Businessman appointed honorary colonel

The appointment will see Carl, who leads the Richardson family business in Oldbury alongside his two brothers Martyn and Lee, working closely with the Regiment's reserve battalion, providing support to its leadership, and fostering esprit de corps.

Mr Richardson has already started to establish and develop strong links with 4 MERCIAN, having been hosted last week by the battalion in Wolverhampton as part of an official visit.

The Richardson family has a long history of supporting the UK Armed Forces, with Carl previously serving as Honorary Colonel of 35th Signals Regiment as well as an Honorary Captain in the Royal Navy Reserve. Seven family members have also been in uniform in living memory.

He said: "On behalf of my family I am honoured to take up this role with 4th Battalion, The Mercian Regiment.

“The role of reservists within our military is becoming ever more important, and we look forward to working closely with Lt Col Charlie Whitting and his team, offering support to the 4 Mercian family as best we can.

“The Army is a highly respected institution and we would like to think our business shares their high esteem for the values of integrity, resourcefulness and teamwork.”

Lt Col Whitting, commanding officer 4 MERCIAN, said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to be welcoming Colonel Carl to 4 MERCIAN as our new Honorary Colonel.

“The Richardson family have deep roots in the West Midlands and a longstanding history of supporting our Armed Forces.

"Combined, this makes for the perfect relationship between the Mercian Regiment and the Richardson family; Carl’s appointment as Honorary Colonel is fantastic news for us and the Mercian Regiment as a whole.

“We were fortunate to be able to host Colonel Carl during his recent visit to our battalion headquarters in Wolverhampton last week, which marked the start of his appointment; we are already planning future engagements as part of the Mercian Regiment’s busy and varied calendar.”

The Mercian Regiment is known as ‘The Heart of England’s Infantry’ because its soldiers were historically recruited from the five counties that formed the ancient Kingdom of Mercia: Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, as well as the Black Country, and the Wirral.

The regiment has one regular battalion based in Bulford, Salisbury, and one reserve battalion based in various locations around the Midlands.