The Staffordshire & Mercian Regiment Museum

Wishing all our supporters and followers a very Happy New Year, and best wishes for 2019.
2018 has been an incredibly busy and exciting year, we hope you have enjoyed sharing it with us. Here are a few of our favourite pictures from across the year.
If you have photos from museum events or activities please feel free to share them with us.

On behalf of the Museum Trustees, Staff and Volunteers we would like to wish all of our followers and supporters a very Happy Christmas.
We wish you all a very joyful and prosperous New Year and looking forward to seeing you all.
Please not the museum is now closed for the Christmas period and reopens again on the 7th January.

A Christmas card from 1960 now. Marking a sad occasion for many. The last time in which the Regimental Colours of the South Staffordshire Regiment and The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) were carried into Lichfield Cathedral for the last time following the formation of the Staffordshire Regiment.
These four Colours are still proudly displayed within the Regimental Chapel and have now also been followed by the last Colours of the Staffordshire Regiment and the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Staffords).
The Mercian Regiment

The Trustees, Staff and Volunteers at the museum would like to wish all our volunteers and supporters and your families a very Merry Christmas and a heathy and prosperous New Year.
We look forward to seeing you all throughout 2019.
Please note the museum is now closed for Christmas and will re-open at 10am in January 7th 2019.

Christmas time during World War 1 was always a difficult one for families and soldiers alike. Years and months of separation were often made harder to cope with during the festive season.
The three selected Christmas cards show the shift in feelings. From the early war years of 1915 through the difficult years of 1916 and 1917 when losses were at their highest.

Its always good to see the Officers at work sometimes!
The annual tradition within many Regiments- Christmas dinner being served to all the junior ranks by the Officers and senior NCO's .

Happy Ferozeshah Day to all members of the Staffordshire Regiment and those within the The Mercian Regiment.
December 21st marks Ferozeshah Day for both Regiments and is one of the main Battle Honour Days remembered by both.
It marks the Battle of Ferozeshah which was fought during the first Anglo-Sikh Wars on the 21st and 22nd December 1845. The war consisted of five battles: Mudki on the 18th December, Ferozeshah, Bhudowal on the 21st January, Aliwal on the 28th January ...and Sabraon on the 10th February.
During the Battle of Ferozeshah C/Sgt Matthew Kirkland captured a black Sikh standard, despite being severely wounded.This achievement is still commemorated annually by handing over the Regimental Colours, traditionally held by the Officers Mess, to the Sergeants’ Mess for one day.
The museum is proud to have C/Sgt Kirklands medal with the Ferozeshah Battle clasp, within its collection.
The Regiment later captured two other standards during the Battle of Sobraon.
All three standards were brought back and laid up inside Lichfield Cathedral within the Regimental Chapel were they remained on display for many years. Unfortunately for conservation reasons these have now had to be taken down.
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Today we have two from the collection in honour of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem which we will be commemorating next year.
The origins of our Airborne connection started in 1941 when the 2nd Battalion the South Staffordshire Regiment were converted to a Glider infantry role, serving as part of the 1st Airlanding Brigade in the 1st Airborne Division.
They took part in the disastrous landings at Sicily as as part of Operation Ladbroke and then ill-fated Battle ...of Arnhem in 1944.
Since then the Regiment was allowed to wear the Glider badge on their arm. A tradition which was proudly carried on into the Staffordshire Regiment and now also within the The Mercian Regiment.
Airborne Assault - The Museum of the Parachute Regiment & Airborne Forces #arnhem #ladbroke #sicily #glider
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Excited to see the completed film tonight-
Many thanks to everyone who has join us, and is brilliant to welcome the amazing C/Sgt Watchman V and Pte Watchman VI.

The museum team are rocking away at the Christmas Party this afternoon with some of our volunteers.
Many thanks to Ransford Thomas at the The Kings Head for hosting us today.
All the museum staff and trustees would like to say a massive thank you to all our volunteers for all their hard work throughout the year. We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous and peaceful New Year.

