the name "greenfinch" applied to the women's udr comes from the system of radio "appointment titles" (codewords) used by the army to identify certain people or branches of the service. male soldiers in the regiment were identified as "greentop" and women were given the codeword "greenfinch" with female commanders being referred to as "goldfinch". this became their working nickname. it is still applied today to women in the royal irish regiment.