Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army , part of the Prince of Wales ' Division . The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd ( Cheshire ) Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire . The title 22nd ( Cheshire ) Regiment continued to be used within the regiment . The 22nd Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 325 years , being one of five line infantry regiments never to have been amalgamated in its history . Up to 2006 , it shared this claim with : On September 1 , 2007 , the Cheshire Regiment was merged with other regiments to form part of the Mercian Regiment , becoming " 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment ( Cheshire ) " . History . In 1689 , Henry , Duke of Norfolk , raised a regiment on the little Roodee at Chester , in an effort to resist any attempt by James II to re - take the English throne . For the early part of its formation , the regiment was known by the name of the current Colonel - in - Chief , later becoming known as the 22nd Regiment of Foot . In the same year that it was raised , the regiment saw its first action as part of a British force sent to Ireland under the command of General Frederick Schomberg , 1st Duke of Schomberg , taking part in the siege and capture of Carrickfergus . In 1690 , the 22nd fought in the Battle of Boyne , and in 1691 at the Battle of Aughrim . The regiment continued to serve as a garrison in Ireland from this point until 1695 , when it was sent to the Low Countries for a short time before returning to its duties in Ireland . In 1702 , the regiment sailed to Jamaica under the colonelcy of William Selwyn , spending the next twelve years in combat duties against the French and native population , both on land and at sea . In 1726 the regiment was posted to Minorca where it remained for the next 22 years , although a detachment was present at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 , during the War of the Austrian Succession . By 1751 the regiment had become the 22nd Foot , having previously been called after its successive colonels . In 1758 it formed part of Lord Amhest ' s expedition against the fortress of Louisberg in French Canada . The following year the regiment took part in General Wolfe ' s victory over the French at Quebec . The 22nd Foot received two battle honours for taking part in the capture of Martinique and the British expedition against Cuba during 1762 . After home service the regiment was sent to America in 1775 . Having embarked in advance of the rest of the regiment at the request of Colonel Gage , Lt . Col . Abercrombie arrived in Boston just before the Battle of Bunker Hill , where he was killed in action . The regiment later evacuated from Boston to Halifax and then onto the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776 . Its Light Infantry Company participated in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 and later the Southern Campaigns in the 1780s , eventually surrendering with Cornwallis at Yorktown . The Battalion Company ' s occupied Newport Rhode Island , participating in the Battle of Rhode Island , eventually returning to New York City in 1779 and surrounding territory where the bulk of the regiment would remain until the end of the War , participating most notably at the First Battle of Springfield in early June 1780 . Although the County designation existed as early as 1772 , the regiment was retitled The 22nd ( Cheshire ) Regiment of Foot in 1782 , the regiment served in the West Indies from 1793 , taking part in expeditions against Martinique , St Lucia , Guadeloupe and St Domingo . Between 1800 and 1803 the 22nd was posted to South Africa , then moving to India where it suffered heavy losses during the assault on Bhurtpore ( 1805 ) . In 1810 , the regiment took part in the occupation of Mauritius where it remained in garrison until 1819 . In 1843 , the regiment gained the battle honours of Meeanee , Hyderabad and Scinde during further Indian service . As one of the older regiments of British line infantry already having two battalions , the regiment was not merged with another line regiment by the Cardwell reforms of 1881 . The reforms added the following units : 1st Royal Cheshire Light Infantry Militia , 2nd Royal Cheshire Militia , 1st Cheshire RVC , 2nd ( Earl of Chester ' s ) Cheshire RVC , 3rd Cheshire RVC , 4th Cheshire ( Cheshire and Derbyshire ) RVC , and the 5th Cheshire RVC . Its recruiting area was confirmed as being the County of Cheshire . Both battalions of the regiment served in Burma between 1887 and 1891 , while the 2nd Battalion saw active service in South Africa in 1900 . On 24 August 1914 the 1st Battalion suffered 771 casualties at Audregnies in Belgium during the closing stages of the Battle of Mons . The reconstituted battalion served throughout World War I on the Western Front , winning 35 battle honours . Other battalions served at Gallipoli , in Palestine and on the Western Front . Total losses to the Regiment during 1914 – 18 were 8 , 420 dead . In 1939 – 40 , the 2nd Battalion of The Cheshires served in France before being evacuated from Dunkirk . The 1st Battalion fought in North Africa at Tobruk and subsequently took part in the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945 . The 2nd Battalion took part in the D Day landings in 1944 , while the 6th and 7th Battalions fought in Italy . During the post - war years the regiment served in Palestine , Egypt , Cyprus , Malaya , Singapore , Hong Kong , Bahrein , Belize , Berlin , West Germany , and Northern Ireland . In 1978 , Mike Dauncey was appointed Colonel Commandant . In 1982 , eight soldiers from the Cheshire ' s were killed in the Droppin Well bombing . It celebrated its Tercentenary in 1989 , as one of only two English county infantry regiments never to have been amalgamated – retaining a distinct identity during 300 years of service . Recent history . Between 1986 and 1988 , the 1st Battalion was posted to Caterham as a public duties battalion . This was the first time that a line infantry unit had been posted as such – before this , although line infantry battalions had performed public duties , this had only been for brief periods . Amongst the duties performed was the mounting of the Queen ' s Guard at Buckingham Palace . Reorganisation of the British Army . In 2004 , as a part of the restructuring of the infantry , it was announced that the Cheshire Regiment would be amalgamated with the Staffordshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters to form the new Mercian Regiment . In the August 2007 , the regiment moved to Catterick , simultaneously being renamed as the 1st Battalion , Mercian Regiment ( Cheshire ) , in the light infantry role . The regiment resides in Marne Barracks , which it shares with 5th Regiment Royal Artillery . Battle honours . The regiment was awarded the following battle honours . Those from the two World Wars that are emblazoned on the Queen ' s Colour are indicated in bold .