We are often asked what the reasons were for the British Army Regimental system and whether there was a place for it today?
Our second Christmas post of the week focuses on the strongest result of the regimental system: Family.
These two pictures are from the Staffordshire Regiments time served in Germany during the cold war. The brotherhood of fighting with your fellow soldiers was also supported by a strong network back home of families and friends.
... These two are from a children's Christmas party. We would be most interested to learn from any of our veterans who the seven rather large dwarfs are.
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Its one week until the big day so we thought we would share some festive images with you from our archives throughout the week to help get you in the festive mood.
We start today with this lovely South Staffordshire Regiment Christmas card, which was sent out from Officers in the Regiment in their final Christmas before amalgamation with the North Staffordshire Regiment on the 31st January 1959.
It shows Colonel Luke Lillingston who first recruited men for the 38th Regiment... of Foot at the The Kings Head public house in #Lichfield in 1705. The 38th later became the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment.
The second figure depicts a soldier during National Service proudly wearing the Glider on his arm which was earned by the 2nd Battalion in the Sicily landings in 1943.
The map is clearly marked with all the locations of the world that the South Stafford's had fought in.
Next year the 31st January 2019 will mark what would have been the 60th Anniversary of the Staffordshire Regiment.
#SouthStaffords #Airbornetroops Airborne Assault - The Museum of the Parachute Regiment & Airborne Forces Visit Lichfield Enjoy Staffs
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And how did frontline soldiers in the British trenches of World War 1 keep their spirits up? Singing, jokes and lots of banter. There are some great singalongs in the gallery today.

Our Christmas event is in full swing....
Have you ever wondered what your Christmas dinner looked like during rationing? Or perhaps how you coped on Christmas Eve with an air raid?
Our volunteers are bringing the realities all to life today... and Santa even made an appearance... although he had to leave the reindeer at home to rest up.

Great to see the 2nd Battalion of the The Mercian Regiment commemorating the Battle of Ferozeshah whilst out in Cyprus.

Ahead of our festive Christmas at Wartime 🎄 event tomorrow, staff here at the museum have been getting in the festive mood and are celebrating #ChristmasJumperDay2018
We would love to see what your jumpers al look like! Please share your pictures with us below.
For more details about our Christmas Event please click the below link it have a look at our events tab.
... https://www.facebook.com/events/940355772 805381/?ti=ia
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Free Event

Year 4 from Woodrow First School visited on Thursday in order to learn about life in the trenches. It was a fantastic visit because of the knowledge of the volunteers and their obvious dedication to teaching others about the realities of war. The time flew by and we all came away with a real sense of what it was like for servicemen and their families. This is our third visit as a school and we recommend it to KS2 teachers.

Thank you all so much for making the visit so worthwhile.

We visited the Museum today and was extremely impressed by all the memorabilia on show, the staff were very welcoming and friendly, the insight into life in the trenches and air raid shelter were fantastic, would highly recommend a visit if your have a few hours to spare.

This place is a real gem. What a wonderful experience. Staff were very knowledgeable, friendly, and welcoming.

I would highly recommend a visit to this museum.

My daughter came to the museum with her school today. She was so touched with what she had seen and heard she emptied her purse into your charity box. I was so proud of her and will be coming to the museum myself as soon as I am able. Thank you.

My Year 5 class visited the museum today. We have been learning about World War One at school and this was an incredible way of reinforcing and expanding their knowledge. Our guides were all very knowledgeable and talented communicators. They managed to pitch their talks at exactly the right level.



The children were totally fascinated and engaged the whole time we were there and the only disappointing thing about the day was that we had to leave so soon.



Thank you to the guides and all of the other helpful and friendly staff who contributed towards making this such a memorable visit. One of my students said that this was the best school trip that she has ever been on and I can understand why!

