http://www.britainatwar.com^93ABOVE
Some of the
armoured vehicles
on show close
to the museum
entrance.STAFFORDSHIRE REGIMENT MUSEUM|COLLECTIONS
of the Territorial Force in 1908, when
both South and North Staffords each
had six battalions: two regular, two
militia and two territorial.
Vast expansion took place in both
world wars but reductions after 1945
saw each of the county regiments
cut to one regular battalion and one
territorial. In 1959 the South and
North were amalgamated to form The
Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince
of Wales’s). The territorials survived
a little longer (1968). The Staffords
held on to their independence until the
major reorganisation of the infantry in
the mid-2000s. On September 1, 2007
they merged with the 22nd (Cheshire)
Regiment, the Worcestershire and
Sherwood Foresters Regiment and
the Territorials of the West Midlands
Regiment to become the four-battalion
Mercian Regiment. The traditions
and ethos of the Staffords were carried
forward by the 3rd Battalion The
Mercian Regiment (STAFFORDS)
under the proud motto: ‘Stand Firm,
Strike Hard’. The 3rd Battalion was
withdrawn from the order of battle in
2014 and the Mercian Regiment now
operate under three Battalions of two
regular and one reserve.
Plenty to see and hear
The museum sits in its own grounds
in the DMS complex and visitors
are initially greeted by a collection
of armoured vehicles on the centre’s
frontage. Approaching the main
building, you become aware of muffled
gunfire and explosions, which are
coming from the ‘Coltman Trench’.
This is a full-size reproduction of
a First World War trench system
and is named in honour of the most
decorated NCO of the British Army
during the Great War, Lance Corporal
William Harold Coltman, 1/6th North
Staffordshire Regiment, VC, DCM and
Bar, MM and Bar and MiD, all awarded
for conduct during his role as a stretcher
bearer. Visitors are able to experience
something of what life on the front
line would have been like as they walk
through the trenches, dodging (the
sound effects of) snipers, machine
gun fire and shelling.
Continuing through the grounds,
there is a woodland walk, a memorial
garden and a World War Two area
with a concrete pillbox, an Anderson
shelter, Home Front vegetable garden
and a ‘blitz’ experience at the ‘Smart
Street’ public air raid shelter. The latter takes you into the twilight of blackout
conditions and as warning sirens
howl, there is a low, menacing hum of
aircraft engines, gradually increasing
in intensity until you can feel it
throbbing through the floorboards. As
the raiders get closer, you can hear the
whistle of bombs falling and feel the
crump of the explosions. Luckily, your
shelter does not suffer a direct hit and
once the ‘all clear’ sounds, you emerge
back into daylight.Gems inside
The museum building itself is fairly
small, but houses an extensive