The Ferret Education and Research Trust is extremely proud to be associated with Her Majesty's Armed Forces by way of charitable patronage from The Yorkshire Regiment.

As is the strong tradition within Yorkshire, ferrets make their presence known within this regiment which is steeped in a 300 year history of Yorkshire warrior tradition and the unity of common values.

The regiment is the home of Imphal and Quebec; two marvellous and handsome ferrets who were originally a gift from local people and as such were adopted by the regiment as their official mascots. The ferrets are named after 2 battles which the Yorkshire Regiment fought in and received honours for;

The first is Imphal - which took place around a city of the same name in Burma during the campaign in 1944. It involved The West Yorkshire Regiment (14th Foot) and it is marked by a regimental anniversary which is held on 22nd June.

The second is Quebec - a conflict during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. The day is marked and celebrated through the regimental anniversary on 13th September and was formerly a Regimental Day of the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot).

FERT would like to express its thanks and gratitude to Major (Ret'd) Mike Sullivan, Regimental Affairs Officer, who was a huge help in assisting our charity to obtain this precious patronage. Major Sullivan added in his letter to FERT HQ "The Yorkshire Regiment... who are based in Catterick but are currently serving on Operation TELIC in Iraq.... is happy to be associated with your charity.... you will pleased to hear that the mascots are enjoying life in Catterick rather than Basra." (Trustee Note: I am sure they would be there to help out if they could!)

Our charity would very much like to remind the public that British servicemen and women around the world all perform a very valuable role and one that should never be taken for granted. Whatever your beliefs or denominations, please remember them in your thoughts and prayers.

For more information on The Yorkshire Regiment; the various battalions and their history, please visit Official 1YORKS MOD website.