Issue 9: April 2015 The Mercian Family Newsletter The Heart of ’s

News

th Regimental News - An Afghanistan Commemoration Service took place at St Pauls Cathedral, London on Friday 13 March. The service was attended by the Queen and the Royal Family, senior politicians and senior Armed Forces

Officers.

21 families of Mercian soldiers killed in action in this conflict attended the service.

After the service a march past was held with HRH, The Prince of Wales taking the salute. One of the marching

contingents was made up of Afghanistan veterans, where a number of ex-Worcestershire and and personnel took part.

In sport, 1 MERCIAN were narrowly defeated by 1 Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) in the semi-final of the Championship Vase (BACV) during March.

Rivalling the Six Nations for suspense, it was an unfortunate end to an incredible inaugural season for 1 MERCIAN. Despite their relative inexperience as a side, they finished five points clear in their league to earn promotion and were the final Infantry Battalion competing in the British Army Championship Vase.

The match finished with 1 MERCIAN on 15 points and 1 RHA on 22 points. A full match report is available here.

1 MERCIAN - D (Dragon) Company, 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment sent half of its manpower to Lydd Ranges, Kent during early March, as they continued preparations for deployment to Canada later this year.

The live firing package was not only valuable as a training device, but also represented the first time the Company has conducted training as a formed unit away from the rest of 1 MERCIAN. It also provided a welcome opportunity for the soldiers of Dragon Company to get their ‘soldiering’ heads back on, after a long period of conducting armoured fighting vehicle training.

Private Wiley was the winner of The Martin Robinson Memorial Trophy for best private soldier in A Company.

Alongside its impressive rugby union performance, the 1 MERCIAN volleyball team also entered the 1 Armoured Brigade tournament during March.

Despite only forming six months ago, the team which trains weekly was eager to impress. Using the skills developed since October last year, they began brilliantly, beating both 4th Battalion, The Rifles and the Fusiliers.

Following these impressive displays, the team made it to the final against The Royal Tank Regiment. The skill of 1

MERCIAN team shone through and they clinched victory in a nail biting finish.

2 MERCIAN - Soldiers from A (Grenadier) Company, 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment deployed to Sennybridge on Exercise Grim Grenadier last month, in order to complete a number of military competitions designed to push the troops to their limits.

The Martin Robinson Memorial Trophy is competed for individually, and involves a military knowledge test, 10km navigation exercise, battlefield casualty drills test, two mile best effort with 25kg and a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear drills test. It is awarded in honour of Martin Robinson, a 1st Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment soldier killed on operations in Northern Ireland in 1972.

Second is The Keenan Cup which is won by the best section commander. During this competition, individual patrols have 18 hours to complete a number of tasks. These include contact drills, stand-off reconnaissance, artillery target indication, ambushes, a section attack and indigenous agent forces meets.

Private Wiley was the winner of The Martin Robinson Memorial Trophy for best private soldier in A Company. Corporal Williamson was winner of ‘The Grenade’ for best section commander in A Company. Also of note is Corporal Bradley.

He was the best shot in Grenadier Company and didn't miss a single shot during the shooting competition.

Elsewhere, the majority of 2 MERCIAN is busy completing is move back to its home in Dale Barracks, Chester from

Cyprus, as its six month UN peacekeeping tour comes to an end at Ledra Palace, Nicosia.

The battalion also took on 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps in the semi-finals of the Army

Boxing Championship at the start of April. Despite boxing bravely, 2 MERCIAN were defeated. Full results with images from the night will be available in the May newsletter.

4 MERCIAN - The reserve Battalion focused on Military Annual Training Tests (MATTs) during March as the training year came to a close. This was a combination of the standard format tests which incorporated point to point map reading.

At the end of the month, 4 MERCIAN also deployed a small team to Uganda in order to train and help assess the

Ugandan Army for its upcoming UN tour. Often seen as having a dry, sunny climate, at this time of year Gortex is a must due to heavy rainfall. Recruiting wise, 4 MERCIAN continues to succeed. 114 new faces have joined in the last year, including those from our Regular

Battalions. Beginning March 2015, soldiers leaving the Army must visit a Reserve unit during their last 12 months of service, leading to hopes that even more MERCIAN soldiers decide to join the 4th

Battalion.

Looking forward, April 2015 is the start of the new training year and

with it further MATTs to ensure attention can turn elsewhere. 4 MERCIAN will deploy on its camp in August in Croatia before it joins

2 MERCIAN in Kenya in November. - After focusing on recruiting during the first two months of 2015, the band have The Band of The Mercian Regiment begun their annual camp in Cyprus. They are being supported by musicians from The Royal Signals (Northern) Band, The Waterloo Band and Bugles of the Rifles, The Lancashire Artillery Band and The Army Medical Services Band.

