The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to form the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, which in 2007 was amalgamated with the Cheshire Regiment and the Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) to form the present Mercian Regiment. The lineage of the Sherwood Foresters is now continued by The Mercian Regiment.
History
Pre 1914 history
The regiment was formed on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms. The 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1741) and the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1823) were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment). The Derbyshire and Royal Sherwood Foresters Militia regiments became the 3rd (Reserve) and 4th (Extra Reserve) battalions respectively. These were joined by the 1st and 2nd (Derbyshire) and the 3rd (Robin Hood) and 4th (Nottinghamshire) Volunteer battalions.
Following the amalgamation, the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters saw action in Egypt during the Anglo-Egyptian War, and was stationed at Malta from September 1898. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, the battalion was sent to South Africa where they arrived in December. They were stationed in the Orange Free State and took part in fighting under General Sir William Gatacre. From April 1900 they were part of the 21st Infantry brigade under General Bruce Hamilton. The battalion stayed in South Africa until the end of the war, then transferred on the SS Wakool to a new posting at Hong Kong in September 1902.
The 2nd Battalion served in India from 1882 to 1898, and saw action in the Sikkim Expedition 1888 and the North West Frontier campaign 1897–1898, after which they transferred to Aden. They were stationed at Malta from February 1900 until returning home in May 1902.
In October 1902, the Nottinghamshire association was made explicit, the name changing to the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had two Reserve battalions and four Territorial battalions.
First World War
Regular Army
The 1st battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 24th Brigade in the 8th Division in November 1914 for service on the Western Front.
The 2nd battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of 18th Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 also for service on the Western Front.
Reserve Battalions
The 3rd (Reserve) and 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalions were depot/training units. They moved to Plymouth (3rd Battalion) and Sunderland (4th Battalion) in August 1914. In May 1915, the 3rd Battalion joined the 4th in Sunderland, where they both remained as part of Tyne Garrison, as holding and reinforcement units.
Territorial Force
The 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th and 1/8th battalions landed in France as part of the Sherwood Foresters Brigade in the North Midland Division (later 139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade and 46th (North Midland) Division respectively) in February 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 2nd-Line TF battalions formed on the outbreak of war, the 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/8th battalions, moved to Ireland as part of the 178th (2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade in the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division in April 1916. During the Easter Rising in Ireland, the 2/7th and 2/8th battalions lost over two hundred men killed or wounded at Mount Street on 26 April and at the South Dublin Union on 27 April. The 2/5th, 2/7th and the 2/8th battalions transferred to Le Havre in February 1917 for service on the Western Front while the 2/6th battalion transferred to Boulogne-sur-Mer in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front. 3rd-Line TF battalions (3/5th, 3/6th, 3/7th and 3/8th) were also formed to train drafts for the battalions overseas. The 21st Battalion was formed from Home Service men of the TF.