Save Our Staffords

The Sentinel, November 10, 2012

THE Staffords’ historic name has been saved – thanks to The Sentinel’s readers.

More than 17,000 of you signed the petition to ensure the Staffords’ centuries-old traditions would not be lost in an Army restructuring.

And now The Mercian Regiment has announced that it will incorporate the Staffords’ name into its official title, following the Army 2020 reorganisation.

The regiment will become The Mercian Regiment (Cheshires, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords).

Veteran Ron Bradeley, who helped deliver the petitions to 10 Downing Street, welcomed the news.

The 83-year-old, of Keele Road, Newcastle, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that the Staffords’ name will be retained. I didn’t think we’d be able to save the battalion, but I always believed we should save the Staffords’ name.

“It’s all about pride – pride in your county and pride in your regiment. Everyone in Staffordshire always wanted to join the Staffordshire Regiment.”

The Government announced in July that 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) would be disbanded as part of plans to reduce the Regular Army by 20,000.

This prompted The Sentinel to launch its campaign to Save the Staffords.

Fred Williams and Ray Kimberley crack open the bubbly

The Mercian Regiment has announced its intention to retain the Staffords’ historic name in its title. It comes after 17,000 people across Staffordshire and beyond signed The Sentinel’s petition to save the Staffords. Phil Corrigan reports

CAMPAIGNERS, veterans and politicians have welcomed the news that the Staffords’ name and traditions will live on.

When the Government announced in July that 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) would be disbanded as part of an Army reorganisation, there were fears that hundreds of years of history would be coming to an end.

But The Mercian Regiment is now set to change its official title to include the Staffords’ name, ensuring the unit’s traditions will continue.

Once the reorganisation takes place, the regiment will be known as The Mercian Regiment (Cheshires, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords).

This will reflect the names of the three historic infantry units which merged to form the Mercian Regiment in 2007.

Each of the regiment’s three surviving battalions will also bear the Staffords’ name in the same way, meaning all the regiment’s soldiers will become part of the Staffords’ ongoing history.

Ever since the announcement, thousands of people, including many with a personal connection to the Staffords, have joined The Sentinel’s campaign to save the Staffords’ name.

They have included members of the Staffordshire Regiment Association, who helped persuade more than 17,000 people to sign a petition, which veterans eventually took to 10 Downing Street.

Fred Williams, secretary of the Stoke-on-Trent branch of the Staffordshire Regiment Association, believes the result is a great victory for those who fought so hard to save the Staffords.

The 70-year-old, from Fegg Hayes, left, said: “This is a great result. It just shows what we can achieve when all the branches pull together. The Sentinel has probably played a bigger part than anyone in this, so they deserve a lot of credit.

“People across Staffordshire feel very strongly about the Staffords. Whenever we went out to supermarkets and other places to talk to people about the Staffords, everyone was always right behind us.

“While its no longer just a county regiment, as the Mercian Regiment covers a wider area, it was so important to keep the Staffords’ name. It was one of the oldest regiments in the Army.

“This result means that the Staffords’ name has been saved for all time now.”

Veteran Ray Kimberley trained with the North Staffordshire Regiment before going on to serve with the South Staffordshire Regiment in Egypt and Cyprus.

He believes that retaining the Staffords’ name will not only be of symbolic value, but will have practical implications as well.

The 78-year-old, of Macclesfield Road, Leek said: “Keeping the Staffords’ name will be so important for recruitment in the area. I was just speaking to a young lad at an event at Catterick the other day. His dad and grandad had both been in the Staffords, and he was determined to follow them. It was a family tradition.”

The Staffords trace their history back to March 26, 1705, when General Luke Lillingstone raised the 38th Regiment of Food at Kings Head, Lichfield during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Over the next three centuries a number of further regiments would be formed in Staffordshire, which would serve in theatres from the West Indies to Africa and Europe.

In 1959 the North Staffordshire and South Staffordshire Regiments merged to form the Staffordshire Regiment, which would be amalgamated into the Mercian Regiment in 2007.

The Staffords became a battalion within the regiment, and last year they completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Throughout this long history there has been an unbroken link between the various units and the county of Staffordshire – a connection which many feared would be lost in the latest reorganisation of the Army.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced in July that 3 Mercian, along with 16 other units, would be lost as part of plans to reduce the Regular Army by 20,000 soldiers by 2018.