Lovely museum ran by a warm, friendly and knowledgeable team. We paid our second visit in just a month as my son really enjoyed the experience during the first visit. The May Discovery Day was fascinating and extremely interesting, the kids learnt a lot. I can highly recommend it and we will surely be back again.

Just take a trip down there. Steeped in history. Then pop into the cathedral to see the ancient colours and chapel. And don't forget to walk down the road to The King's Head where it all started.

Just had a first visit. Our young child who was terribly afriad of guns last year experienced the trenches and safety. She really enjoyed it and had such a great fun time outside. Really worth the couple of hours visit and free parking.

Service was great too really friendly and offered us a drink of water etc.

Will no doubt go back again in the future as our child grows and learns more.

It’s so moving to read the stories of the fallen I still can’t imagine how life was like on a day to day basis.

We take things for granted today, we’re never satisfied with our privileges. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL! these men and women are heroes and I’m so proud of them thank you!! R.i.P

Had such a lovely day here today with the family!! £10 for the 5 of us, and the guys working today were so accommodating, and really helped to engage the little ones!! Definitely worth a visit!!

Great morning here on Discovery Day, lovely friendly staff, the trench tour was interesting and kept my 10yr old engaged. Lovely to experience the air raid shelter with the ladies dressed in war time costumes. Cheap, fun and interesting for everyone

Fantastic place to visit. Highly recommend trench tour which was very informative and interesting. Leant loads. Fantastic knowledgeable staff too. Thanks all.

Fantastic museum brought back some good memories, would highly recommended

Both me and my boys 7&4 L�VED it !!! Educational yet fun and the Trench !!! Amazing ! Will be coming back in summer AGain x x Thank you ! X x

Been there today with my family really interesting and my son absolutely loved it. Rob one of the guides who took us round the world war 1 trenches was brilliant a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Absolutely fab day here at The Discovery

Day. The volunteers are an absolute credit.. so interesting, knowledgeable and thoroughly lovely. Amazing to see so many of them in uniform too. The Trench tour in particular was 'awesome' according to my son.xx

A very interesting visit. The staff were really helpful and friendly and even made us a cuppa! This museum is really good value for money and the trench is a great way to get some insight into what life would have been like for the soldiers in WW1. I would thoroughly recommend a visit for adults and children alike!

A compact and fantastic museum. I doubt you’ll find more hospitable and friendly staff anywhere, who are only too pleased to help with any questions you may have. Some great displays featuring unique Militaria covering the entire history of the Staffordshire Regiment. A visit is highly recommended!

Really enjoyed it! Paid £10 for a family ticket and spent around 2 hours there. The trench experience is really good if not a bit too realistic for my 7 year old!! Lovely staff, nice little shop and just enough in the museum. Loved the Anderson shelter and others outside. It’s not a whole day out but there was more there than we expected and it is all thoughtfully arranged.

Year 4 from Woodrow First School visited on Thursday in order to learn about life in the trenches. It was a fantastic visit because of the knowledge of the volunteers and their obvious dedication to teaching others about the realities of war. The time flew by and we all came away with a real sense of what it was like for servicemen and their families. This is our third visit as a school and we recommend it to KS2 teachers.

Thank you all so much for making the visit so worthwhile.

We visited the Museum today and was extremely impressed by all the memorabilia on show, the staff were very welcoming and friendly, the insight into life in the trenches and air raid shelter were fantastic, would highly recommend a visit if your have a few hours to spare.

This place is a real gem. What a wonderful experience. Staff were very knowledgeable, friendly, and welcoming.

I would highly recommend a visit to this museum.

My daughter came to the museum with her school today. She was so touched with what she had seen and heard she emptied her purse into your charity box. I was so proud of her and will be coming to the museum myself as soon as I am able. Thank you.

My Year 5 class visited the museum today. We have been learning about World War One at school and this was an incredible way of reinforcing and expanding their knowledge. Our guides were all very knowledgeable and talented communicators. They managed to pitch their talks at exactly the right level.



