Gurkha Rifles

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Gurkha tribesmen began to be recruited into the Bengal Army after the Gurkha War in 1816. They bore many names before becoming Gurkha Rifles. Articles on the regiments can be found as follows:

The 11th Gurkha Rifles was raised during the 1st World War then disbanded. The 25th, 26th & 29th Gurkha Rifles were raised during the 2nd World War then disbanded.

On the FIBIS website British Indian Army regiments are listed with titles as at the re-organisation of 1895. So 6th, 7th & 8th Gurkha Rifles are in articles titled 42nd, 43rd & 44th Gurkha Rifles. At the Partition of India in 1947 the regiments were given the choice of attachment to the British Army or the Indian Army. The 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th & 10th Regiments chose Britain. The 3rd, 4th, 5th , 8th & 9th Regiments chose India.

Details of the structure of the Regiments are available below.[1]

The kukri

The kukri ( or ‘khukuri’) , the Nepalese knife used by the Gurkha Regiments is a lethal weapon which could be used to behead opponents.[2]

The kukri has been used from the time the Nepalese joined the East India Company Bengal Army in 1815[3]

There have still only ever been 5 Officially military pattern number kukris in official British Gurkha issue.[4] A small batch of kukris were manufactured at the Rifle Factory, Ishapore in 1927[5]

External Links

  • Gurkha Rifles Wikipedia
  • Gurkha Wikipedia
  • Kukri Wikipedia
  • Nepal including Gurkha Regiments Regiments.org, an archived website.
  • "Regimental Histories and Army Handbooks: A Bibliography of the Gurkha Regiments" by Mary Des Chene, Dept of Anthropology, Stanford University SALNAQ - Issue 21 / 22 (Fall 1986 / Spring 1987) (SALNAQ: South Asia Library Notes & Queries | CONSALD) html version, original pdf
  • Gurkha kukri knife's historic role in war and peace BBC.
  • "The Agony Of The Opt: The Transfer Of Gurkha Regiments From The Indian To The British Army In 1948" by Charles Messenger, BCMH Summer Conference 2012 – Indian Armies (The British Commission for Military History bcmh.org.uk, now an archived webpage).
  • Photographs: Salute to the Gurkhas flickr.com (retrieved 18 June 2014)
  • John Eric Colenso: British Officer in the Gurkha Rifles by Ann Collins 24th August 2014. html version, pdf. colensostudy.id.au. He was appointed to the 2/7th Gurkha Rifles in 1907 and seconded to the Burma Military Police (BMP) in1909. During WW1 was with the 2/7th Gurkha Rifles in Egypt and then on the Western Front with the 2/39th Garhwal Rifles, and then with the 2nd/2nd Gurkhas. Back in India, he took part in the 3rd Afghan War with the 2/7th Gurkhas and was then with the BMP 1919- c 1922, when he was transferred to the 3rd Gurkha Rifles and took part in the actions in Waziristan 1922-1923. He retired in 1932

Historical books online

References

  1. ↑ Great War Forum thread Ghurka infantry establishments
  2. ↑ William Pennington in his autobiography Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India (2003) reports being saved in WW2 Burma by a Gurkha who beheaded a Japanese who was about to kill the author (page 333). Pennington also reported seeing Ghurkas playing football with severed Japanese heads (page 332).
  3. ↑ 19th Century accounts of the kukri in action by 'Sirupate' Tora Blades Forum
  4. ↑ The 20th Century British Military Pattern Gurkha Issue Kukri by Jonathan R.S. Sword Forum. Contains images
  5. ↑ Thread from Sword Forum 1927 RFI MKII Kukri with images. Images are also on Photobucket

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