Proposal for Regiment Mascot to Get Freedom of the Borough Receives Support

The proposal from Cllr Robert Pritchard, Deputy Leader of Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council, to honour LCpl Watchman V (and his successors) with the “Freedom of the Borough of Tamworth” has received support from both local residents and the Mercian Regiment.

Two letters have been published in the latest edition of the Tamworth Herald praising the proposal and Brigadier Andrew P Williams OBE, Colonel of the Mercian Regiment, has sent his support to Cllr Pritchard.

Brigadier Williams said, “As Colonel of the Mercian Regiment I’m delighted that Tamworth has chosen to honour Watchman in this way.  Watchman and his predecessors were mascots to the Staffordshire Regiment for very many years, a relationship now surviving with the Regimental Association.

“He is in so many ways a vivid example of the close links that we have with the county, and of course with the Borough of Tamworth in particular.  The Mercian Regiment places great emphasis on its sense of family and on its links with the community from which it recruits, and this Freedom is a great honour for not only Watchman but the wider regimental family as well.”

In his letter to the Herald, Tamworth resident and former member of the North Staffs regiment, Chippy Lees, said, “Giving Watchman the Freedom of the Borough of Tamworth is a truly wonderful idea.”

A second letter from an unnamed resident also praised the proposal, the resident wrote, “Watchman is an important tradition of our county’s regiment that we need to protect.  This is a fantastic gesture on behalf of Tamworth Borough Council and I can see no reason why anyone should oppose it.”

Cllr Pritchard added, “I am really please with the support, it is a very very positive response to our proposal.”