The children were totally fascinated and engaged the whole time we were there and the only disappointing thing about the day was that we had to leave so soon.



Thank you to the guides and all of the other helpful and friendly staff who contributed towards making this such a memorable visit. One of my students said that this was the best school trip that she has ever been on and I can understand why!

Lovely museum ran by a warm, friendly and knowledgeable team. We paid our second visit in just a month as my son really enjoyed the experience during the first visit. The May Discovery Day was fascinating and extremely interesting, the kids learnt a lot. I can highly recommend it and we will surely be back again.

Just take a trip down there. Steeped in history. Then pop into the cathedral to see the ancient colours and chapel. And don't forget to walk down the road to The King's Head where it all started.

Just had a first visit. Our young child who was terribly afriad of guns last year experienced the trenches and safety. She really enjoyed it and had such a great fun time outside. Really worth the couple of hours visit and free parking.

Service was great too really friendly and offered us a drink of water etc.

Will no doubt go back again in the future as our child grows and learns more.

It’s so moving to read the stories of the fallen I still can’t imagine how life was like on a day to day basis.

We take things for granted today, we’re never satisfied with our privileges. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL! these men and women are heroes and I’m so proud of them thank you!! R.i.P

Had such a lovely day here today with the family!! £10 for the 5 of us, and the guys working today were so accommodating, and really helped to engage the little ones!! Definitely worth a visit!!

Great morning here on Discovery Day, lovely friendly staff, the trench tour was interesting and kept my 10yr old engaged. Lovely to experience the air raid shelter with the ladies dressed in war time costumes. Cheap, fun and interesting for everyone

Fantastic place to visit. Highly recommend trench tour which was very informative and interesting. Leant loads. Fantastic knowledgeable staff too. Thanks all.

Fantastic museum brought back some good memories, would highly recommended

Both me and my boys 7&4 L�VED it !!! Educational yet fun and the Trench !!! Amazing ! Will be coming back in summer AGain x x Thank you ! X x

Been there today with my family really interesting and my son absolutely loved it. Rob one of the guides who took us round the world war 1 trenches was brilliant a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Absolutely fab day here at The Discovery

Day. The volunteers are an absolute credit.. so interesting, knowledgeable and thoroughly lovely. Amazing to see so many of them in uniform too. The Trench tour in particular was 'awesome' according to my son.xx

A very interesting visit. The staff were really helpful and friendly and even made us a cuppa! This museum is really good value for money and the trench is a great way to get some insight into what life would have been like for the soldiers in WW1. I would thoroughly recommend a visit for adults and children alike!

A compact and fantastic museum. I doubt you’ll find more hospitable and friendly staff anywhere, who are only too pleased to help with any questions you may have. Some great displays featuring unique Militaria covering the entire history of the Staffordshire Regiment. A visit is highly recommended!

Really enjoyed it! Paid £10 for a family ticket and spent around 2 hours there. The trench experience is really good if not a bit too realistic for my 7 year old!! Lovely staff, nice little shop and just enough in the museum. Loved the Anderson shelter and others outside. It’s not a whole day out but there was more there than we expected and it is all thoughtfully arranged.

Year 4 from Woodrow First School visited on Thursday in order to learn about life in the trenches. It was a fantastic visit because of the knowledge of the volunteers and their obvious dedication to teaching others about the realities of war. The time flew by and we all came away with a real sense of what it was like for servicemen and their families. This is our third visit as a school and we recommend it to KS2 teachers.

Thank you all so much for making the visit so worthwhile.

We visited the Museum today and was extremely impressed by all the memorabilia on show, the staff were very welcoming and friendly, the insight into life in the trenches and air raid shelter were fantastic, would highly recommend a visit if your have a few hours to spare.

This place is a real gem. What a wonderful experience. Staff were very knowledgeable, friendly, and welcoming.

I would highly recommend a visit to this museum.

