Royal Regiment of Wales The Royal Regiment of Wales ( 24th / 41st Foot ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army , part of the Prince of Wales ' Division . It was formed in 1969 by the amalgamation of The South Wales Borderers and The Welch Regiment . The Royal Regiment of Wales was one of two British regiments to have a goat as its mascot . The other one was the Royal Welch Fusiliers . The regiment ' s goats were always named Taffy plus a Roman numeral to show the succession , and are traditionally selected from the royal herd kept at Whipsnade Zoo , an outstation of the London Zoo . It ' s fitting that the two regiments with goat - mascots have now combined as one . The soldier in charge of the mascot is styled as the " Goat Major " , who , unlike what the rank suggests , is a corporal . Prince Charles was appointed Colonel - in - Chief of the new regiment in early 1969 , his first Army appointment . The amalgamation parade of the two regiments took place in Cardiff Castle in early 1969 , in front of Prince Charles . The point of formation of the new regiment is taken as the point at which Prince Charles placed the new Royal Regiment of Wales green goat - coat upon Taffy the goat - mascot , replacing the Welch Regiment ' s red one . The goat - coat had been worked by the Royal College of Needlework . Postcards of Prince Charles in the new regiment ' s uniform taken at the occasion are still on sale in Cardiff in 2006 . It is said that the then Regimental Sergeant Major , WO1 Gordon Amphlett - later Colonel Gordon Amphlett MBE MVO - was awarded his subsequent MVO decoration - a personal royal honour - for the effectiveness and good humour in teaching the young prince to salute and for his preparedness and poise for the parade . Later in the year the Prince went to Caernarfon , North Wales , where his mother created him Prince of Wales . Charles wore the uniform of Colonel - in - Chief of the Royal Regiment of Wales for the ceremony . The newly formed regiment lined the route on the day at Caernarfon . Assistant military equerries to Prince Charles were regularly drawn from the regiment , notably Lt Christopher Elliott in 1970 - 72 . Lt Elliott went on to a distinguished military career , one - time youngest commanding officer as a Lt Colonel in the Army , retiring as major - general and Colonel of the Regiment . The 1st Battalion , The Royal Regiment of Wales ( 24th / 41st Foot ) had a short existence in military terms , just over 36 years . Within two months of amalgamation , the battalion was serving in Northern Ireland and was one of the first units to be deployed . History . In August 1969 units of the 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Wales became the first British troops to be deployed in Belfast with A & B companies taking control of the Lower Falls Road on the night of August 15 . C company had been deployed some days earlier in Derry . From 1969 to 1973 the regiment was posted to Osnabrück in West Germany , returning to Northern Ireland on two occasions for short tours . On one occasion , Lance Corporal Bennett was awarded the George Medal for bravery while under fire . The battalion returned to Belfast in 1973 for two years as the resident unit then in 1975 it was posted for two years in West Berlin . In 1977 the battalion were brought back to the United Kingdom and posted to Aldershot , also during this period they spent time in Belize and Hong Kong as well as on exercise in Germany and a further tour in Northern Ireland . The battalion re - enacted the defence of Rorke ' s Drift as part of the centenary events at the Cardiff Castle Tattoo in 1979 , probably the best known event in their history . Six months into this tour the battalion was on public duties mounting Royal Guards at Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London . Towards the end of 1979 , 25 soldiers were to play a significant role during Operation Agila , which monitored the fragile ceasefire in Rhodesia ( now Zimbabwe ) prior to and during the first all - party elections . 1982 - The regiment was posted to Lemgo in West Germany to begin a six - year tour of duty as a Mechanised Infantry Battalion with battle - group training taking place at CFB Suffield in Canada for six weeks in 1985 . Northern Ireland continued to dominate life in the battalion ’ s history and during this period . Of particular note was its deployment to Belfast for an emergency tour in May 1981 . The death of hunger - striker Bobby Sands when soldiers found themselves patrolling the streets of the city alongside the 1st Battalion The Royal Welch Fusiliers , with further operational tours in the province of Northern Ireland during 1983 - 84 and 1986 - 87 . 1988 - The battalion returned to the United Kingdom to Warminster in Wiltshire as the School of Infantry ’ s Demonstration Battalion . 1989 - The regiment held its Tercentenary Parade at Cardiff Castle to celebrate the formation of the regiment in March 1989 . In 1990 - The battalion arrived in Hong Kong where it they were deployed to the Sino - Hong Kong Border and also carried out anti - smuggling operations with the police . The opportunities to travel , to play sport and to participate in adventurous training were numerous and overseas deployments took members of the battalion as far as Hawaii , Australia , New Zealand , Borneo and Malaysia . 1993 - Three years later the battalion returned to Britain to be stationed at Tern Hill in Shropshire . From there a company group was deployed to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia on an operational tour . Other companies visited Italy and Jamaica as part of exchange visits . Early in 1994 - The battalion changed roles and began an intense period of Northern Ireland training prior to its deployment to Ballykelly in County Londonderry as a Resident Battalion . In July that year on 25th anniversary of the appointment of The Prince of Wales as Colonel - in - Chief , a memorable parade and Regimental garden party was held in Cardiff Castle at which His Royal Highness was asked to cut the first slice of a large regimental birthday cake . 1996 - 1998 based at hounslow barracks , London 1998 - The 1st Battalion moved to Paderborn ( Germany ) to take up an Armoured Infantry role , equipped with Warrior armoured fighting vehicles , in 1st ( UK ) Armoured Division , part of NATO ’ s Allied Command Europe ( ACE ) Rapid Reaction Corps . 1999 and 2001 deployed operationally to Bosnia ( Op PALATINE ) and then Kosovo ( Op AGRICOLA ) . More recently , the 1st Battalion has been involved in two six - month operational tours in Iraq , which involved leaving the families in Paderborn . The Tercentenary of the Battle of Blenheim in 2004 was marked by a special dinner in London attended by the Colonel - in - Chief accompanied by his future wife . 2005 - The battalion returned to the United Kingdom based at Tidworth . On 1 March 2006 it was announced that , as part of the reorganisation of the infantry , " The Royal Welch Fusiliers and The Royal Regiment of Wales ( 24th / 41st Foot ) together will form The Royal Welsh . " This occurred on 1 March 2006 , St David ' s Day , the national day of Wales . Colonels of the regiment . Royal Regiment of Wales ( 24th / 41st Foot ) Colonels of the Regiment External links . < br >