Since then the Mercian Regiment has been looking at how it can maintain links with the geographic area from which it draws it recruits – work that has culminated in today’s announcement.

A spokesman for the Army said: “The Army 2020 announcement outlined that The Mercian Regiment would reduce by one battalion, named as the 3rd Battalion under the impending reorganisation of the Army.

“To achieve this, The Mercian Regiment will conduct a Regimental reorganisation. This includes detailed work on wide ranging manning considerations and how best to preserve key aspects of Mercian and antecedent heritage.

“This work is underway and will result in a plan by which three regular battalions move into two. As part of this, The Mercian Regiment has considered how it can best preserve the linkages it enjoys with all the counties from which it draws, and will continue to draw, its soldiers and which provide such outstanding support.”

The regiment’s proposals still have to be endorsed by the Army, and will be subject to formal scrutiny in the near future.

The fate of the 650 soldiers currently serving with 3 Mercian still remains uncertain, although Mr Hammond has insisted that they will not be at any greater risk of redundancy than any other soldier in the Army.

Stoke-on-Trent North MP Joan Walley has been highly critical of the approach the Government has taken in reorganising the Army.

But she has also welcomed the news that the Staffords’ name and traditions will not be consigned to the history books.

She said: “This decision to retain the Staffords’ name is long overdue, but it is to be welcomed, and it is a tribute to all those who have campaigned over the last few months.

“I believe that the reorganisation of the Army has been flawed. But at least now we will retain the Staffords’ history and heritage.”

The 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment in 2009.

IT SEEMS, then, that 297 years of history and heroism does count for something.

Perhaps not to the accountants at the Ministry of Defence – but to the Mercian Regiment top brass who have taken the eminently sensible decision to preserve the name The Staffords.

In doing so they have recognised the importance of this heritage ‘brand’ and acknowledged the unique association the people of North Staffordshire and the county as a whole have with one of the oldest regiments in the British Army.

Back in July when The Sentinel launched its Save Our Staffords campaign, there were those who felt we were wasting our time.

But they underestimated the strength of feeling in our neck of the woods towards what is OUR local unit.

Yes, this newspaper was able to trawl through its archives to demonstrate how those who had served with the regiment in its various forms had distinguished themselves in many theatres of war during the last century or so.

However, the vast majority of our stories supporting the campaign came from readers who have a very strong emotional connection to the Staffords because they themselves, or a loved one, have served or are currently serving with the unit.

These tales highlighted the courage, selflessness and professionalism of hundreds of individuals who represent just a fraction of the wider Staffords family and tell just a small part of its story.

When Sentinel journalists and Staffordshire Regimental Association members knocked on the door of 10 Downing Street last week with a 17,000-strong petition calling for the Staffords name to be saved we knew the decision was imminent and we hoped to influence the powers-that-be.

Today we celebrate a victory of sorts: A victory for common sense and a decision which means that future generations of recruits from Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, the Moorlands, Stafford and Stone will be able to choose to join their local regiment and follow in the footsteps of their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to support the campaign and show Our Boys just what they mean to us.

MARTIN TIDESWELL

Bob Copeland, left, and Ron Bradeley prepare to hand over the petition on the steps of 10 Downing Street.

By Mary-ann Astle, The Sentinel, November 2, 2012.

TWO veterans knocked on the door of 10 Downing Street to hand over a petition signed by more than 17,000 people calling for the name of the Staffordshire Regiment to be preserved.

The Sentinel, joined forces with the Staffordshire Regimental Association, to launch the Save Our Staffords campaign in July.

It came after the Ministry of Defence announced the 3rd Battalion Mercian Regiment (Staffords) is to be scrapped as part of the Government’s cuts to the Armed Forces.

Yesterday, Staffords veterans Ron Bradeley and Bob Copeland took a box containing 17,000 signatures and coupons filled in by Sentinel readers to 10 Downing Street for the attention of Prime Minister David Cameron.

Ron, of Keele Road, Newcastle, joined the North Staffordshire Regiment in 1947, before going on to serve with the Airborne Forces.

