{"id":13614,"date":"2015-01-26T21:20:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T20:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/?p=13614"},"modified":"2020-06-07T16:59:16","modified_gmt":"2020-06-07T15:59:16","slug":"brigade-of-gurkhas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.memorialatpeninsula.org\/?p=13614","title":{"rendered":"Brigade of Gurkhas"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gurkha’s are the sister regiment of <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Royal Green Jackets<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To A Gurkha<\/strong><\/p>\n

When<\/strong> God first chose a Gurkha<\/p>\n

As a vessel of his own,<\/p>\n

He took a chunk of cheerfulness<\/p>\n

And laid on flesh and bone,<\/p>\n

A face, well some deny it,<\/p>\n

But a soul that no one could,<\/p>\n

For anyone who\u2019s seen it<\/p>\n

Wishes his was half as good.<\/p>\n

Faith<\/strong> there\u2019s little small about him<\/p>\n

Save the question of his size,<\/p>\n

From the mountains which begat him<\/p>\n

To the laughter in his eyes.<\/p>\n

His sport, his love, his courage<\/p>\n

Preserve the sterling ring<\/p>\n

Of the simple-minded Hillman<\/p>\n

With the manners of a King.<\/p>\n

He<\/strong> has given of his thousands<\/p>\n

And he hasn\u2019t finished yet,<\/p>\n

There\u2019s\u2019 never been a murmur<\/p>\n

Of what he himself will get.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s<\/strong> not the way he looks at things<\/p>\n

But in a simple trend<\/p>\n

He heard the \u201cSahib-Log\u201d call him<\/p>\n

So he\u2019s with us to the end.<\/p>\n

I<\/strong> have seen him broken, mangled<\/p>\n

With his life\u2019s tide running low,<\/p>\n

And the tears welled deep within me<\/p>\n

As I watched the last thing go;<\/p>\n

But it triumphed ere it left him<\/p>\n

And stifled every moan,<\/p>\n

T\u2019was the little chunk of cheerfulness<\/p>\n

Being gathered to its own.<\/p>\n

\"images<\/a>The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units<\/strong> of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of the East India Company. The brigade includes infantry, engineer, signal, logistic and training and support units. They are famous for their ever-present kukris, a distinctive heavy knife with a curved blade, and for their reputation of being fierce fighters and brave soldiers. They take their name from the hill town of Gorkha from which the Nepalese Kingdom had expanded. The ranks have always been dominated by four ethnic groups: the Gurungs and Magars from central Nepal; and the Rais and Limbus from the east, who live in hill villages of hill farmers.<\/p>\n

Origins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gurkhas and the British Indian Army<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the war in Nepal in the year of 1814, the British failed to annex Nepal as part of the Empire but Army officers were impressed by the tenacity of the Gurkha soldiers and encouraged them to volunteer for the East India Company. Gurkhas served as troops of the East India Company in the Pindaree War of 1817, in Bharatpur, Nepal in 1826, and the First and Second Sikh Wars in 1846 and 1848. During the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, the Gurkha regiments remained loyal to the British, and became part of the British Indian Army on its formation. The 2nd Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) and the 60th Rifles famously defended Hindu Rao’s house.<\/p>\n