Save the Staffords!
OVF is supporting the “Save the Staffords” campaign which aims to preserve the 300 year-old Staffordshire regiment.
Image: Staffords take part in an exercise during the first Gulf war , copyright US army center of military history
Recent government cuts have been announced which include the withdrawal of the Staffords, now called 3 Mercian, from the Army’s Order of Battle.
OVF has joined the Sentinel newspaper, politicians, former soldiers and families in backing a campaign for the battalion’s name, and what it stands for, to be continued.
OVF founder Rob Fielding commented: “Although this website was set up to debate Port Vale matters, we do not ignore what goes on in the wider community outside our football club.
“OVF is a site which is visited by a section of the Stoke-on-Trent community and therefore we felt it was our duty to try and highlight the plight of our local regiment – a regiment we are all hugely proud of – to our audience.”
Stoke-on-Trent North MP Joan Walley said: “The Secretary of State should know that this announcement to withdraw 3 Mercian will be met with anger and dismay in Stoke-on-Trent. Considering what he has said about the importance of units’ affiliation with their local counties, how could he have arrived at this decision?”
Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Tristram Hunt said: “There is real anger in Stoke-on-Trent, which is a key recruiting area for 3 Mercian. How can the Secretary of State allow a battalion, which has gained such expertise in Iraq and Afghanistan, to be removed from the Order of Battle.”
More details through this link:
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Save-Staffords-traditions/story-16494993-detail/story.html