The 83-year-old said: “I really hope the Government and the Army take notice of what the people of Staffordshire want.

“The Staffordshire Regiment is one of the oldest in the country and also one of the best.

“If the regiment is to be scrapped then the very least we want is to ensure the name is preserved.”

He added: “The Staffordshire Regiment is very well thought of in the county and everyone knows someone with links to the Staffords.

“My uncle Bernie Durose served with the Staffords until March 1918 when he was killed when a shell landed on top of him at the Somme.”

Fellow veteran Bob Copeland, of Hawthorne Road, Chesterton, joined the Staffords in 1963 and served for eight years.

The 66-year-old said: “I initially joined the Worcesters but was transferred after passing out. The Worcesters were going into combat and I couldn’t go because I was under 18 years old.”

Bob went on to serve in Kenya, Belize and Cyprus with the Staffords.

He said: “The Staffords is a family and it’s important to keep a family together.

“When you’re a Stafford you know there will always be help for you if you need it.

“It’s an historic regiment and must not be allowed to disappear completely.

“Seventeen thousand people have backed this campaign and I hope that sends a powerful message.”

The Government plans to reduce the size of the Army by 20,000 troops by 2018.

The Sentinel understands that a meeting is due to take place in the next few weeks at which Mercian top brass will discuss the fate of the Staffords.

Deputy Editor of The Sentinel Richard Bowyer said:“It is clear from the number of people who have signed The Sentinel’s petition to save the name of the Staffords that the people of this county are determined that the regiment’s name is preserved.

“We hope that the Army listen to the people of Staffordshire who have spoken with one voice.

“For all those who have fought and fallen while proudly wearing the regiment’s badge, we ask the military’s top brass to save our name.”

THE London cabbie was insistent. He wouldn’t take any money off us.

“Nah,” he said, motioning to Staffordshire Regiment veterans Bob Copeland and Ron Bradeley. “If your trip’s anything to do with these gentlemen then there won’t be any charge.”

That reaction was typical of the way in which we were greeted by everyone on our way to the Prime Minister’s house.

A train journey with ex-soldiers like Bob and Ron makes a refreshing change.

They are a couple of scallies at heart – eager to tell their tales of Army life and their pride at having worn the Staffordshire knot – and the perfect blokes to knock on call-me-Dave’s front door.

Bob regaled us with the story of how, ‘drunk as a monkey’ he had nicked a Union Flag from the Regiment’s temporary base at Connaught barracks in Dover.

He was put on ‘jankers’ for seven days as a punishment but it didn’t stop him using the flag as a bedspread for the rest of his Army career. He’s still got it to this day.

At 66, Bob’s knees aren’t what they used to be but he gamely traversed the streets of the capital, plus the tube and its numerous staircases, without complaint.

As did 83-year-old Ron who informed us that the last time he’d been on the Underground wearing a beret was in 1949.

On arrival at Downing Street the heavens opened and we all got soaked. It was if the Almighty himself thought it was a crying shame the Staffords were under threat.

The first gun-toting copper we met was in agreement. “I think it’s terrible that they’re trying to do away with all this history and heritage.”

His colleague in the security made The Sentinel’s journalists put all their gear through a scanner but waved Bob and Ron through.

“Searching these gentlemen who’ve served their country would be an insult,” he said.

We took a few photographs and then Bob knocked on the door of Number 10, explaining very succinctly to the poor fella whose job it is to receive petitions why we were there.

On the way home Bob said: “17,000 signatures is alright but how many people are there in North Staffordshire? It’s such a shame more couldn’t be bothered.”

He’s right and it left me wondering whether apathy could be the enemy which finally does for the Staffords after 297 years.

MARTIN TIDESWELL

The Sentinel, October 30, 2012

THE first paragraph of the correspondence from the nice man at the Metropolitan Police is wonderfully quaint and reassuring.

‘Hello Ma’am, Your application to deliver a petition by hand to the door of number 10 Downing Street has been booked in for Thursday, October 1, at 1.15pm.’

After months of campaigning Sentinel journalists, including yours truly – together with Staffordshire Regimental Association representatives – will be calling in on the Prime Minister later this week.

We will be presenting a 17,000-name petition calling for the name of our county regiment to be preserved amid brutal Army cutbacks.

