South Staffordshire Regiment

The South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot and the 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot. In 1959, the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's). The lineage of the South Staffords is continued by the Mercian Regiment.

Formation and antecedents
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 regiment. Militia and Rifle Volunteers of south Staffordshire were also incorporated in the new regiment. The battalions formed in 1881 were as follows:
 * 1st Battalion: the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot, raised in Lichfield in 1705 as Colonel Luke Lillingstone's Regiment, numbered as the 38th in 1751, and received the subsidiary title of 1st Staffordshire in 1782.
 * 2nd Battalion: the 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot, raised in 1793 by Lord William Henry Paget from members of the Staffordshire Militia.
 * 3rd (Militia) Battalion: 1st Battalion (The King's Own) 1st Staffordshire Militia
 * 4th (Militia) Battalion: 2nd Battalion (The King's Own) 1st Staffordshire Militia
 * 1st Volunteer Battalion: 1st Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
 * 2nd Volunteer Battalion: 3rd Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
 * 3rd Volunteer Battalion: 4th Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps

The reserve battalions of the regiment were reorganised in 1908 by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, with the two militia battalions becoming the 3rd and 4th (Special Reserve) Battalions. The three Volunteer Battalions transferred to the Territorial Force (TF); the 1st Battalion formed the 1st North Midland Field Company, Royal Engineers and, in conjunction with the 2nd Battalion, the 5th Battalion (TF); the 3rd Battalion formed the 6th Battalion (TF).

1881 - 1914
The 1st Battalion (the former 38th) was sent to Egypt in 1882 as part of the British invasion of the country. On landing in Alexandria, it carried its colours through the city - this was the last occasion on which a British Army unit carried colours on active service. In 1885, the battalion travelled up the River Nile to Sudan in an unsuccessful attempt to lift the Siege of Khartoum. The battalion was subsequently involved in the defeat of Arab forces at Kirbekan. The battle was to be the last time that the South Staffords wore red uniforms in battle.

The 1st Battalion then entered a long period of garrison duty in Gibraltar, Egypt, England and Ireland. With the outbreak of the Second Boer War, it embarked for South Africa, arriving as part of the 8th Division in 1900. The battalion was mostly involved in minor skirmishes with the Boers, but suffered casualties due to disease and poor nutrition.

In 1904, the 1st South Staffords returned to the UK, being stationed in Ireland and England until 1911, when it moved to Gibraltar. While in Gibraltar, new colours were presented to the battalion by King George V on 31 January 1912. The battalion returned to South Africa in 1913.

The 2nd Battalion (the former 80th) was stationed in India in 1881, soon moving to Tralee in Ireland, where it was involved in actions against Irish nationalists. It returned to England in 1883. It was then posted to The Curragh from 1889 to 1891, before travelling to Egypt, via Aldershot, in 1893. The battalion subsequently served in southern India and Burma until 1907, when it started a four-year posting in Pretoria, South Africa. The battalion returned to England in 1911.

Battle honours
By 1914, the regimental colours displayed the following battle honours, representing the actions of the 38th and 80th Foot to 1881, and the South Staffordshire Regiment after that date:


 * Guadeloupe 1759 (awarded 1909)
 * Martinique 1762 (awarded 1909)
 * Rolica (awarded 1831 to 38th Foot)
 * Vimiera (awarded 1821 to 38th Foot)
 * Corunna (awarded 1831 to 38th Foot)
 * Busaco (awarded 1831 to 38th Foot)
 * Badajos (awarded 1831 to 38th Foot)
 * Salamanca (awarded 1817 to 38th Foot)
 * Vittoria (awarded 1831 to 38th Foot)
 * St Sebastian (awarded 1817 to 38th Foot)
 * Nive (awarded 1831 to 38th Foot)
 * Peninsula (awarded 1815 to 38th Foot)
 * Ava (awarded 1826 to 38th Foot)
 * Moodkee (awarded 1847 to 80th Foot)
 * Ferozeshah (awarded 1847 to 80th Foot)
 * Sobraon (awarded 1849 to 80th Foot)
 * Pegu (awarded 1853 to 80th Foot)
 * Alma (awarded 1855 to 38th Foot)
 * Inkerman (awarded 1855 to 38th Foot)
 * Sevastopol (awarded 1855 to 38th Foot)
 * Lucknow (awarded 1863 to 38th Foot)
 * Central India (awarded 1863 to 80th Foot)
 * South Africa 1878-79 (awarded 1882)
 * Egypt 1882
 * Kirbekan
 * Nile 1884-85
 * South Africa 1900-02

1914 - 1918
The regiment was greatly expanded for the duration of the war, with 18 battalions serving on the Western Front, in Italy, Gallipoli and Egypt. Ten representative battle honours were chosen for display on the regiment's colours:
 * Mons
 * Marne, 1914
 * Aisne, 1914, '18
 * Ypres, 1914, '17
 * Loos
 * Somme, 1916, '18
 * Cambrai, 1917, '18
 * St Quentin Canal
 * Vittorio Veneto
 * Suvla

Both the 2/5th and 2/6th BN were involved in hostilities in Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising. Soldiers from the regiment killed a number of civilians in the North King St. area.

