HRH Duke of York Gives New Colours to The Staffords

Yesterday we had a real fine day. We were invited to Whittington Barracks to witness the presentation of the New Colours to the 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment by HRH The Duke of York KCVO ADC, the Prince Andrew who is the Colonel in Chief of the Regiment. Our second encounter with Royallty in 24 hours!

We joined other civic heads and family and friends of the Battalion on what was a very fine occasion. Security was strict and there were plenty of police and soldiers with guns about.

But it was an army base after all !

The Colours were originally carried into battle forming a rallying point for the battalion. The loss of colours was deemed a disgrace whilst the capture of enemy colours was a highly prized trophy!

Although Colours are no longer carried into battle they remain a potent symbol of the Regiments honour and devotion to duty.

Today a battalion of a British Infantry Regiment carries two Colours: the Queens Colour is a Union Flag and represents the Monarch, The Regimental Colours represents the Regiment.

The last time the Colours were changed was in 1983 then the Lord Lieutenant Sir Arthur Bryan of Staffordshire presented them on the 21st May. The new Colours presented today by the duke of York carries 34 battle Honours from two World Wars whilst the new Regimental Colours carries 41 including a battle Honour that of 'The Gulf 1991'.

Mayor Phil Bateman MBE said today. " I was highly honoured to be invited to this very important occasion. We met many soldiers and their families that were from the Wolverhampton City area. What struck me was that they were very proud of their involvement with the Regiment. many were sad that they were facing a name change with the Regiment being amalgamated to form a new Regiment to be called The Mercian's.

I asked both family and soldiers about the way that they felt about duty in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Whilst the families were very concerned for their son's safety. All were very upbeat about wanting to put their training to the test. I and the Mayoress felt very proud of them. We also met veterans from the past conflicts when RBL members from Wolverhampton had their photo's taken with us.

Prince Andrew Duke of York the Colonel in Chief of the Regiment dropped by to have a chat and we spoke of our pride that our men in Wolverhampton were playing such a key part in the battalion."