Our campaign was prompted by the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) decision to remove 3 Mercian (Staffords) from the Order of Battle (ORBAT) – thus ending the county’s 297-year link with the British Army.

It is part of a huge reduction in the Army which will diminish its fighting strength from 102,000 to just 82,000 over the next few years and place a much heavier reliance on the Territorial Army.

Of course, it isn’t just the Staffords who have the axe hanging over them and other proud units are facing oblivion too.

But here in North Staffordshire feelings are running high and veterans and their relatives, serving soldiers and their families and the general public have united to oppose the MoD’s proposal.

We can’t speak for other areas or other units, but what we can definitely say is that the Staffords are hugely important to local people.

Since the beginning of July, The Sentinel has published more than 100 stories detailing the courage and selflessness of those who have served with the Staffordshire Regiment, from the Great War to the present day.

Of course, this newspaper has been able to trawl its archives for reports on the breaching of the Hindenberg Line in 1918, the Battle of Arnhem in 1944 and the infamous raid on the Al Jameat Police Station in Iraq on Christmas Day in 2006.

But the vast majority of the articles The Sentinel has published in recent months have been prompted by readers who have written in with personal stories to tell of their association with the Staffordshire Regiment. Some were former Staffords telling of their service during the Second World War, in Northern Ireland or more recent conflicts. But many more were relatives of those who wore the cap badge and distinguished themselves all over the world.

These tales have shown just how proud the people of North Staffordshire are of their links with the military and of the Staffordshire Regiment’s battle honours. That’s why they were sending goodwill parcels to Our Boys out in Iraq as part of this newspaper’s Operation Christmas Cheer campaign a full 12 months before General Sir Richard Dannatt was asking the British public to better support our Armed Forces personnel.

We don’t need to be told around here, you see. We’ve been doing it for years.

It was one thing to have the North and South Staffords merged. It was one thing for the regiment to become known as 3 Mercian (Staffords).

It is another thing entirely for the name ‘The Staffords’ to be scrubbed from ORBAT altogether.

No-one involved with our campaign realistically expects the MoD to do a complete about-face and retain 3 Mercian. But by the same token, they have shown that the name The Mercian Regiment – derived from an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom – means little or nothing to the people of Staffordshire.

It is a convenient construct which allowed Army chiefs to mash together the Staffordshire Regiment, Cheshire Regiment and Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters under one banner.

The truth is the people of Staffordshire and those with links to the Staffords have no great affiliation with the other counties or their respective regiments – and vice versa.

Any sense of pride for the Mercian Regiment relates instead to its antecedents, such as the Staffords, and their roles in various wars and conflicts over the centuries.

It is to be hoped that Army chiefs, when considering whether or not to retain the name The Staffords, and indeed the antecedents of The Mercian Regiment’s 1st and 2nd battalions, think long and hard about the consequences of making a clean break with tradition.

Let’s hope that common sense prevails and that future generations of young recruits from our neck of the woods will continue to want to follow in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers and serve with The Staffords – rather than opting instead for another unit with no links to our patch but equally good or perhaps better prospects.

Readers have until tomorrow to sign our petition by logging on to: http://www.saveourstaffords.com, or by calling in at The Sentinel’s HQ in Etruria to sign the forms.

The Sentinel, october 17, 2012.

THE campaign to “Save our Staffords” has gone global after veterans from Australia have pledged their support.

George Gatti, aged 79, was born into the Staffordshire regiment in 1933 at Aldershot.

He said: “I grew up waiting for the day when I could join.

“I had never wanted to do anything other than to be a Stafford.”

George’s family came from Cobridge and his father Frank joined the regiment in 1922 and retired after the Second World War as Lieutenant Colonel.

Prior to enlisting, Frank was an apprentice at the Hanley Deep Pit.

He met George’s mother on their return from Sudan after she had come down from Scotland to work as a parlour maid. They were married in 1931.

Staffords veteran George Gatti.

George joined the regiment in 1950, aged 17, at Burscough when the regiment returned from Hong Kong.

He served in all three regiments – South, North and Staffords, reaching the rank of Colour sergeant prior to being commissioned into the RAOC in 1960.

He retired from the service in 1976 but remains dedicated to the regiment.

