Company, at Wolverhampton
- A (Fusilier) Company, at Sheldon and Coventry
(from HQ and B Companies, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers)
- B (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment) Company, at Kidderminster and Worcester
(from A Company, 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry)
- C (Staffords) Company, at Burton upon Trent
(from C Company, 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment)
- D (Staffords) Company, at Stoke-on-Trent
(from B Company, 3rd Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment)
- E (Light Infantry) Company, at Shrewsbury and Hereford
(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 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:[3]
- HQ Company, at Wolverhampton
- A (Cheshire) Company, at Warrington and Stockport
(from B (Cheshire) Regiment, King's and Cheshire Regiment)
- 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
(from C (Stafford) Company, West Midlands Regiment; and D (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment)) Company, East of England Regiment)
- D (Staffordshire) Company, at Wolverhampton, Kidderminster, and Burton upon Trent
(from D (Stafford) Company; and Platoon of B (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment) Company)
- F (Fusilier) Company, at Birmingham
(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)
4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment
On 1 September 2007, the regiment was re-designated as the 4th Battalion of the Mercian Regiment.[4] It now serves as the reserve infantry battalion for Cheshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, West Midlands, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire.
Current Structure
Its current structure is as follows:
References
