The Formation of The Royal Welch Fusiliers took place on the 16th March 1689.
King William III authorised the 4th Baron Herbert of Chirbury together with eight other supporters to raise a regiment of infantry,that became the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Since their first engagement at The Battle of the Boyne in 1690, The Royal Welch Fusiliers have served their sovereign and their country with honour,pride and a dedication, duty unequalled in the history of the British Army.
At Waterloo,Wellington just before the battle wrote; "I saw the 23rd the other day,and I never saw any Regiment in such good order. They were not strong, but it was the most complete and handsome body I ever looked at".
Thus starts the history of The Royal Welch Fusiliers, 23rd Foot.

The Regimental Goat

No record exists of the origin of the custom that the Royal Welch Fusiliers march with a goat with guilded horns at their head.It was apparently a custom of some long standing in 1777,where Major Donkin wrote in his Military Collections and remarks that 'the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers has a privilegeous honour of passing in review preceded by a goat with guilded horns,and adorned with ringlets of flowers and that the corps values itself much on the ancientness of the custom.
It was in 1844 that Queen Victoria gave the first Royal Goat,and since then the regular battalions and most of the territorial battalions have had a goat presented by the sovereign.
The goats are selected from the Royal herd which was started from those given to Queen Victoria by the Shah of Persia. In Recent times,when no goat was available in the Royal Herd; Her Majesty The Queen has graciously pleased to present a wild goat from the mountains of North Wales,Where several herds still exist.
The Goat, never referred to as a mascot,is an essential part of the Regiment and accompanies it wherever it goes.
Every goat has a silver headplate identifying him as a gift of the Sovereign. The goat of The 1st Battalion also wears a silver chain and shield around his neck,presented by the Mayor of Lichfield in 1904. Goat's wear no other decoration, although, traditionally, their horns are guilded.
The Goat is in the care of a soldier with the honorary title of Goat Major.Br
The Black Flash

In the days when soldiers wore pigtails, the hair was powdered and greased. In order to protect their jackets, the pigtails were enclosed in a "queue bag". In 1808, hair was ordered to be cut close to the neck and the queue was abolished. The Officers decided to retain the ribbons with which the queue was tied, and using an old slang word for a wig, they were known as the "Flash".
Of all British soldiers none can be more readily identified than a Royal Welch Fusilier. The five black ribbon's which he wears on his collar make him unmistakable.
Until 1900 the Flash was worn only by Officers,Warrant Officers and Staff Sergeants, but in that year the Queen was 'graciously pleased to approve of all ranks of the line(regular) Battalions...wearing on the full dress a "Flash" somewhat similar to that now worn by the Officers of the Regiment'.
In November 1923,the Kings Private Secretary wrote to the War Office to say that his Majesty considers that the distinction of the Flash should be worn on all Ceremonial and Church parades and when walking out. It is most highly valued by the Regiment.





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