Cadets - Cadet Georgina Billington, Dudley Detachment, B Company Staffordshire and West Midlands Army Cadet

Force has been awarded the British Red Cross Humanitarian Citizen Certificate. It was presented during an award ceremony by the Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Paul Chandrasekharan Sabapathy CBE.

It was awarded after she found her elderly neighbour in a distressed state. With her condition worsening, Georgina assessed the casualty, began CPR and called an ambulance. A West Midlands Ambulance Service responder was

so impressed by the efficiency of her CPR that he asked her to continue to assist in his treatment. Unfortunately despite all their efforts they were unable to save the patient.

. Cadet Billington now looks forward to meeting the Princess Royal, HRH Princess Anne at a Reception for Young Achievers towards the

end of April.

Elsewhere, Private Ollie Ruff who left Hereford and Worcester after their Annual Camp in 2015 has now passed out from the Infantry Training Centre (ITC) at Catterick. A former cadet

from the Stourbridge detachment, he will now join 1st Battalion, The

Mercian Regiment in Bulford.

Regimental Mascot - The Mercian Regiment Mascot Private XXX has two full time handlers, the Ram Major and the Ram Orderly.

March saw the handover of duties from Ram Orderly Private Seager

of 1 MERCIAN, to Private McLean of 1 MERCIAN.

The Ram Orderly conducts a variety of tasks to ensure that Pte Derby XXX is in good order for the huge number of parades he attends. From daily washing and brushing of his coat, to the oiling of his horns, Private Seager has not been far from his charge for the last year. The new Ram Orderly Private McLean, from Manchester has deployed on Operations to Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.

Infantry Training Centre (ITC) - Recruits at Catterick Garrison’s ITC marked the end of their basic training on Friday March 13 th 2015. Colonel Hadfield from The Mercian Regiment was invited to inspect the soldiers, which included various Mercian Regiment recruits as they enjoyed their passing out parade. Family, friends and the Regimental Mascot, Private Derby XXX were all in attendance to congratulate them on completing training.

Other News

Private who was awarded the (VC) for his actions during the

(10 –13 March 1915), was remembered with the laying of a commemorative stone at a memorial service in Derby during March. It was laid exactly a century after the action which saw him awarded the British Army’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross.

th On 12 March 1915, Jacob was leading a daring mission on the battlefields of Northern which would ultimately cost him his life. On his own initiative, the soldier from 1st Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters crept to within a few yards of a very large number of the enemy. The enemy were massed on the flank of an advanced company of his battalion and so he threw bombs on them. His action caused the enemy to retire, thus relieving the situation. Private Rivers performed a second similar act of great bravery on the same day, again causing the enemy to withdraw. He was killed on this occasion and his remains were never found.

The Regimental Mascot, Private Derby XXX was in attendance for the commemoration.

Private Thomas James Dale who served in 8th Battalion, The North during the Great War was finally provided with a headstone on Monday 23rd March. Private Dale never received a military headstone when he died of his wounds in 1919 having served on the Western Front since 1915.

His family, serving members of the Regiment, and The Staffordshire Regiment Association, as well as a bugler from

The Band of the Mercian Regiment were present for the service at Longton Cemetery, Stoke-on-Trent.

The Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire) has begun fundraising to preserve the future of the museum.

Their new website and Facebook are available via the provided links. Further details are provided in the attachment.

The Museum of The Mercian Regiment (WFR Collection) now has its own official social media. It’s Facebook and

Twitter accounts can be found via the links provided.

The Mansfield Chad Awards were attended by

Colonel Sneath and Captain Watts, Officer

Commanding, C Company, 4 MERCIAN on Wednesday 25th March. The Mercian Regiment sponsors the ‘Outstanding Bravery’ Award. Colonel

Sneath and Captain Watts presented this to Janet

Thacker who is a member of the Sir John Eastwood

Hospice volunteer team. Despite battling a life

threatening illness herself, she has continued to conduct her voluntary work.

Uniforms. A small supply of uniforms and accoutrements, such as swords are currently available to loan from RHQ for weddings and official occasions. If an Officer who is leaving Battalion would like to sell his No.1 or Mess dress, he can leave it with RHQ, so that new officers may purchase it. Any donations are kindly accepted. Please contact the Regimental Adjutant for more information.

Regimental Crockery. RHQ MERCIAN is conducting an internal sale of Regimental Crockery by means of a silent auction. Please see the attached document for further information.

Events

A comprehensive list of Regimental events is available at the back of the newsletter. For further information on any of the below please email the Communications Officer.

April 2015

th Worcester Marathon – 12 April – Eleven soldiers from 2 MERCIAN will take part in the arduous Worcester Marathon to raise awareness of the Regiment. The Regimental Support Team will also be out in force recruiting.

Mercian Regimental Officers’ Dinner Night – 24th April - The Mercian Regiment will hold a Regimental Dinner night in the Defence Academy Officers’ Mess, Shrivenham.

