South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot and the 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II.
South Staffordshire Regiment
1881–1959
2 Regular battalions
2 Militia and Special Reserve battalions
2–3 Territorial and Volunteer battalions
Mercian Brigade (1948–59)
1 Bn: The Pump and Tortoise
2 Bn: The Staffordshire Knots
Green, red and gold[1]
Come, Lasses and Lads
Arnhem, 17 Sep
Ferozeshah, 21 Dec
Reduced to a single Regular Army battalion after the Second World War, the regiment was amalgamated, in 1959, with the North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) to form the Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) which was later, in 2007, amalgamated with the Cheshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment to form the Mercian Regiment.
History[edit]
Formation and antecedents[edit]
The regiment was formed as part of the Childers Reforms on 1 July 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th and 80th regiments of foot, which became the regular 1st and 2nd battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment.[2] Militia and Rifle Volunteers of south Staffordshire were also incorporated in the new regiment. The battalions formed in 1881 were as follows:[3]
Regimental museum[edit]
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum is based at Whittington Barracks near Lichfield.[31]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[3]
Regimental Colonels have been:[3]