1918 - 1939
From 1919, the 1st Battalion served in various colonial garrisons: Singapore, Burma, India and Sudan. In 1929, it returned home, remaining in the UK until 1938, when it was posted to Palestine.

The 2nd battalion moved to Cork in 1919, and was involved in the Irish War of Independence. It returned to England in 1923, where it remained for five years. After postings in Malta, Palestine and Egypt, the battalion was posted to India in 1932.

The 3rd and 4th (Special Reserve) Battalions were placed in "suspended animation" in 1921, eventually being disbanded in 1953. The Territorial Force was reconstituted as the Territorial Army in 1920, and the 5th and 6th Battalions were reformed. In 1939, the size of the Territorial Army was doubled, with duplicate 2/6th and 7th Battalions being formed.

In 1935, the South Staffords were granted the distinction of a badge backing of buff-coloured Brown Holland material. This commemorated the 57 years of continuous service by the 38th Foot in the West Indies from 1707 to 1764, and recalled the fact that their uniforms became so threadbare during their service in the tropics that they had to be repaired with pieces of sacking. In 1936, the yellow facings formerly worn by the 38th and 80th Foot were restored, replacing the white colour that had been imposed on all non-royal English regiments in 1881.

1939 - 1945
The regiment was expanded during the war, with the two regular and four territorial battalions being supplemented by the creation of additional battalions. Battalions served in North West Europe, Sicily, Italy, North Africa and Burma.

The regular battalions found themselves fighting in new roles: During the "Chindits" campaign in Burma, the 1st Battalion took part in jungle fighting against the Japanese forces, while the 2nd Battalion was converted to a glider borne role. As such, they landed in Sicily in 1943 and as part of Operation Market Garden at Arnhem in 1944. Losses at Arnhem were high - the battalion started the operation with a strength of 867, but only 139 returned to British lines.

After the war, the regiment was awarded an arm badge depicting a glider, in recognition of its services as an airborne unit.

The regiment selected the ten representative battle honours to appear on the colours:
 * Caen
 * Noyers
 * Falaise
 * Arnhem 1944
 * North-West Europe 1940, '44
 * North Africa 1940
 * Landing in Sicily
 * Sicily, 1943
 * Chindits 1944
 * Burma, 1944

Major Robert Henry Cain of B Company, 2nd Battalion of the regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross for his participation during the Battle of Arnhem. From 17 September to 25 September 1944, Major Cain's company was cut off from the battalion and throughout the whole of this time was closely engaged with enemy tanks, self-propelled guns and infantry. The Major was everywhere danger threatened, moving among his men and encouraging them to hold out. By the end of the Battle, Cain had reportedly been personally responsible for the destruction or disabling of six tanks, four of which were Tigers, as well as a number of self-propelled guns. By his leadership he not only stopped but demoralized the enemy attacks and although he was suffering from a perforated ear-drum and multiple wounds, he refused medical attention. Major Cain's conduct throughout was highly respected, both in terms of personal actions and leadership ability, and for this he was awarded the Victoria Cross; the only living man to receive this medal at Arnhem.

Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield of 2nd Battalion of the regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 20 September 1944, Lance Sergeant Baskeyfield was the NCO in charge of a 6-pounder anti-tank gun at Oosterbeek. When their battalion was attacked, Baskeyfield was badly wounded in the leg, and the rest of the crew were either killed or badly wounded. He refused an offer of transport to the Regimental Aid Post, in order to stay at his gun and encourage morale. After a brief respite, Baskeyfield again came under heavy fire; he refused to cower. After crawling under enemy fire to another 6-pounder gun, he was killed by a shell from a supporting enemy tank. Lance-Sergeant Baskeyfield's body was never found, but there is a memorial statue of him at Festival Heights in Stoke-on-Trent, which was erected in the early 1990s.

The award of the Victoria Cross to both men made the 2nd Battalion the only British battalion to receive two VC's during one engagement in the Second World War.

1945 - 1959
Following the granting of independence of India in 1947, all infantry regiments in the British Army were reduced to a single regular battalion. Accordingly, the 1st and 2nd Battalions amalgamated in Lichfield in 1948. The new 1st Battalion (38th/80th) travelled to Hong Kong in the following year, and thence to Northern Ireland two years later. New colours were presented to the battalion at Lisburn on 22 May 1952. Later that year, they were stationed in Germany. In 1954, the battalion was posted to the Suez Canal zone, before being speedily dispatched to Cyprus where hostilities had broken out between the two communities on the island.

In 1955, a ceremony was held in Lichfield to commemorate the regiment's 250th anniversary. The 1st Battalion moved to its final posting, in Germany, two years later.

In July 1957, a defence review was announced. The South Staffords were to amalgamate with the North Staffordshire Regiment, and to become part of the new administrative Mercian Brigade.

The amalgamation of the 1st Battalions of the two regiments took place on 31 January 1959 at Minden, Germany, to form the 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own).

In 1947, the Territorial Army was reformed, and the 5th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment (TA) was duly raised. Following the 1959 amalgamation of the North and South Staffords, the battalion continued as a territorial unit of the new regiment without a change of title. The battalion was disbanded in 1967 on the creation of the Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve in 1967, with its lineage continued by HQ Company of the Mercian Volunteers.