10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles - Post-War

Post-War

The 4th Battalion was disbanded in 1946, the 3rd Battalion was disbanded the following year.

India gained independence from the British Empire in 1947. As a consequence of the Tripartite Agreement between India, Nepal and the UK, four of the 10 Gurkha regiments (8 Battalions in all) were transferred to the British Army; the 10th Gurkha Rifles being one of the four. It joined the Brigade of Gurkhas which was formed to administer the Gurkha units transferred to the British Army. Before independence, the battalion decided to take the old colours of the 10th Madras Infantry out of India with it. Consideration was given to taking the regimental memorial at All-Saints Church in Maymyo Burma, which had been damaged by the Japanese during the war, but it was decided to leave it behind because of the expense involved and the uncertainty over where it could be relocated. It consisted of marble on the floor of the sanctuary and wooden plaques on the walls.

The 1st Battalion served in Burma after the war and was one of the three battalions attending the independence ceremony in Rangoon in January 1948. It then moved by sea to Malaya.

In 1949 the regiment's name was altered to become the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles (10 GR) in honour of HRH Princess Mary, Princess Royal. The regiment was affiliated with the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), the oldest regiment in the regular army in 1950.

Meanwhile, on operations, the 1st and 2nd Battalions took part in the Malayan Emergency against Communist insurgents, known as Communist Terrorists or CTs. The CTs had launched an uprising in 1948 in support of their perception that Malayan independence did not directly lead to the installation of a Communist government. The 10th Gurkhas were involved in the Emergency from the beginning, the conflict was similar to the Burma campaign. The regiment remained involved until the official conclusion of the Emergency in 1960. The regiment lost 75 men during the conflict.

Another conflict in the Far East began in 1962, the Indonesian Confrontation, after an Indonesian-backed rebellion took place in Brunei, Borneo was swiftly quelled. The following year hostilities broke out between British-backed Malaysia and Indonesia. The two battalions of the regiment undertook two tours each, taking place in 1964 and 1965 respectively. In 1965 the regiment gained its first, and only, Victoria Cross (VC). Lance-Corporal Rambahadur Limbu of the 2nd Battalion received the VC for his actions in an incident in the Bau district in Sarawak, Borneo during Operation Claret which was carried out against Indonesian-held Kalimantan. This incident has subsequently become known as the Battle of Bau. The conflict concluded in 1966 by which time the 10th Gurkhas had suffered 11 men killed.

In 1968 the regiment was reduced to a single battalion when the 1st Battalion absorbed the 2nd Battalion. It remained in the Far East, based in Hong Kong, until 1973 when it was sent to England for the first time. Initially they were based at Church Crookham in Hampshire, however, the following year the regiment was dispatched to Cyprus to protect the British Sovereign Base Area at Dhekelia in the aftermath of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. During their deployment the 10th Gurkhas attempted to keep the peace, at times literally having to place themselves in the line-of-fire between the opposing factions. The 1st Battalion was deployed to Brunei for the first time in 1977. Since the rebellion in 1962 in which a Marxist, Indonesian-backed uprising had occurred, a Gurkha battalion has been present in Brunei at the request of HM the Sultan.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the regiment was deployed to Hong Kong, Brunei and Church Crookham. The regiment performed internal security (IS) duties in Hong Kong, including patrolling the border with China in an attempt at preventing the illegal immigration of people to the colony.

In 1990 the regiment was authorised after almost 100 years of requests, to maintain the lineage of the 10th Madras Infantry, thus gaining the battle honours and traditions going back to the 14th Battalion of Coast Sepoys raised by the East India Company in 1766. The lineage is special in that it is among the oldest in the British Indian Army. Though the lineage was granted, the history of the regiment is not continuous. The modern regiment was re-formed exclusively from the Kubo Valley Military Police after the old 10th Madras had been disbanded.

The regiment deployed to Hong Kong for the last time in 1991, remaining there until amalgamation in 1994.

The 10th Gurkhas were amalgamated with the 2nd, 6th and 7th Gurkha Rifles to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles in 1994; the 10th Gurkhas becoming the 3rd Battalion. In 1996 the Battalion was amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles while in Brunei.