Article The Gurkhas

[Bombardier]

I thought I would write a little about the Gurkhas, a fighting force I have been in awe of since I was child. What prompted me was my reading of a book I have had for some time, the book is simply titled ‘Gurkhas’ and is written by Sandro Tucci. Whatever I write as I go along is not intended as a plug for the book but to honour these brave and loyal warriors as best I can, however if you go and get a copy of the book after reading this, you will not be sorry that you did.

I have been a long time donator to the ‘Gurkha Welfare Trust’ and felt compelled to do so because of the way the Gurkhas were treated by a British government that seemed happy to take the loyalty of these courageous men and not give them anything in return. I was ashamed albeit that was not the only reason I supported them obviously.

During my own military service I had on occasion the pleasure of meeting some of these fine soldiers and found them to be gentlemen always immaculately turned out in trousers, blazers, shirt and tie and equally as smart in military uniform.

HRH the Prince of Wales has written the Foreword for the book which I will cover shortly. On the inside of the dust cover the author Sandro Tucci has this to say about the Ghurkha’s, which I thought was a wonderful tribute and lead in to why the book was produced.

He writes

The Gurkhas are proud sons of a blessed land, where the mountains and the flowers, the rivers and the scents, all seem to talk an eternal language of beauty and peace. They are also sons of a world where nothing comes about without the pain of hard work and hungry days. Often at night I listened to the stories of the old men, talking about the hurts and fears of leaving their homes and their families to go in search of a better life in remote, unknown lands. And then I remembered the tales my parents told of southern Italy, of our villages without men, of the long and lonely wait of our mothers for their long lost sons, and everything somehow seemed to aquire a new meaning. There was a mystery; it had been unveiled, and become a fact of life.

'One day, at a British Gurkha centre, I met a boy who had walked for 13 days, alone, to go to the mythical British Army. He came from Rukum, in the east of Nepal, he had no clothes other than what he was wearing, he knew nothing about anything, except maybe how to tend sheep or collect wood and water. Still he smiled, with the strange gentleness of the Hill people.

'To him, whether he was recruited or not, to the people of Nepal, to the British officers who give such a remarkable example of fairness, dedication and love to their "men", this book is intended as a small tribute.' - Sandro Tucci.

HRH Prince of Wales

The very name ‘Gurkha’ is a byword for courage and steadfastness, but quite why the Gurkha soldier possesses these qualities in such abundance is perhaps less widely appreciated.

Nepal his native land is stupendously beautiful, but it can also be cruel, capable of inflicting hardship and deprivation on its inhabitants in the form of natural disasters such as landslides and crop failures. The Gurkha’s resultant Spartan upbringing in a harsh environment (where survival to adulthood is in itself and achievement) his strong sense of loyalty fostered by the bonds of family, village and tribe, his stoicism in adversity and his innate cheerfulness give him so many of the characteristics of the natural soldier. They also help explain the basis of his fearsome reputation in battle.
The book also indicates why the Gurkha so readily chooses to leave his home in the hills and become a ‘Lahure’ – to ‘go for soldier’. There are of course economic pressures in an over-populated land, but the Gurkha is in no sense a mercenary. He lives in a free country which has always been proudly independent. The spirit of independence leads him to choose soldiering as an honourable profession, entered into freely. It leads him also to stand by his oath of allegiance, freely given. It is not by chance that Nepal is Britain’s oldest ally in Asia. To be associated in some way with the Ghurkha’s as Colonel-in-Chief of 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] King Edward VII’s own Goorkhas, is one of the greatest privileges of my life, as well as being one of the greatest pleasures.

