By Athena Karsera
WHO WEARS white fur, has handsome horns and is called Myfanwy? The Welsh Gunners’ new mascot.
The female goat was last week given to the 22nd Regiment of the Royal Artillery, known as the ‘Welsh Gunners’, by a friendly buffer zone farmer, Captain Vicki Walker told the Cyprus Mailyesterday.
Goat raiser Yiannis Massouris presented Myfanwy to UN civil affairs personnel last Thursday after hearing that the Welsh Gunners traditionally kept goats as mascots.
Unficyp spokesman Sarah Russell said that the farmer from a village east of Nicosia had excellent relations with UN personnel in the area and had been keen to help out when he heard they were on the look-out for a new goat.
She said the Gunners’ last mascot, called Bad Attitude, which was kept at the regiment’s headquarters in Lancashire, died of old age at the end of last year and that the Gunners were delighted with the gift.
Captain Walker said Myfanwy would this week be undergoing a veterinary examination and join another herd belonging to UN civilian employee Marie Casey.
“Quarantine laws mean it will be complicated to take her with us when we leave in December,” Captain Walker explained — also adding that in the herd the mascot would not feel lonely.
Until Myfanwy joins Casey’s herd, she will remain in a comfortable pen, befitting her position as mascot.
Captain Walker said the enclosure had been built by the Welsh Gunners’ engineering attachment.
She said Myfanwy was being given a mixture of special goat food, fresh vegetables and leaves. Care was also taken so that the pen was built on hard ground to prevent foot rot, which goats are susceptible to, Russell noted.
It gives Myfanwy plenty of room to walk around and shelter from the sweltering heat.
The mascot will return from the herd to the squadron to carry out her “official duties”, including taking part in the squadron’s end of rotation medal parade in September.
Captain Walker said Myfanwy was a mature goat and had had at least one litter of kids.
Animals have been kept by army squadrons for hundreds of years, said Bombardier Christopher Pike, dating back to an age when soldiers took animals into war for good luck.
He said that the Welsh Guards and the Royal Welch Fusiliers also kept goats as mascots and that an English squadron was known for keeping a ferret as its official mascot.
Sergeant Major Peter Syrat told the Cyprus Mailthe Welsh Gunners were formally recognised at the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969 and had had a goat as mascot ever since.
Like her predecessors, Myfanwy wears a red gold embroidered and tasselled coat on official business, featuring the Prince of Wales’ feathers symbol.
The 22nd Regiment of the Royal Artillery will return to the UK at the end of their term in Cyprus for training purposes before moving on to their next posting.
