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Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has said that a planned shake-up of Army regiments will bring "overwhelming advantages" without loss of identity.
Some 19 single-battalion infantry regiments would be merged under the proposals. Four more would disappear.
Mr Hoon said they might incorporate their historic names into new titles.
But former members of a 300-year-old regiment handed in a petition with 30,000 signatures to Downing Street, pleading for their survival.
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment (KORBR), based in Cumbria, is 300 years old.
It is likely to be one of those merged or disbanded as a consequence of large spending cuts in the armed forces.
Eric Martlew, Labour MP for Carlisle, said: "We are the oldest regiment in the north of England and it is very important for practical reasons that we keep the regiment or keep the name of the regiment.
"The tradition is we recruit from Cumbria and north Lancashire. If we lose the local regiment it would be as though the defence of Britain has got nothing to do with us."
BBC Read More
Some 19 single-battalion infantry regiments would be merged under the proposals. Four more would disappear.
Mr Hoon said they might incorporate their historic names into new titles.
But former members of a 300-year-old regiment handed in a petition with 30,000 signatures to Downing Street, pleading for their survival.
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment (KORBR), based in Cumbria, is 300 years old.
It is likely to be one of those merged or disbanded as a consequence of large spending cuts in the armed forces.
Eric Martlew, Labour MP for Carlisle, said: "We are the oldest regiment in the north of England and it is very important for practical reasons that we keep the regiment or keep the name of the regiment.
"The tradition is we recruit from Cumbria and north Lancashire. If we lose the local regiment it would be as though the defence of Britain has got nothing to do with us."
BBC Read More
