Light Infantry and Mercian Volunteers

The Light Infantry and Mercian Volunteers was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1971 to 1975.

History

The battalion was formed on the 1 April 1971, from the cadres of former Midland infantry battalions that had been reduced as a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper and formation of the much smaller TAVR. Its initial structure was:

• Headquarters, at Wolseley House, Wolverhampton
• A (Worcestershire Regiment) Company, at Worcester<br/><small>(from 7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment)</small>
• B (5th/6th Battalion Staffordshire Regiment) Company, at Stoke-on-Trent<br/><small>(from 5th/6th Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment)</small>
• C (King's Shropshire Light Infantry) Company, at Wellington<br/><small>(from 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry)</small>
• D (Herefordshire Light Infantry) Company, at Ross-on-Wye<br/><small>(from 1st Battalion, Herefordshire Light Infantry)</small>
• E Company, at Whittimere Street drill hall, Walsall<br/><small>(newly raised)</small>

Only four years later, however, the regiment was broken up and the companies were distributed amongst other battalions. Namely: A, B, and E Companies to the 2nd Battalion, Mercian Volunteers as A, B, and D Companies respectively; C Company to 5th Battalion, The Light Infantry, as E Company; and D Company to 6th Battalion, The Light Infantry, with the same lettering.

Deputy Honorary Colonels

The regiment didn't have an Honorary Colonel as a whole, however from 1971–1972 each company maintained their own Deputy Honorary Colonel, in succession to the previous unit. These were:

• A Company: Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander W.R.H. Pettigrew,
• B Company: Colonel Charles J. Baines,
• C & D Companies: Lieutenant-Colonel Guy M. Thorneycroft,

References