And he has signed The Sentinel’s online petition to save the name of the regiment.

He said: “I never forgot my heritage and at heart, I remained a Stafford.

“I cannot imagine an order of battle without them being in it.

“If nothing else, why cannot the 4th battalion be re-badged and wear the knot, as did the liege men of Baron de Stafford, later Earl of Stafford?

“Too many young men have given their lives for history to be ignored.”

George Gatti, fourth from left, during his time with the regiment.

George married his wife Margaret in Luneburg in 1958 and has three daughters.

The couple had twins born into the regiment, with the third born in Hanover after he had left the Staffords.

They moved to Australia in 1983 and currently live in Queensland.

George said: “Though I left the regiment in 1960, I have followed their fortunes via the internet, finding reference to the possibility and denial of disbandment.

“There is only one regiment that can truly refer to themselves as being Mercia and that is the Staffords.

“Christmas 1952 saw the regiment in Minden and as a corporal, I remember coming out of the dining room to find it was snowing. For a lot of us, it was the first Christmas away from families and it suddenly struck me that this was my family now and so it has remained ever since.”

George’s uncle and brother-in-law also both served in the regiment.

Simone Guascoine, from Australia’s Northern Territory, has also signed the petition. She said: “This regiment and the men who served in it deserve to have their name remembered – the regiment is the men who have dedicated their lives to fight for their country.”

The Sentinel, October 5, 2012.

A COUNCILLOR has taken to the streets in support of The Sentinel campaign to save the name and traditions of the Staffords.

Labour councillor Colin Eastwood has been pounding the pavements to collect names for his petition. He decided to gather support after Newcastle town mayor David Becket, launched the authority’s petition.

Mr Eastwood, right, of Marina Drive, May Bank, who represents the Wolstanton ward, said: “It was brought up at the full council meeting a couple of months ago and a lot of councillors were interested in taking part.

“It is something that we feel strongly about and we actively came out to support the mayor’s and The Sentinel’s campaign.”

The petition has been doing the circuit around neighbours and during residents’ association meetings.

And since it began a month ago, Mr Eastwood has managed to gather more than 100 names.

He added: “I do feel it is important that the name should be retained in some form even if the battalion is ultimately disbanded.”

The 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) is set to be withdrawn from the Army’s Order of Battle as part of plans to cut the number of full-time soldiers by 20,000 by 2018.

And although the battalion in its current form will no longer exist, it is up to the Army to decide whether the name will live on.

Labour councillor Colin Eastwood.

Mr Eastwood said: “Traditionally the county has been involved with the regiment and a lot of people have served with them or know someone who has served.

“That means a lot to people. They want to be heard because it is ingrained in the collective history of our area.”

The councillor is collecting signatures as part of a wider council effort to help support the campaign.

And so far he is pleased with the response he has received from the public.

Mr Eastwood said: “Most people that we approached were very keen to sign the petition. I think the message is getting out there thanks to The Sentinel and a lot of people are already aware of the campaign.”

A Newcastle Borough Council spokesman said: “The Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme, is proud to support The Mercian Regiment (formerly the Staffords) and is co-ordinating several petitions to safeguard the regiment in the Staffordshire region.”

So far more than 13,000 readers have signed The Sentinel’s petition to show their support for the battalion.

Among those who do not want to see the name lost is Terry Colclough, from Bradeley.

He said: “After 300 years of fine service, losing our local regiment’s name would be another blow to the morale of our city and county.

“This is happening at a time of serious economic hardship and while our forces are still suffering terrible injuries and deaths in Afghanistan.”

The Sentinel, October 3, 2012

A VETERAN who immortalised one of the Staffordshire Regiment’s greatest heroes on the silver screen has called for the battalion to be saved.

Film-maker Bill Townley produced a remarkable amateur movie celebrating Stoke-on-Trent’s VC hero Jack Baskeyfield, which was released to widespread acclaim in 1969.

The film turned Lance Sergeant Baskeyfield into a household name and ultimately led to a statue being erected in his honour in Etruria.

Now Mr Townley, aged 85, is backing The Sentinel’s campaign to save the good name of the regiment which both he and Sgt Baskeyfield served.

Bill Townley made a film about Second World War hero.

