Fears regiment plans will hit Territorial Army recruitment, warns MP
Controversial plans to disband a Territorial Army regiment which has soldiers in Shropshire would have a "catastrophic" impact on recruitment, a county MP warned today.
Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski has hit out at proposals to split up The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry (RMLY) – a TA regiment dating back to 1794.
The rumoured move, blamed on cutbacks, would mean losing about 100 soldiers in the Midlands including a number from the Shropshire Yeomanry B Squadron, based in Dawley Bank, Telford.
According to a senior Yeomanry source, the RMLY would be replaced by a new Scottish regiment. But in a letter to Defence Minister Mark Francois, Mr Kawczynski said he feared the move would create "catastrophic" recruitment problems.
He said: "I am deeply disheartened about this situation if it is true. The proximity of the RMLY's headquarters in Shropshire to its squadrons in Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and the West Midlands is the reason they are the best recruited Yeomanry regiment in the country with more soldiers on operations this year than the other three regiments."
Mr Kawczynski said: "This distancing of headquarters and sub units is having a catastrophic effect on recruiting and retention."
He also criticised proposals to merge the Shropshire and Dudley squadrons to form a Scottish Yeomanry. He said: "There are unwelcome political issues here and the Scottish Yeomanry option was tried at the Strategic Defence Review in 1998, was a woeful failure, resulting in its closing over a decade ago."
Mr Kawczynski said he had received a number of representations from constituents within the Shropshire Yeomanry squadron and The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry.
In a letter to Mr Francois he said: "At a time where we are due to lose 142 Brigade from Copthorne Barracks in my constituency, I hope you can understand my serious concerns with regards to this news."
About 80 military and civilian staff serving with The Headquarters 143 (West Midlands) Brigade at the Copthorne Road base will transfer to Donnington in Telford by 2015. The move signals the end of the regular Army's 138-year presence at Copthorne Barracks.
