2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)

Last updated

2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles
Sirmoor2GR.jpg
Cap badge
Active1815–1994
CountryBritish Raj Red Ensign.svg  India
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
TypeInfantry
Role Light Infantry
Garrison/HQ British Hong Kong
Nickname(s)The Sirmoor Rifles, Second (2nd) GR
ColorsGreen; faced and piped red, 1888 scarlet
March Lützow's Wild Chase-Quick March
Commanders
Colonel in Chief The Prince of Wales
Notable
commanders
Lieutenant-Colonel Begbie
Major General D Macintyre VC
Colonel H T Macpherson VC
Subadar-Major Santbir Gurung
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick William Nicolay
Insignia
Shoulder Flash Gurkha TRF.PNG
Abbreviation2 GR

The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles (Sirmoor Rifles), where it exists to this day. As part of the British Army, the regiment served in Malaya, Hong Kong and Brunei until 1994 when it was amalgamated with the other three British Army Gurkha infantry regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. It is the only Gurkha regiment which did not have a khukuri on its cap badge. [1]

Contents

History

Formation and early service

The regiment was first raised in 1815 as The Sirmoor Battalion. [2] This was the first Gurkha unit in the service of the East India Company to see action, during the 3rd Mahratta War in 1817. The regiment, by now named the 8th (Sirmoor) Local Battalion, gained its first battle honour at Bhurtpore in 1825. [3] During the First Sikh War, the regiment fought at Bhudaiwal and Sobraon, as well as the Battle of Aliwal. Personnel carried colours at the time, and the flagpole was broken by cannon fire. The colour itself was seized by the Sikhs but reclaimed by a small party of Gurkhas led by a Havildar who chopped their way into the densely packed enemy lines. [4]

Kabul expeditionary force on the march: Quarter Guard of the 3 Gorkha Rifles. 30 November 1878. AfghanWarIllustration1878.jpg
Kabul expeditionary force on the march: Quarter Guard of the 3 Gorkha Rifles. 30 November 1878.

During the Indian Mutiny, the Sirmoor Battalion was one of the Indian regiments that remained loyal to Britain. It was during this that the regiment took part in the defence of Hindu Rao's House, near Delhi. [4] For their part in the action, the Sirmoor Battalion was presented with the Queen's Truncheon, which became a replacement for the colours that they relinquished when the regiment became a rifle regiment in 1858. [nb 1] [4] With the decision to number the Gurkha regiments in 1861, the Sirmoor Rifles became the 2nd Gúrkha Regiment. In 1876, the battalion acquired a royal patron in the then Prince of Wales, becoming the 2nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Gúrkha Regiment (the Sirmoor Rifles). [5]

First World War

During the First World War, the 2nd Gurkhas (by now named the 2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles), along with the other regiments of the Gurkha Brigade, served initially in Flanders. In 1915, the 2nd Battalion moved to Egypt, before returning to India in 1916. The 1st Battalion went to Persia and Mesopotamia in 1916, assisting in the fall of Baghdad. [6] In 1919 it was assigned to the Norperforce in Iran. [7]

Second World War

The Second World War saw the 2nd Gurkhas serving in many different theatres; the 1st Battalion was initially in Cyprus before moving to North Africa as part of 7th Indian Infantry Brigade, 4th Indian Division, where it fought at El Alamein. Following this it took part in the invasion of Italy, taking part in the battle for Monte Cassino. The 2nd Battalion meanwhile spent much of the war as prisoners of the Japanese after being captured in Malaya. The 3rd Battalion (raised during the war) took part in the Chindit operations in Burma in 1943. [3]

Indian independence

In 1947, as part of India's independence, it was agreed that the Gurkha regiments would be split between the British and Indian armies—the British Army would take on four regiments (the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th), while the Indian Army would retain the rest. [8]

While the 2nd Gurkhas became one of the four Gurkha regiments to transfer to the British Army, the regiment's 4th Battalion was transferred to the Indian Army as 5th Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles (Sirmoor Rifles) where it exists to this day. The first Indian commanding officer of this battalion, Lieutenant Colonel (later Brigadier) Nisi Kanta Chatterji, requested Army Headquarters, to let the battalion keep the title 'Sirmoor Rifles', which was accepted. This battalion saw action in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War (as part of the 3rd (Independent) Armoured Brigade, 28 and 191 Infantry Brigades) where it stopped the advance of the Pakistani armour to Akhnur in the Battle of the Fatwal Ridge. In the 1971 war against Pakistan, the battalion now as part of the 68th Mountain Brigade, the corps reserves, once again saw fierce action in the defence of Chamb-Akhnur. It launched five successful counterattacks and recaptured the bridge over the Tawi river. [9]

