Difference between revisions of "Gurkha Rifles"
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==The kukri== | ==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.<ref>William Pennington in his autobiography ''Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India'' (2003) reports being saved in [[Second World War|WW2 Burma]] by a Gurkha who beheaded a Japanese who was about to kill the author. Pennington also reported seeing Ghurkas playing football with severed Japanese heads.</ref> | + | The kukri ( or ‘khukuri’) , the Nepalese knife used by the Gurkha Regiments is a lethal weapon which could be used to behead opponents.<ref>William Pennington in his autobiography ''Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India'' (2003) reports being saved in [[Second World War|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).</ref> |
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| + | The kukri has been used from the time the Nepalese joined the East India Company Bengal Army in 1815<ref>[http://torabladesforum.co.uk/19th-century-accounts-of-the-kukri-in-action_topic2439.html 19th Century accounts of the kukri in action] by 'Sirupate' Tora Blades Forum</ref> | ||
There have still only ever been 5 Officially military pattern number kukris in official British Gurkha issue.<ref>[http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?77657-The-20th-Century-British-Military-Pattern-Gurkha-Issue-Kukri The 20th Century British Military Pattern Gurkha Issue Kukri] by Jonathan R.S. Sword Forum. Contains images</ref> | There have still only ever been 5 Officially military pattern number kukris in official British Gurkha issue.<ref>[http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?77657-The-20th-Century-British-Military-Pattern-Gurkha-Issue-Kukri The 20th Century British Military Pattern Gurkha Issue Kukri] by Jonathan R.S. Sword Forum. Contains images</ref> | ||
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukri Kukri] Wikipedia | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukri Kukri] Wikipedia | ||
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20071228105027/http://www.regiments.org/nations/southasia/nepal.htm Nepal including Gurkha Regiments] Regiments.org, an archived website. | *[http://web.archive.org/web/20071228105027/http://www.regiments.org/nations/southasia/nepal.htm Nepal including Gurkha Regiments] Regiments.org, an archived website. | ||
| + | *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8452000/8452508.stm Gurkha kukri knife's historic role in war and peace] BBC. | ||
===Historical books online=== | ===Historical books online=== | ||
Revision as of 11:53, 20 February 2014
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:
- 1st Gurkha Rifles
- 2nd Gurkha Rifles
- 3rd Gurkha Rifles
- 4th Gurkha Rifles
- 5th Gurkha Rifles
- 6th Gurkha Rifles
- 7th Gurkha Rifles
- 8th Gurkha Rifles
- 9th Gurkha Rifles
- 10th Gurkha Rifles
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.
- Gurkha kukri knife's historic role in war and peace BBC.
Historical books online
- Char-ee-kar and service there with the 4th Goorkha Regiment (Shah Shooja's force) in 1841: an episode of the first Afghan War by Colonel Haughton 1879 Archive.org
References
- ↑ Great War Forum thread Ghurka infantry establishments
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ 19th Century accounts of the kukri in action by 'Sirupate' Tora Blades Forum
- ↑ The 20th Century British Military Pattern Gurkha Issue Kukri by Jonathan R.S. Sword Forum. Contains images
- ↑ Thread from Sword Forum 1927 RFI MKII Kukri with images. Images are also on Photobucket
