The Sherwood Foresters

Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment) Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)
Cap Badge of the Sherwood Foresters
Active	1881–1970
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Line infantry
Size	1-2 Regular battalions 2 Militia and Special Reserve battalions 2-4 Territorial and Volunteer battalions Up to 13 Hostilities-only battalions
Garrison/HQ	Normanton Barracks, Derby
Anniversaries	Badajoz (6 April) Alma (20 September)

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 was later, in 2007, 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 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment.

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 Sherwood Foresters saw action in Egypt during the Anglo-Egyptian War and in South Africa during the Second Boer War.

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.