South Staffordshire Regiment | |
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Active | 1881–1959 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Role | Line infantry |
Size | 2 Regular battalions 2 Militia and Special Reserve battalions |
Part of | Mercian Brigade (1948–59) |
Garrison/HQ | Whittington Barracks, Lichfield |
Nickname(s) | 1 Bn: The Pump and Tortoise 2 Bn: The Staffordshire Knots |
Colors | Green, red and gold[1] |
March | Come, Lasses and Lads |
Mascot(s) | Staffordshire Bull Terrier |
Anniversaries | Arnhem, 17 Sep Ferozeshah, 21 Dec |
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.
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.