The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment
Sherwood Foresters Reenactment Association
Memphis, Tennessee   USA

The Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment), the county regiment of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, has a long and proud history, filled with tradition and battle honors.  Formed by joining the 45th and 95th Regiments in 1882, but with traditions and honors going back an additional 140 years, the Sherwood Foresters served with great distinction around the world until 1970.  In that year, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to form the Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters.  The WFR, as the new unit was known, continued the traditions of its predecessors until 2007, when it became part of the new Mercian Regiment. 
    One of the greatest trials for the Foresters came with the outbreak of World War II in 1939.  Foresters fought in nearly every theater of operations during the war.  Early on, Forester battalions were part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France.  After the evacuation of Dunkirk, Foresters participated in the campaign in Norway.
    Forester battalions also fought Rommel's Afrika Korps, landed in Sicily, and were heavily engaged in the Italian Campaign: Salerno, Anzio, the Liri Valley, Gothic Line, and Northern Italy.  In the Far East, Foresters were caught up in the bitter fighting and eventual surrender of Singapore to the Japanese.  Other soldiers of the regiment served in Burma as volunteers with the famous Chindits.  Foresters also fought in Malaya.  
    There were Foresters in the ranks of the Commandos, conducting swift raids into German-occupied territory.  Foresters serving in No. 4 Commando were among the first British troops to land on Sword Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944.
    Our association, based in Memphis, Tennessee, portrays soldiers of a typical wartime Forester battalion.  Most of our impression is focused on the 5th Foresters in Italy, but we also have kit for Burma, North Africa, and Northwest Europe.  We are dedicated to accuracy in our portrayal, and strive to improve our kit and impression through continued research.