There is always one infantry battalion of The Royal Gurkha Rifles, supported by troops from The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, The Queen’s Gurkha Signals, The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, and The Gurkha Staff and Personnel Support Company based in Tuker Lines, Seria, making later recruitment in the GRU an easy task.Įlsewhere, the Gurkha’s past service to the Commonwealth still lingers. Since 1962 British Army Gurkhas have been based in Brunei. They will be standing guard on public order duty at Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle as well as over the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.Ĭrown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, General of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, inspecting local Gurka units Recently, some 120 Gurkhas from 10 Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, usually based at Gale Barracks in Aldershot, have been busy at Wellington Barracks training to mount the Queen’s Guard in London for the next eight weeks. Pun is the grandson of Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun, 3rd/6th Gurkha Rifles, who received the VC in 1944 for single-handedly charging and capturing two Japanese light machine guns in Burma. Dipprasad Pun, 1/RGR, was decorated with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (just under the VC) for single-handedly fought off a large Taliban attack on his lightly manned position. Since 1858, no less than 26 members assigned to British Gurkha units have earned the VC. At the end of 36-weeks training, 270 are accepted.īritish Gurkha recruits successfully complete their training at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick 2017 They stay up to strength through a yearly intake of 432 potential recruits– for which as many as 20,000 young Nepalese men apply. In 1994, the four units still raised by the UK were all amalgamated into the Royal Gurkha Rifles, which form the bulk of today’s 3,600-man Brigade of Gurkhas. In more modern times, the names have morphed to a more British and Indian version. When India broke away from Britain and formed their own proper force in 1947, it was agreed between New Dehli and London to split these troops in a 4:6 ratio, so the Indians picked up:ġst King George V’s Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment) That’s because these hardy Nepalese fighters, which had been part of the British Army going back to an agreement with the circa 1815 East India Company, originally numbered 10 two-battalion regiments, numbered 1-10, in the British Indian Army in 1903 when that force was reformed. Once a rallying point for that regiment’s troops on the battlefield, the colours instil a sense of duty and honour to that particular regiment.ġ/7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles Regiment boarding the Cunard liner Canberra for the Falklands to go fight the Argentinians, in 1982, note the M72 LAWS anti-tank rocket and copious L1A1 semi-auto inch pattern FALs
Many British Army regiments have Regimental colours which are highly revered by the regiment’s soldiers. The Queen’s Truncheon is a magnificent 6ft-high artefact made of bronze and silver.
In batches of three they march out in front of the parade to where the Queen’s Truncheon is being held by the Battalion’s Gurkha Major and on command each reaches out with their right hand to touch it, cementing their oath. Only then can they proudly claim to be a Rifleman of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. The recruits on parade had already made an oath of loyalty to the Crown on enlistment in Nepal, however Gurkha soldiers have the unique tradition of pledging an additional oath of loyalty to the Regiment on completion of their training and arrival at Battalion. Kasam Khane is the ceremonial parade during which new Riflemen swear their allegiance to the Regiment.