My daughter came to the museum with her school today. She was so touched with what she had seen and heard she emptied her purse into your charity box. I was so proud of her and will be coming to the museum myself as soon as I am able. Thank you.

My Year 5 class visited the museum today. We have been learning about World War One at school and this was an incredible way of reinforcing and expanding their knowledge. Our guides were all very knowledgeable and talented communicators. They managed to pitch their talks at exactly the right level.



The children were totally fascinated and engaged the whole time we were there and the only disappointing thing about the day was that we had to leave so soon.



Thank you to the guides and all of the other helpful and friendly staff who contributed towards making this such a memorable visit. One of my students said that this was the best school trip that she has ever been on and I can understand why!

Lovely museum ran by a warm, friendly and knowledgeable team. We paid our second visit in just a month as my son really enjoyed the experience during the first visit. The May Discovery Day was fascinating and extremely interesting, the kids learnt a lot. I can highly recommend it and we will surely be back again.

Just take a trip down there. Steeped in history. Then pop into the cathedral to see the ancient colours and chapel. And don't forget to walk down the road to The King's Head where it all started.

Just had a first visit. Our young child who was terribly afriad of guns last year experienced the trenches and safety. She really enjoyed it and had such a great fun time outside. Really worth the couple of hours visit and free parking.

Service was great too really friendly and offered us a drink of water etc.

Will no doubt go back again in the future as our child grows and learns more.

It’s so moving to read the stories of the fallen I still can’t imagine how life was like on a day to day basis.

We take things for granted today, we’re never satisfied with our privileges. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL! these men and women are heroes and I’m so proud of them thank you!! R.i.P

Had such a lovely day here today with the family!! £10 for the 5 of us, and the guys working today were so accommodating, and really helped to engage the little ones!! Definitely worth a visit!!

Great morning here on Discovery Day, lovely friendly staff, the trench tour was interesting and kept my 10yr old engaged. Lovely to experience the air raid shelter with the ladies dressed in war time costumes. Cheap, fun and interesting for everyone

Fantastic place to visit. Highly recommend trench tour which was very informative and interesting. Leant loads. Fantastic knowledgeable staff too. Thanks all.

Fantastic museum brought back some good memories, would highly recommended

Both me and my boys 7&4 L�VED it !!! Educational yet fun and the Trench !!! Amazing ! Will be coming back in summer AGain x x Thank you ! X x

Been there today with my family really interesting and my son absolutely loved it. Rob one of the guides who took us round the world war 1 trenches was brilliant a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Absolutely fab day here at The Discovery

Day. The volunteers are an absolute credit.. so interesting, knowledgeable and thoroughly lovely. Amazing to see so many of them in uniform too. The Trench tour in particular was 'awesome' according to my son.xx

A very interesting visit. The staff were really helpful and friendly and even made us a cuppa! This museum is really good value for money and the trench is a great way to get some insight into what life would have been like for the soldiers in WW1. I would thoroughly recommend a visit for adults and children alike!

A compact and fantastic museum. I doubt you’ll find more hospitable and friendly staff anywhere, who are only too pleased to help with any questions you may have. Some great displays featuring unique Militaria covering the entire history of the Staffordshire Regiment. A visit is highly recommended!

Really enjoyed it! Paid £10 for a family ticket and spent around 2 hours there. The trench experience is really good if not a bit too realistic for my 7 year old!! Lovely staff, nice little shop and just enough in the museum. Loved the Anderson shelter and others outside. It’s not a whole day out but there was more there than we expected and it is all thoughtfully arranged.

Year 4 from Woodrow First School visited on Thursday in order to learn about life in the trenches. It was a fantastic visit because of the knowledge of the volunteers and their obvious dedication to teaching others about the realities of war. The time flew by and we all came away with a real sense of what it was like for servicemen and their families. This is our third visit as a school and we recommend it to KS2 teachers.

Thank you all so much for making the visit so worthwhile.

