Brothers Peter and Michael Hastings are in the final stages of training before setting off to begin security and peace-keeping duties in Iraq.

The duo are among ten members of Keighley's Territorial Army detachment of the East and West Riding Regiment (EWRR).

They will all be wearing the cap badges of "The Dukes", the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, which is facing the axe as part of the Defence Secretary's plan to cut the number of infantry battalions nationwide from 40-36.

The EWRR was formed following the amalgamation of the "Dukes", the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the King's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry.

As the fight to save the regiment gathered pace this week regular soldiers in the "Dukes" came under fire within days of being sent to Iraq to help control Basra.

Troops in the first battalion were involved in a firefight in the country's second city on Tuesday but there were no casualties.

Last year the Hastings's younger brother, Matthew, returned from a similar operation in Iraq.

A campaigner to save the "Dukes" is urging supporters to keep-up-the-pressure on the Government.

Mary Lister, whose 36 year-old brother Tommy Thompson is a corporal in the regiment, is holding a mass rally in Keighley Town Hall Square, on Sunday, November 7 -- four days before Remembrance Day.

Mrs Lister, of Keighley, who presented a 2,500-name petition to Defence Secretary Geff Hoon earlier this week, said she was "sickened" by the plans, especially as troops were now risking their lives in Iraq.

Craven Council, in Skipton, is preparing to add its weight to the campaign.

A proposal before the full council, which meets on Tuesday, calls for representations to be made to MPs in North Yorkshire to safeguard the future of the regiment.

The rally, in Keighley Town Hall Square, is from 1pm. Hundreds of people are expected.