It also fought in the Indian North east against the Naga insurgents and in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. Here it distinguished itself by killing the Supreme Commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, the leading Kashmiri insurgent group. It was awarded the Northern Army Commanders Citation in 1998. It was deployed in Sierra Leone as part of UNAMSIL and distinguished itself in Operation Khukri in which the Revolutionary United Front rebels were decisively defeated. [10]

Post Indian independence

Following this, the 2nd Gurkhas spent several years in the Far East, initially during the Malayan Emergency from 1948 to 1960. Following this, the regiment's two battalions alternated between Malaya, Borneo, Brunei and Hong Kong, before receiving a regimental depot at Church Crookham in Hampshire. In 1992, while serving in Hong Kong, the 1st and 2nd Battalions amalgamated to form a single 1st Battalion. This was followed in 1994 by the regiment being amalgamated with the 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles to form the 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles. [11]

Battle honours

The regiment was awarded the following battle honours:

Victoria Crosses

Colonels-in-Chief

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the Regiment were: [14]

Uniforms

After a brief period of wearing their own indigenous clothing, the Sirmoor battalion adopted green jackets with red facings. These were worn with loose fitting blue trousers and a bonnet like headdress. By 1828 black facings, black leather equipment, white trousers and sandals had been issued. A variety of changes followed but the round Kilmarnock cap with red and black dicing had appeared by 1848. [15] While the Kilmarnock was to become common to all Gurkha regiments, the red trim was to remain a distinctive feature of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles. In 1858 links forged during the Siege of Delhi led to the authorization of the Gurkha regiment to adopt the red piping and facings of the British 60th Rifles. Formally recognized as a rifle regiment since 1850 the 2nd Gurkha Regiment underwent various changes of title as recorded above. Throughout it wore the standard Gurkha parade and cold weather uniform of rifle green with leggings and then puttees, silver insignia and black metal buttons. A red toorie (bobble) on the cap was to remain a distinction of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles. In 1883 khaki (initially blue/grey) hot weather dress was adopted. The broad brimmed hat was worn with khaki drill service dress from 1902 and was retained as normal uniform between the two world wars. After World War I the historic rifle green was limited to a few limited dress orders such as officers' mess uniforms and full dress for mess orderlies. During World War II red and black patches were worn on the jungle slouch hats. [16]

See also

Notes

Footnotes

  1. Rifle regiments by tradition did not possess Colours.

Citations

  1. Lawrance Ordnance – Gurkha (British Army) Regiment Badges
  2. Parker 2005, p. 46.
  3. 1 2 3 Chappell 1993, p. 15.
  4. 1 2 3 Chappell 1993, p. 13.
  5. Chappell 1993, p. 14.
  6. Chappell 1993, pp. 14–15.
  7. Cecil John Edmonds (2009), East and West of Zagros, Brill Academic Publishers, OCLC   593346009, OL   25432016M
  8. Parker 2005, p. 224.
  9. Regimental History of the 8th Gorkha Rifles 1947–1991 by Colonel (Retd) R.D. Palsokar
  10. "Article 35A and the basic structure".
  11. Parker 2005, p. 302.
  12. Parker 2005, pp. 385–386.
  13. Parker 2005, pp. 391–393.
  14. "2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 29 December 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  15. W. Y. Carman, page 189 "Indian Army Uniforms Under the British From the 18th Century to 1947: Artillery, Engineers and Infantry", Morgsn-Grampian: London 1969
  16. W. Y. Carman, pages 202–202 "Indian Army Uniforms Under the British From the 18th Century to 1947: Artillery, Engineers and Infantry", Morgsn-Grampian: London 1969

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigade of Gurkhas</span> British Army units composed of Nepalese Gurkhas

Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that served for the East India Company. The brigade includes infantry, engineering, signal, logistic and training and support units. They are known for their khukuri, a distinctive heavy knife with a curved blade, and have a reputation for being fierce and brave soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurkha</span> Indian and Nepalese national soldiers

The Gurkhas or Gorkhas, with the endonym Gorkhali, are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Gurkha Rifles</span> Infantry regiment of the British Army

The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the United Kingdom nor a member of the Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Truncheon</span>

The Queen's Truncheon is a ceremonial staff carried by the Royal Gurkha Rifles that serves as the equivalent of and is carried as the Colour. It is made of bronze and silver. The top represents the minaret of Delhi Palace with three Gurkhas standing on it supporting the Queen's crown above their heads. The minaret contains a pair of crossed kukris and carries the inscription "Main Picqet Hindoo Rao's House, Delhi 1857". The Truncheon is a unique emblem upon which recruits swear allegiance to the Regiment and the Crown.

