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‘G’ Company The Gurkha – A Short History by Capt P A Houlton-Hart


The Gurkha soldier takes his name from the city state of Gorkha, whose King in the mid-eighteenth century conquered most of what is now known as Nepal. The King and his successors grew so powerful that they overran the whole of the hill country from the Kashmir border to Bhutan. Their many deep incursions into the territories of the Honourable East India Company were halted by the declaration of war by the Governor General in 1814. After two long and bloody campaigns in the spring of 1816, peace was made.


During the war, a deep feeling of mutual respect and admiration had developed between the British and their adversaries, the British being much impressed by the fighting and other qualities of the Gurkha soldier. Under the terms of the peace treaty, large numbers of Gurkhas were permitted to volunteer for service in the East India Company’s Army. From these volunteers were formed the first Regiments of the Gurkha Brigade, the predecessor to the current Brigade of Gurkhas. Keeping the peace in India under the British flag began for the Gurkha soldiers with the Pindaree War in 1817 and their first battle honour was gained at Bhutpore in 1826. The two senior Regiments would distinguish themselves in the hard fought battles of the 1st Sikh War in 1846 and six Regiments of the Nepalese Army were offered to the East India Company for service in the 2nd Sikh War of 1848. In the Indian Mutiny of 1857/8, 2nd Goorkhas showed striking proof of their loyalty at Delhi where, together with the 60th Rifles, they held Hindu Rao’s house, the key to the British position, under continuous fire from the mutineers for over three months. During this period, 2nd Goorkhas suffered 327 casualties (including 8 of their 9 British Officers) out of a total strength of 490. In commemoration of gallant service, the Regiment was presented with the


The Mercian Eagle


Queen’s Truncheon by Queen Victoria and the privilege of becoming a Rifle Regiment. The Truncheon is unique to the Gurkhas and is carried on Parade as a British Battalion would carry its Colours.


Throughout the next 100 years, the men of Nepal saw much active service in Burma, Afghanistan, the North East and North- West Frontiers of India, Malta, Cyprus and the First World War. In fact, during the First World War, the whole of the Nepalese Army was placed at the disposal of the British Crown. Over 16,000 Nepalese troops subsequently deployed and some 100,000 Gurkhas enlisted in Regiments of The Gurkha Brigade. A Battalion of the 8th Gurkhas greatly distinguished itself at Loos, fighting to the last and, in the words of the Indian Corps Commander, “…found its Valhalla”. The 6th Gurkhas also gained immortal fame at Gallipoli during the capture from the Turks of a feature later known as “Gurkha Bluff”: they were the only troops in the whole campaign to reach and hold the crest line and look down the straits which were the ultimate objective.


By the Second World War, no fewer than 40 Gurkha Battalions were in British service - a total of some 112,000 men. The spirit of friendship between Nepal and Britain during those difficult times can best be illustrated by the reply made by the Prime Minister of Nepal to the British Minister in Kathmandu after the fall of France in 1940. When the British stood alone, permission was sought to recruit an additional twenty Battalions for the Gurkha Brigade; the Prime Minister of Nepal remarked: “Does a friend desert a friend in time of need? If you win, we win with you. If you lose, we lose with you”. After the Second World War came the troubled partition of India. At the time, there were ten Gurkha Regiments and, as a result of negotiations between the Nepalese, British and Indian Governments (known


October 2009 25


as the Tri-Partite Agreement), four of these Regiments transferred to the British Army and six stayed with the Indian Army. Thus, on 1st January 1948, four Gurkha Regiments became an integral part of the British Army for the first time, forming the Brigade of Gurkhas. These Regiments were:


• 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)


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