Links
https://www.gwt.org.uk/ - Gurkha welfare trust

The book details

• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd; First Edition, First Impression edition (Oct. 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0241116902
• ISBN-13: 978-0241116906

Some pictures


THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE SINAI AND PALESTINE CAMPAIGN, 1915-1918. © IWM (Q 12935)IWM Non Commercial Licence





THE BRITISH ARMY IN ITALY 1944. © IWM (NA 18490)IWM Non Commercial Licence


THE BRITISH ARMY IN MALAYA 1941. © IWM (FE 248)IWM Non Commercial Licence


THE BRITISH ARMY 1945 - 1975. © Crown copyright. IWM (TR 21275)IWM Non Commercial Licence


Sepoy, 2/9th Gurkhas. © IWM (Art.IWM ART 2346)IWM Non Commercial Licence

 

[Pretorian]

Excellent

British Gurkha units 1947–1994


2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (1947–1994)
6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles (1947–1994)
7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles (1947–1994)
10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles (1947–1994)
Gurkha Army Service Corps (1958–1965)
Gurkha Transport Regiment (1965–1992)
Queen's Gurkha Engineers (1977–present)
Gurkha Engineer Training Squadron, Royal Engineers (1948–1951)
50th (Gurkha) Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers (1951–1955)
Gurkha Engineers (1955–1977)
Queen's Gurkha Signals (1977–present)
Gurkha Signals (1948–1949)
Gurkha Royal Signals (1949–1954)
Gurkha Signals (1954–1977)
Gurkha Provost Company, Royal Military Police (1949–1957)
17th Gurkha Divisional Provost Company, Royal Military Police (1957–1969)
Gurkha Independent Parachute Company, Parachute Regiment (ca. 1960–1970)


Current units of the Brigade of Gurkhas


HQ, Brigade of Gurkhas, based at Trenchard Lines, Upavon
British Gurkhas Nepal
1st and 2nd Battalions, The Royal Gurkha Rifles
The Queen's Gurkha Engineers based within 36 Engineer Regiment, Invicta Park Barracks, Maidstone
The Queen's Gurkha Signals, based in York, Bramcote, Blandford and Stafford. There are additional Troop locations in Nepal and Brunei.
10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment RLC, based at Aldershot Garrison.
The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas
Gurkha Company, 3rd Battalion, Infantry Training Centre, Catterick
The Gurkha Company (Sitang), Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Gurkha Company (Mandalay), Infantry Battle School, Brecon
Brigade of Gurkhas Training Team
Gurkha Language Wing, Catterick

Gurkha Soldier Memorial London


By Diliff (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

1st Gurkha Rifles Cap badge

 

[Bigbird]

Great information about these Loyal soldiers.
I have been to the Gurkha memorial posted by Pretorian.

 

[Razzle]

his stoicism in adversity and his innate cheerfulness give him so many of the characteristics of the natural soldier. They also help explain the basis of his fearsome reputation in battle.

So true that and as has already been said their turnout is immaculate
great info ta very much

 

[Smiffy]

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If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha

Field Marshall S.H.F.J Manekshaw

 

[ENGINEER]

Facebook and Jyoti's Book-- https://www.facebook.com/groups/580457982092086/?ref=bookmarks -- The Kukri Braves.

 

[Bombardier]

Facebook and Jyoti's Book-- https://www.facebook.com/groups/580457982092086/?ref=bookmarks -- The Kukri Braves.

Excellent FB page @ENGINEER just requested to join it.

 

[Jack-Sparrow]

The Gurkha's are brilliant people just like the Sikhs and both have proven themselves to be great warriors and friends of the UK.

 

[Skywolf]

You may like this 1940 MkII British helmet painted to honour the three VC winners of the 5th Gurka Rifles.

The Second Battalion of the Fifth Gorkha Rifles , Frontier Force is popularly known as the 'VC paltan' due to three Victoria Crosses awarded to its personnel during theSecond World War in the Burma campaign. 'Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali' (Victory to Goddess Mahakali, the Gorkhas are coming ), the Gorkhas have served first the British Indian Army and then the Indian Army with distinction for almost two centuries. Over 200,000 of them participated in the two World Wars; of these 43,000 sacrificed their lives.

 

[Firefox]

What a great tribute to these great men @Skywolf

 

[Jack-Sparrow]

Brilliant I want one!

 

[Dave Every]

[1/4th] Gurkhas at kit inspection in [Le Sart,] Flanders. Photographer: H. D. Girdwood.

Image usage terms http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/2/