4th Gurkha Rifles

4th Gurkha Rifles

Refer to general article Gurkha Rifles
4th Gurkha Rifles were stationed at Bakloh.

Chronology

• 1857 raised as the Extra Goorkha Regiment before being numbered as 19th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
• 1861 renamed the 4th Goorkha Regiment
• 1891 became the 4th Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment
• 1901 became the 4th Gurkha Rifles
• 1924 became the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles
• 1947 allocated to India on Partition
• 1950 became 4 Gorkha Rifles

Battle Honours

• 1878-80 Afghanistan

• Ali Masjid
• Kandahar 1880

• 1895 Waziristan 1895
• 1895 Chitral
• 1897 Tirah
• 1908 Punjab Frontier

Regimental histories

• A history of the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1857-1937 compiled by Ranald Macdonell and Marcus Macaulay with illustrations by Lieutenant-Colonel C.G. Borrowman.

Vol.1 covers the history to 1919 and Vol. 2 covers the history 1919-1937 and both are available online, refer below.

Vol. 3, 1938-1948, compiled by J.N. Mackay, edited and illustrated by C.G. Borrowman.

Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01001795371 Three volumes, first published 1940-1952.

Available online HathiTrust Digital Library where the volumes are searchable, but not viewable.

First World War

Regimental War Diaries are available from the National Archives, Kew, England. Note that many of these are hand written, however transcribed editions are available for Gallipoli, for the 4th Gurkha Rifles and for the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade, of which the 4th Gurkha Rifles was a part, edited by Martin Gillott. publisher Great War Diaries, in Kindle editions which have a Search facility (anyone with Kindle Unlimited can read them for free). (Download of a free Kindle App is available, you don't need Kindle).

For National Archives references, and Theatres of War, refer External Links below.

External links

• Gorkha Regiments (India) Wikipedia
  
• 4 Gorkha Rifles Wikipedia
• 4th (Prince of Wales's Own) Gurkha Rifles Regiments.org, an archived website. Includes a bibliography.
• Photograph: [1/4th] Gurkhas at kit inspection showing kukris [Le Sart, France]. Photographer: H. D. Girdwood. Date: 24 Jul 1915. Catalogue record British Library Digitised Manuscripts.
• WW1 National Archives War Diary catalogue references, collaborativecollections.org:
  • 1st Battalion 4th Gurkha Rifles Theatres of War: France, Belgium and Germany; Gallipoli; India and East Persia.
    • For Gallipoli, the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade War Diary is also very relevant.
  • 2nd Battalion 4th Gurkha Rifles Theatres of War: Mesopotamia and North Persia; Salonika, Black Sea and South Russia.
• "Gurkha Connections" by Jim Foulds, page 3 of Pdf "Autumn 2012 Newsletter of The War Graves Photographic Project". Article about the grave in Germany of Rifleman Kale Pun, of the 4th Gurkha Regiment During the conflict in North Africa in 1942, the 4GR were in the front line opposing superior German forces, taking grievous casualties. Rifleman Pun was one of the survivors who were rounded up and transferred to a POW camp in Germany. He died in Germany. There is mention of the book Bugles and A Tiger by John Masters recording his time as a young Officer of the 4th Gurkha Regiment and also on the North West Frontier in the 1930s. Available at the British Library and online, see below.
• Obituary: "Major 'Dicky' Day" 1922-2013. He was serving with 1/4 GR in 1942 when, in one of worst disasters of the Burma Campaign, the Sittang river bridge was blown up stranding two-thirds of a division on the wrong bank. 5 November 2013 The Telegraph, archived.
• "Museum that showcases heroic deeds of Gurkhas" by R D [probably Romesh Dutt] The Tribune Saturday, February 20, 1999. The Museum is located at Subathu and contains memorabilia of the Ist and the 4th Gurkha Rifles.
• Listen to a 1978 interview with John Masters (1914-1983), including transcripts s-asian.cam.ac.uk

Online books

• A History of the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles 1857 - 1937 Volume I [1857-1919] by Ranald MacDonell and Marcus Macaulay with illustrations by Lieutenant-Colonel C.G. Borrowman 1940 Archive.org.

A History of the 4th Prince of Walesʼs Own Gurkha Rifles 1857-1937, Volume II [1919-1937] compiled by Ronald Macdonell and Marcus Macaulay with illustrations by Lieutenant-Colonel C.G. Borrowman 2nd edition catalogued 1960, first published c 1940. Archive.org, mirror from Digital Library of India. Spelling of author's name as appears on the title page. 2nd file Archive.org.

History of the 4th Gorkha Rifles (Volume IV) 1947-1971 by Brig H S Sodhi and Brig P K Gupta 1985. Archive.org.

• Bugles And A Tiger by John Masters 1965 edition Archive.org mirror version 1; Archive.org mirror version 2, both originally from Digital Library of India

Bugles and a Tiger, a Volume of Autobiography 1956 may be borrowed from the Internet Archive Lending Library. Only one person at a time is able to borrow, so you may need to wait for the book to be returned, First you must sign up with the Open Library

The Road Past Mandalay by John Masters 1979. Internet Archive (Archive.org) Lending Library. Earlier title: The Road Past Mandalay : a Personal Narrative. First published 1961. 2nd volume of Autobiography. The short first part takes Masters and the 2/4th Ghurkas to Iraq and Syria. After a staff course back in India, the balance of the book concerns his time in Burma, with a Chindit Column. Also see the Fibiwiki page John Masters.

• Handbooks for the Indian Army: Gurkhas. Compiled under the orders of the Government by Lieut- Colonel Eden Vansittart 2nd Bn 10th Gurkha Rifles. revised by Major B U Nicolay 1st Bn, 4th Gurkha Rifles 1915 (Reprint 1918). Catalogued as Gurkhas (1915): Archive.org mirror version, originally from Digital Library of India.
• The Gurkhas Archive.org version, originally from Digital Library of India. A regimental history. This appears to be a reprint edition, for which no author is given, and which advises first published 1960. However the text refers to events in 1964. The most likely publication appears to be The Gurkhas by Harold James and Denis Sheil-Small published 1965, London.

The Gurkhas by James, 1965. Link to a pdf download, PAHAR Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset. Scroll down Nepal Books to 1965.

• Chin-Lushai Land including a Description of the Various Expeditions into the Chin-Lushai Hills and the Final Annexation of the Country by Surg.-Lieut.-Col. A S Reid, Indian Medical Service, Medical Officer in Charge 2nd Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles 1893. British Library Digital file.