The Staffordshire bull terrier, the proud mascot of the Staffordshire Regiment for more than 120 years, is to be replaced  next week – by a ram.

Soldiers of the county regiment are furious at the downgrading of their stocky little black terrier, Watchman IV. He has been on every major parade with the Staffords for the past 10 years.

The soldiers had hoped he would become the mascot of the new Mercian Regiment, which will be officially created  at a ceremony in Tamworth on Saturday September 1. 

Instead, Watchman IV is to make way for Private Derby, a Swaledale ram.

“The lads are furious,” a regimental insider told the Express & Star. 

“What the hell has a ram got to do with Staffordshire or anywhere else in the Midlands?”

Read the full story in the Express & Star. 

The Staffordshire bull terrier, the proud mascot of the Staffordshire Regiment for more than 120 years, is to be replaced  next week – by a ram.

Soldiers of the county regiment are furious at the downgrading of their stocky little black terrier, Watchman IV. He has been on every major parade with the Staffords for the past 10 years.

The soldiers had hoped he would become the mascot of the new Mercian Regiment, which will be officially created  at a ceremony in Tamworth on Saturday September 1. 

Instead, Watchman IV is to make way for Private Derby, a Swaledale ram.

“The lads are furious,” a regimental insider told the Express & Star. 

“What the hell has a ram got to do with Staffordshire or anywhere else in the Midlands?”

The new Mercian Regiment comprises the Staffords, Cheshires and the Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters Regiment. 

The controversial merger has already caused resentment among Staffords officers and men who have recently returned from the frontline in Iraq. The downgrading of Watchman IV to an “unofficial mascot” is seen as the latest snub. “They have taken our traditions, our cap badge and our status,” said the soldier. “Now they are taking our dog as well.”

Steve Whitehouse, the Wednesbury breeder who presented Watchman IV to the Staffords 10 years ago, said today: “I think it’s a shame. Why can’t they have two mascots, each with the same status?”

Private Derby is part of the traditions of the defunct Derbyshire Regiment, which was merged into the Sherwood Foresters in 1881.

In the new Mercian Regiment, the ram will appear on full regimental parades. Watchman IV will be seen only at events featuring the regiment’s 3rd (Staffords) Battalion.

Critics say the ram is not as reliable as the terrier. In 2001, the then Private Derby was confined to barracks during the foot and mouth epidemic. 

Said the Staffords soldier: “Besides anything else, rams are rubbish on parade. A dog will obey a word of command but a ram will not. It will be a shambles.”

Major Mike Tarbuck, a spokesman for the Staffordshire Regiment, said Private Derby was getting the top job because he was an official British Army mascot while Watchman IV was an unofficial mascot.

“But Watchman is still going to be about,” he said. “We hope he will be seen as much as possible.”