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]

Spelling variants

Gurkha, Goorkha, Goorkhá

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]

Gurkha jaats or tribes

Gurkha jaat or tribe names may be seen on medals. Common names include Gurung, Limbu, Pun, Rai, Tamang and Thapa.

The Gurungs were the largest tribe recruited by the British and Indian Armies for their Gurkha regiments, particularly if more so if it was recruited in the West of Nepal. Rais and Limbus were Eastern Nepal - 7th and 10th Gurkhas. The Gurungs, along with the Magars were considered the beau ideal of what a Gurkha soldier should be.

In the Army most men were known by their 4 digit numbers rather than their names as the number or surnames was extremely limited. One might have 30 Gurungs on parade and young Officers who knew their men knew their numbers. The men also referred to each other by their numbers and each cohort regarded their intake as "number-ies" - men of the same intake and therefore seniority. [6]

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

  • 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
  • Notes on Goorkhas: 
being a short account of their country, history, characteristic, clans, &c. 
by Captain Eden Vansittart, 5th Goorkhas 1890 Archive.org
  • Handbooks for the Indian Army: Gurkhas
    • 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), is available to read as a pdf download, Digital Library of India, catalogued as Gurkhas (1915).
    • Handbooks for the Indian Army: Gurkhas Compiled under the orders of the Government by Major C J Morris, late 2nd Bn, 3rd QAO Gurkha Rifles Second edition 1936, revised by the author, first published 1933, is available to read as a pdf download, Digital Library of India, catalogued as Gurkhas (1936).
  • Under Ten Viceroys: the Reminiscences of a Gurkha by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt 1922 Archive.org. Chapters XII and XIII are specifically about the Gurkhas.
  • The Gurkhas. 1928. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Full title: The Gurkhas: their Manners, Customs and Country by Major W Brook Northey, late 1st KGO Gurkha Rifles and Captain C J Morris 3rd QAO Gurkha Rifles.
  • The Gurkhas Pdf download, 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 final chapter refers to events in 1964.The most likely publication appears to be The Gurkhas by Harold James and Denis Sheil-Small published 1965, London.

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, an archived page.
  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
  6. ↑ Martin G. whats a GURUNG and a THAPA Great War Forum 10 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

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