THE fight to save the Dukes goes to the Commons today.
Two local MPs are to present a 3,000-name petition to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, urging him not to axe the Duke of Wellington's regiment.
Ironically, the move comes as the regiment's 1st Battalion prepares for a return to action in Iraq.
More than 600 troops - many of them from the Huddersfield area - are being mobilised to return to Basra.
But it is feared the 300-year old regiment could vanish in sweeping changes to Britain's armed forces, with more news expected this week.
Calder Valley MP Chris McCafferty and Halifax MP Alice Mahon will present the petition to Mr Hoon at Westminster.
Mrs McCafferty said: "The traditions and identity of the regiment are important in terms of morale and organisation and are vital in terms of local recruitment."
Huddersfield's Labour MP Barry Sheerman said: "I've always had a good relationship with the Dukes and know them well. It would be sad if they disappeared as a regiment.
"It would be very easy for a politician to interfere in a decision about what sort of modern army there should be.
"But I would have to be presented with a strong case if a historic regiment like the Dukes was to go.
"We do have to modernise, but hopefully, this can be done by taking into account historic traditions and names."
Colne Valley MP Kali Mountford is to meet Maj-Gen Sir Evelyn Webb- Carter, the regiment's CO, this week.
She said: "It's wise to see what he has to say before making any detailed comment. Just to make objections about any draft plans is mere posturing.
"I prefer to make positive proposals of our own about preserving the regiment's future.
"For example, a proposal for a single Yorkshire regiment that could preserve the Dukes' name and the local connections could be one possibility."
* A car bomb exploded near the Australian Embassy in Baghdad today, killing at least two people