Worcester Rugby Match – 25th April – A rugby union match between 1 MERCIAN and 104 Regt RA will take place at Sixways Stadium, home of Worcester Warriors. It takes place directly after the Worcester Warriors season ending match. The Regimental Support Team will be out in force recruiting.

Armed Forces Day – 28th June – Returns NLT 1st May - Dudley Council is celebrating Armed Forces Day at Himley Hall & Park from 1100 – 1700 this year. There will be a presentation ceremony to veterans living in the borough who have received a UK Armed Forces Veteran Badge. If you would like to attend, please complete the attached form.

Fundraising / Charity Update

Donation - Corporal Jason Stonier of D Company, 4 MERCIAN presented a cheque for £800 to The Mercian Regiment Benevolence Fund on Monday 23rd March. Through Life Care Officer, Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Bill

Temminck accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity.

D Company raised the funds during the last 12 months through a variety of small, charity focused events ranging from regular quiz nights, prize raffles and Company dinner evenings.

Major Ian Bond, Officer Commanding D Company said “Rather than attempting one all-encompassing event, we concentrated on a sustained but low key approach. I’m very pleased with the result.”

th Fundraiser - On Sunday 26 April, Private Dean, 2 MERCIAN will run his first ultra-marathon to raise money for the Mercian Benevolent Fund. He has spent the past few months training for the event and despite being

his first 'ultra' distance race, he hopes to complete it within nine hours.

The course is 45 miles long and involves an ascent and descent of 4000ft.

The Mercian Benevolence Fund provides support to past and present

members of The Mercian Regiment and its antecedent Regiment’s, who

find themselves in hardship, need or distress. If you would like to show your support, you can sponsor him here.

On the 16th April, Colonel Sneath is cycling the Way of the Roses to raise money for the Museum of the Mercian Regiment (Worcestershire and On Sherwood Foresters Collection) in Castle. The route from

Morecambe to Bridlington is 170 miles in total.

Due to funding cuts that will come into effect during 2017, the purpose is to raise money that will help sustain the museum afterwards. You can sponsor Colonel Sneath here.

Obituaries

It is with regret we inform you that the below have passed away. Our condolences are with their families and friends. Full obituaries will be in The 2015 Mercian Eagle.

Private Dean Cauldley died at the Marie Curie Cancer Centre in Belfast on Thursday 12th March 2015. He was a

casualty on HERRICK 10 with a life changing injury. However, he overcame this to return back to work in the 2 MERCIAN. In April 2014, Private Cauldley was diagnosed with cancer which he was receiving treatment for in Belfast.

Private Jamie Sawyer died whilst deployed on a United Nations Peace Keeping Tour in Cyprus on Thursday 12th March 2015. He was conducting Adventure Training in the Mediterranean Sea when he was involved in a tragic and

fatal canoeing accident. Private Sawyer was a Royal Logistic Corps Chef attached to the 2 Mercian Battle Group. The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment Battlegroup are serving operationally with the United Nations

Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, and are based in the capital city Nicosia.

th Lance Corporal Colin Bunting of Allenton, Derby died on 14 March 2015 aged 59. Colin joined 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in April 1971 and served until December 1985.

Private Lawrence Gardner of Malvern passed away at Worcester Royal Hospital on the 19th of March 2015. Lawrence

was called up for National Service on 20th September 1951 and after basic training at Lichfield joined the 1st Battalion,

The in Malaya.

Sergeant Harry Collins of Leicester died on 20th March 2015 aged 91. Harry enlisted into 2nd/5th Battalion, The

Sherwood Foresters in June 1942.

rd Private Gerald Ready died on 23 March 2015. Gerald enlisted into 1st Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters in August

1958 and served until June 1964

Regimental Annual Calendar

 Friday 24 April 15 - Regimental Dinner Night

 Friday 8 May 15 - Chester Races

 Sunday 10 May 15 - MERCIAN Shoot

 Saturday 25 April 15 - Gallipoli Memorial London

 Saturday 6 June 15 - Worcester Reunion (For Glorious 1st June)

 Saturday 27 June 15 - Sephton Trophy

 Sunday 5 July 15 - Crich Pilgrimage

 Tuesday 1 September 15 - Formation Day

 Sunday 6 September 15 - Mons Day

 Saturday 12 September 15 - Staffordshire Reunion (For Arnhem Day)

 Friday 18 September 15 - Alma Day

 Sunday 4 October 15 - Uttoxeter Races

 Thursday 5 November 15 - Field of Remembrance

 Sunday 8 November 15 - Remembrance

 Monday 21 December 15 - Ferozeshah

 Wednesday 17 Feb 16 - Meeanee Day

 Wednesday 6 April 16 - Badajoz Day

For further information on any of the below please email the Communications Officer.

Follow The Mercian Regiment On Social Media