SOLDIERS from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters today mark the end of an era as they join the new Mercian regiment.

The Woofers are fighting in Helmand province in Afghanistan and cannot be at the historic ceremony in Tamworth.

But all 650 troops will be there in spirit as their own pre-recorded ceremony plays on a big screen at the main event, watched by their Colonel in Chief, Prince Charles in full military regalia.

The Woofers will replace their old caps with the new caps of the Mercian regiment at 11.45am, becoming in that moment the 2nd Battalion of the Mercians.

Gone will be their old insignia - the hind and garter star - and in will come the double-headed eagle and a new motto, "stand firm, strike hard".

The Woofers join the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment, the Staffordshire Regiment and the Territorial Army's West Midland Regiment as each becomes one of four battalions of the Mercians.

Lance Corporal Richard Stockdale, aged 31, of Church Street, Great Malvern, was one of the few troops from Worcestershire able to attend the ceremony - the rest are abroad fighting.

Lance Corporal Stockdale of the West Midland TA's Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters company, who served in Iraq in 2006, said: "Hopefully the regiment history will stay with us but a certain identity will be lost. It's a very good thing we're all together - I have the same cap badge as my friends. I will see myself as a full Mercian but I am also very proud of the regiment that was. The old cap will be probably be put away in a wardrobe and found again, years from now."

Brigadier Chris Hughes, the colonel of the new Mercian regiment, said although the Woofers were not present in body, they were there in spirit.

He said: "It's sad to see the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters disappear. We were hoping to have a live link but distance and operations have defeated us on that. I know how well they have been doing in Afghanistan with acts of bravery that take your breath away. The identities of each regiment will continue in more than just spirit. We will take forward what is best in all three regiments. It's my intention that they will be the best infantry regiment in the British Army."

It is not the first time soldiers from Worcestershire have been incorporated into a new regiment - the Worcester regiment joined with the Sherwood Foresters on February 28, 1970, to form the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters.

"Golden threads" to the past will remain to remind the Mercians of their links to Worcestershire - the Lincoln Green patch behind the cap badge and the Ram Mascot Private Derby will feature in future ceremonies.