The pair of ferrets, named after two battle honours, have quickly made themselves at home in Münster in their own special cage which now takes pride of place in front of the 1 YORKS Guard Room in Oxford Barracks.
The light role infantry battalion - nicknamed the "The Yorkshire Warriors" - has joined the remainder of the 20th Armoured Brigade in Germany, after becoming part of the British Army formation in August last year.
The handsome ferrets were originally a gift from the people of Yorkshire and have since been adopted as official pets.
The tradition of keeping the animals may fall back to the First World War when the troops were short of food in the trenches and would use the animals to hunt for rabbits to supplement their diet.
Today the two males play a central part in Battalion life, taking part in parades and even wearing their own uniforms in regimental colours. They are looked after by the Provost Staff in the Battalion's Guard Room.
Provo Corporal Norman Shay said:
"They're doing fine - I don't think they've realised yet that they're in Germany. We had their 'kennel' sent out prior to them leaving so that once they had arrived it would be all here ready for them.
"They've got freedom of the parade ground, and they will go in and out of the troops when they're all formed up. Most recently when we returned from Iraq we had the homecoming parade and the ferrets did the complete parade with us as well.
"They have a jacket in Brunswick Green with a capbadge on the side of it and they have little hats and the regimental leads which are exactly the same as our stable belts. They're the pride of the Battalion."
Lance Corporal 'Dutch' Vann-Stewart, aged 33 from Bradford, added:
"They scratch and bite every now and then, but they are good fun. They are little characters and are generally friendly - they just don't like being held too long.
"But they are a good pet and they're great with kids. They're entertaining."
Having completed the move to Germany from Catterick, most of the Battalion will now deploy to Iraq in November with the 20th Armoured Brigade on Operation TELIC 13. Meanwhile B Company have already deployed to Kosovo last month as the Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Task Force (ISR TF).
Officer Commanding Support Company, Major Dan Whiter, said:
"We became part of the Brigade in the middle of last year and since then we've taken part in several exercises
"We're a light role infantry battalion and we've come across with some Land Rovers and some support vehicles, but most of the time we patrol on foot. We provide a specific niche capability - the light role infantry battalion is a highly sought after unit because it's so versatile and can move into complex terrain, whereas the armoured parts of the Brigade are slightly tied down to their vehicles. We provide a bit of flexibility for the Brigade Commander.
"Now we're actually here it's going to be so much better."
1 YORKS was formed in June 2006 from The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire. They have been part of 20th Armoured Brigade since returning from Operation TELIC 9 in Iraq in 2007.
