Hundred in rally to save Mercian Regiment

Former members of the armed forces turned out in force to protest against the Staffords being consigned to history.

Under Government plans the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment will be disbanded, and military veterans gathered at the spiritual home of the unit in a show of defiance yesterday.

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They say the axing of the regiment will break a centuries-old direct link between the region and the military and are calling for the name to be retained some way.

More than 100 people held a minute's silence in Lichfield's Garden of Remembrance before laying a wreath outside the King's Head on Bird Street – the place where the regiment was formed in 1705. Protests were also taking place yesterday in others parts of the country.

Paul Cundliffe, aged 67, was one of many out in support of the regiment because of its vital heritage and place in the community.

"This is the second time the Government have amalgamated the regiment," he said. "They just keep cutting."

The King's Head is the spiritual home of the regiment having been formed there in 1705. It came as other rallies took place across the country to show anger against cuts to the Armed Forces.

Dave Bradshaw, aged 41, is chairman of the Lichfield branch of the Staffordshire Regiment Association and served in the former Staffordshire Regiment during the Gulf War.

"The Staffords have already been cut once before – we do not want it again," he said.

"These protests are going on up and down the country. We all have a voice – and the Government needs to realise they are losing votes. This is doing away with the ties to the county."

Dennis Smart, aged 69, of Weston Road, Lichfield, served as a corporal in the Staffordshire Regiment as well as spending time in the TA.

"I was disgusted when I heard the news about the regiment being axed," he said.

"The Government are getting rid of a 300-year history – I just cannot believe it.

"I just do not think there is a need for cuts in the Armed Forces – we've not got the manpower."

Peter Miller, aged 55, of St Margarets Road, Lichfield, said of the event: "It will just be a sad day when the regiment goes. I think the plans are done and dusted now really.

"It's really disappointing to lose the regiment."

The protest was organised by the Lichfield branch of the Staffordshire Regiment Association.

The Army is losing 17 major units, including the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, under plans to cut 20,000 regular soldiers by 2020.

Thousands of signatures have already been collected on petitions calling for the Staffords name to be retained along with its history.