Mr Townley, of Cresswell – who served with the North Staffordshire Regiment towards the end of the Second World War – said: “I think the regiment should be saved. It’s a real shame.

“I never saw any action. But I was in the Staffords and that’s that.

“I was very proud of the regiment.

“Jack Baskeyfield was one of the greatest heroes of the regiment.

“We have the statue to him in Etruria and that is the highest praise we can give him.

“But his regiment should be saved.

“I was in constant touch with the battalion while we were trying to get the statue, as a go between with the Baskeyfield family.

“They were obviously very proud of Jack, and his regiment. About five years ago I went to the Staffordshire Regiment with Gladys, Jack’s sister and we had a really good day. It was one of the last engagements she went on.”

Jack Baskeyfield who was awarded the Victoria Cross.

The epic movie, Baskeyfield VC, was filmed on a budget of £800.

It told how the 22-year-old from Stanfields, Burslem, knocked out two enemy Tiger tanks, despite being seriously injured and his comrades killed, at the gates of Arnhem, Holland.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the Army’s highest honour, posthumously. He was the only soldier from the Potteries to receive the medal during the course of the Second World War.

The film was a three-year labour of love for Mr Townley, who funded it from his earnings as a painter and decorator, and used a cast of Potteries people, many of them persuaded to leave the Isaac Walton pub at Cresswell, to act in a scene.

Baskeyfield himself was played by Richard Cresswell, now aged 70, who runs R D Cresswell and Co in The Strand, Longton. In 1966 he was a 24-year-old ironmonger, cast in the lead role because of his resemblance to the hero.

Mr Cresswell said: “I did feel an affinity with him.

“The Staffords did a marvellous job in the Second World War.

“It’s very sad when you think about this regiment being disbanded. I think everyone should keep fighting hard to try and save it.”

The Staffordshire Regiment – now 3 Mercian – is being removed from the Order of Battle as part of Government plans to reduce the Army by 20,000 troops by 2018.

The Sentinel, October 2, 2012.

A VETERAN who was discharged from military service after suffering a spinal injury says he would ‘do it all again tomorrow’.

George Castrey, aged 78, from Long Lane in Harriseahead, served with the North Staffordshire Regiment for 18 years.

The father-of-four described his Army career as ‘the best days of his life’ after joining in 1952.

And he is determined to keep the name of the North Staffords alive.

George, whose brother Harold also served in the regiment, took his whole family across the seas as he worked at a base in Germany for three years.

He said: “I loved every minute of being in the Staffords and I am always on websites re-connecting with old veterans. It was a wonderful life for me and my family, and the job took me all over the world.”

Staffords veteran George Castrey.

George was forced to leave active service after suffering a spinal injury during a tour of Kenya.

Instead he was brought back to the UK where he served as a recruiting sergeant until 1970.

He said: “I knew that I would have to do national service so I originally opted for three years to get a bit of extra money.

“But I loved my job and instead I ended up doing 18 years including my time after Kenya. “I would go back in tomorrow if I had the chance.”

George is angry to hear of the threat to the Staffords’ identity as a result of Government plans to cut the size of the Army.

He said: “ It is terrible that it is going to finish and I am disgusted.

“There are five Guards regiments but they never think of disbanding any of them.

“And there is only one Staffordshire regiment, so how have we ended up with nothing – it doesn’t seem fair.”

George Castrey in Kenya.

George is married to wife Elsie, aged 81, and the couple have four children. Christine, aged 59, Jeanette, aged 56, Marie, aged 53 and Andrew, aged 46.

He said: “The regiment means a lot to us and it is part of our family history.

“When I was posted to Germany, my wife and two eldest daughters came to live with me. They went to school over there and it was a big community.”

George was forced to leave front-line service in 1960 after he fell into a trench in Kenya and fractured his spine.

He said: “I ended up in a hospital in Nairobi for six weeks with my body completely bandaged.”

But George was not well enough to continue with the tour and returned to Lichfield where he was offered the job as a recruiting sergeant.

He said: “A lot of people wanted to join and there was always an interest around serving the North Staffordshire Regiment.

“It must be very demoralising for those that are still serving with the regiment.

“And I think it is sad thinking of all the all the good memories we have when we know it will be no more.”