British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) is an administrative organisation responsible for personnel serving with the Brigade of Gurkhas as part of the British Army.
Following generations of territorial disputes between the successors of Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of the Gorkha Kingdom, and the East India Company a peace treaty was signed in 1816 which allowed Nepalese nationals to volunteer for service in the East India Company's Army. [1] BGN fell under the responsibility of HQ 4th Division in Aldershot in 2011 when Support Command (now Regional Command) took over that role. [2]
The mission of BGN is to deliver Gurkha recruitment, provide local support to the soldier and ex-servicemen and maintain Disaster Relief preparedness within resources in order to support Firm Base activity in Nepal. [3]
BGN is commanded by a full colonel, who also serves as the defence attaché at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, and operates from three locations within Nepal:
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.
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.
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Tul Bahadur Pun VC was a Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He later achieved the rank of Honorary Lieutenant. In addition to the Victoria Cross, Pun was awarded 10 other medals, including the Burma Star.
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Lt. Col. John Philip Cross OBE is a former British Army officer and now a Nepalese author who currently lives in Nepal. He was educated at Shrewsbury and served in the Brigade of Gurkhas in the British Indian Army and the British Army from 1943 to 1982, most of that time in Asia. His first active service was in the Burma Campaign of World War II, against the Japanese. After the Second World War he became heavily involved in counter-insurgency during the Malayan Emergency and the Borneo Confrontation, and later training and recruiting. He is fluent in Nepali.
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