We visited the Museum today and was extremely impressed by all the memorabilia on show, the staff were very welcoming and friendly, the insight into life in the trenches and air raid shelter were fantastic, would highly recommend a visit if your have a few hours to spare.

This place is a real gem. What a wonderful experience. Staff were very knowledgeable, friendly, and welcoming.

I would highly recommend a visit to this museum.

My daughter came to the museum with her school today. She was so touched with what she had seen and heard she emptied her purse into your charity box. I was so proud of her and will be coming to the museum myself as soon as I am able. Thank you.

My Year 5 class visited the museum today. We have been learning about World War One at school and this was an incredible way of reinforcing and expanding their knowledge. Our guides were all very knowledgeable and talented communicators. They managed to pitch their talks at exactly the right level.



The children were totally fascinated and engaged the whole time we were there and the only disappointing thing about the day was that we had to leave so soon.



Thank you to the guides and all of the other helpful and friendly staff who contributed towards making this such a memorable visit. One of my students said that this was the best school trip that she has ever been on and I can understand why!

Lovely museum ran by a warm, friendly and knowledgeable team. We paid our second visit in just a month as my son really enjoyed the experience during the first visit. The May Discovery Day was fascinating and extremely interesting, the kids learnt a lot. I can highly recommend it and we will surely be back again.

Just take a trip down there. Steeped in history. Then pop into the cathedral to see the ancient colours and chapel. And don't forget to walk down the road to The King's Head where it all started.

Just had a first visit. Our young child who was terribly afriad of guns last year experienced the trenches and safety. She really enjoyed it and had such a great fun time outside. Really worth the couple of hours visit and free parking.

Service was great too really friendly and offered us a drink of water etc.

Will no doubt go back again in the future as our child grows and learns more.

It’s so moving to read the stories of the fallen I still can’t imagine how life was like on a day to day basis.

We take things for granted today, we’re never satisfied with our privileges. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL! these men and women are heroes and I’m so proud of them thank you!! R.i.P

Had such a lovely day here today with the family!! £10 for the 5 of us, and the guys working today were so accommodating, and really helped to engage the little ones!! Definitely worth a visit!!

Great morning here on Discovery Day, lovely friendly staff, the trench tour was interesting and kept my 10yr old engaged. Lovely to experience the air raid shelter with the ladies dressed in war time costumes. Cheap, fun and interesting for everyone

Fantastic place to visit. Highly recommend trench tour which was very informative and interesting. Leant loads. Fantastic knowledgeable staff too. Thanks all.

Fantastic museum brought back some good memories, would highly recommended

Both me and my boys 7&4 L�VED it !!! Educational yet fun and the Trench !!! Amazing ! Will be coming back in summer AGain x x Thank you ! X x

Been there today with my family really interesting and my son absolutely loved it. Rob one of the guides who took us round the world war 1 trenches was brilliant a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Absolutely fab day here at The Discovery

Day. The volunteers are an absolute credit.. so interesting, knowledgeable and thoroughly lovely. Amazing to see so many of them in uniform too. The Trench tour in particular was 'awesome' according to my son.xx

A very interesting visit. The staff were really helpful and friendly and even made us a cuppa! This museum is really good value for money and the trench is a great way to get some insight into what life would have been like for the soldiers in WW1. I would thoroughly recommend a visit for adults and children alike!

A compact and fantastic museum. I doubt you’ll find more hospitable and friendly staff anywhere, who are only too pleased to help with any questions you may have. Some great displays featuring unique Militaria covering the entire history of the Staffordshire Regiment. A visit is highly recommended!

Really enjoyed it! Paid £10 for a family ticket and spent around 2 hours there. The trench experience is really good if not a bit too realistic for my 7 year old!! Lovely staff, nice little shop and just enough in the museum. Loved the Anderson shelter and others outside. It’s not a whole day out but there was more there than we expected and it is all thoughtfully arranged.