Well, you don't have to go back centuries to the Lancs. Fusiliers. Although I'm not from this part of the country I have some affection for the RRF having trained with them at Bassingbourn in 1972 and remembering Mac Hogg our Sgt. coming up behind me on my first day on parade and asking me if he was hurting me. "No, Sjt!" "Well I should be, I'm standing on your hair!" But ever since the amalgamations of the early '60's and moves between Bn.s the identity of regiments has been compromised. So the amalgamations of the late '60's (e.g. to make my Regiment, The Queen's) compromised it further. Although my first platoon Sgt. (in the TA before I went in as a regular) had done his national service with my dad and my first RSM had been a training corporal with my father in 1944, and the Adj. and IO were the sons of my dad's CO it wasn't the same because recruiting was a problem and people without a clear commitment to a particular regiment or Bn. had to be shuffled so units going to NI on Op Banner were as strong as they could be. And then the regiment was amalgamated yet again to make the PWRR. EVERY regiment and EVERY Bn. is a family that wants to be preserved.

We may weep, but I expect they did so in 1881 when the county system was introduced.

The real problem is that we expect all the best kit for our troops and this gets more and more expensive. And the hardware for the RN and RAF is astronomically expensive and, quite apart from the c-ups of procurement, arms companies and other vested interests in the military-industrial complex use it as a gravy train.

We may feel sorry for those in BAe whose jobs are under threat, but the squillions blown on space age gadgetry for killing people costs us soldiers who can be used for other things as well and can win hearts and minds (not notedly achieved by a drone strike or Trident) as well as costing us schools, hospitals etc. etc.