The 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles,, was originally a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was formed in 1890, taking its lineage from a police unit and over the course of its existence it had a number of changes in designation and composition. It took part in a number of campaigns on the Indian frontiers during the 19th and early 20th centuries, before fighting in the First World War, the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the Second World War. Following India's independence in 1947, the regiment was one of four Gurkha regiments to be transferred to the British Army. In the 1960s it was active in the Malayan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation. It was amalgamated with the other three British Gurkha regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment)</span> Military Unit

1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs, hill tribes of Nepal. It was originally formed as part of the East India Company's Bengal Army in 1815, later adopting the title of the 1st King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), however, in 1947, following the partition of India, it was transferred to the Indian Army and in 1950 when India became a Republic, it was redesignated as 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment). The regiment has a long history and has participated in many conflicts, including many of the colonial conflicts prior to Indian independence, as well as the First and Second World Wars. Since 1947 the regiment has also participated in a number of campaigns against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971 as well as undertaking peacekeeping duties as part of the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Gorkha Rifles</span> Indian Army infantry regiment

The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars and Gurung tribes. They were present at a number of actions and wars including the siege of Delhi in 1857 to the First and Second World Wars. After the Partition of India in 1947 the regiment was one of the six Gorkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army as part of the Tripartite Agreement signed between India, Nepal and Britain at the time of Indian independence. Prior to independence, the regiment was known as the 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles. In 1950 the regiment's title was changed to 3rd Gorkha Rifles. Since 1947 the regiment has participated in a number of conflicts including the 1947 and 1971 wars against Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)</span> Indian Army unit

5th Gorkha Rifles, also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served in the First World War (Mesopotamia) and Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles</span> Military unit

The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles.

The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Company, the regiment has been known by a number of names throughout its history. Initially the unit did not recruit from the Gurkhas, although after being transferred to the British Indian Army following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it became a purely Gurkha regiment, in due course with its regimental headquarters at Abbottabad in the North West Frontier Province of British India. After 1947 the regiment was one of only four Gurkha regiments to be transferred to the British Army and this continued up until 1994, when it was amalgamated with other Gurkha regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. Over the course of its 177-year history, the regiment was awarded 25 battle honours, although prior to World War I it had only been awarded one and no battle honours were awarded to it after World War II.

Gurkha regiment or Gorkha regiment may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorkha regiments (India)</span> Military unit of the Indian Army

At the time of Indian Independence in 1947, as per the terms of the Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement, six Gorkha regiments, formerly part of the British Indian Army, became part of the Indian Army and have served ever since. The troops are mainly from ethnic Gurkha communities of Nepal. A seventh Gorkha Rifles regiment was re-raised in the Indian Army after Independence to accommodate Gorkha soldiers of the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles who chose not to transfer to the British Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8th Gorkha Rifles</span> Military unit

The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I and World War II, before being one of the six Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independence in 1947. Since then it has served in a number of conflicts including the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971. Today the 8th Gorkha Rifles is one of the most celebrated regiments of the Indian Army, having received numerous citations for bravery in the field of battle, and even producing one of the two field marshals of India, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, of the Indian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Gorkha Rifles</span> Military unit

The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independence as part of the tripartite agreement in 1947. This Gorkha regiment mainly recruits soldiers who come from Nepal's Gorkhali Kshatriya community i.e. the Chhetri and Thakuri clans. Domiciled Indian Gorkhas are also recruited, and they form about 20 percent of the regiment's total strength. The 9 Gorkha Rifles is one of the seven Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army. The other regiments are 1 GR, 3 GR, 4 GR, 5 GR (FF), 8 GR and 11 GR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">44th Airborne Division (India)</span> Airborne division of the Indian Army during World War II

The 44th Indian Airborne Division was an airborne forces division of the Indian Army during World War II, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation, but the war ended before the complete formation could take part..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th (Meerut) Division</span> Military unit

The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and before 1895, the Bengal Army, that saw active service during World War I.

The 14th Indian Division was formed during World War I, for service in the Mesopotamian Campaign. It was composed of battalions of the Regular British Army, the British Territorial Force and the British Indian Army.

A large regiment is a multi-battalion infantry formation of the British Army. First formed in the 1960s, large regiments are the result of the amalgamation of a number of existing single-battalion regiments, and perpetuate the traditions of each of the predecessor units.

The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1939, by the redesignation of the Poona Independent Brigade as the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade and renumbered 4th in June 1940, A second 7th Brigade was formed in June 1940, and assigned to the 5th Indian Infantry Division. In September 1940, it was reassigned to the 4th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade formed the garrison at Mersa Matruh in early December 1940. In January 1941, with the rest of the 4th Indian Division were sent to fight in the Sudan campaign.

References