Brigade of Gurkhas - The British Army

The British Army

After Indian independence – and partition – in 1947 and under the Tripartite Agreement, six Gurkha regiments joined the post-independence Indian Army. Four Gurkha regiments, the 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 10th Gurkha Rifles, joined the British Army on 1 January 1948. They formed the Brigade of Gurkhas and were stationed in Malaya.

During the Malayan Emergency, Gurkhas fought as jungle soldiers as they had done in Burma. They also formed four new units – Gurkha Engineers, Signals, Transport and Military Police. They were also used for convoy escort duties, security of the new villages and ambushing guerrillas. In the year of Malayan independence, Gurkha Signals units monitored communications during the first free elections.

One Gurkha battalion – 2nd Gurkha Rifles - was stationed in Tidworth, Wiltshire in 1962. On 7 December, the unit was deployed to Brunei on a day’s notice at the outbreak of the Brunei Revolt. The forthcoming Indonesian Confrontation saw the formation of the Gurkha Independent Parachute Company on 1 April 1963. The unit was disbanded in 1972.

After that conflict ended, the Gurkhas were transferred to Hong Kong, where they had security duties during the upheavals of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

The Gurkha brigade’s size was reduced to 8,000 men when the British government changed its defence policy. Hong Kong became their headquarters, while other battalions were stationed in the UK and Brunei.

In 1971 the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Gurkha Rifles moved to Queen Elizabeth Barracks at Church Crookham, Hampshire, from where they became the first Gurkhas to mount the Queen's Guard. In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus and the 10th Gurkha Rifles was sent to defend the British sovereign base area of Dhekelia. Later they remained there on peacekeeping duties.

On 1 July 1994 the four rifle regiments were merged into one, the Royal Gurkha Rifles, and the three corps regiments (the Gurkha Military Police having been disbanded in 1965) were reduced to squadron strength. On 1 July 1997, the British government handed Hong Kong over to the People's Republic of China, which led to the elimination of the local British garrison. Gurkha HQ and recruit training were moved to the UK, and the size of the Brigade of Gurkhas was reduced to 3,400.

Gurkhas have had a role in the Falklands War (1st Battalion of the 7th), Gulf War, NATO, Iraq, Afghanistan, operations in Kosovo and UN peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and East Timor. Gurkhas have also served in Sierra Leone.

Brigade HQ is based at Airfield Camp near Netheravon, Wiltshire. The two battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles are formed as light role infantry; they are not equipped with either armoured or wheeled vehicles. One battalion is based at Shorncliffe, near Folkestone in Kent as part of 52 Infantry Brigade, and is available for deployment to most areas in Europe and Africa. The other is based at the British garrison in Brunei as part of Britain's commitment to maintaining a military presence in SE Asia. The two battalions rotate in each role, usually for three years at a time.

Gurkha regiments traditionally have British officers, although many officers are now themselves Gurkhas. Those who wish to receive Queen's Commissions are required to become British subjects.

Hundreds of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers who fought for Britain protested 19 March 2008 outside the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London, demanding higher pensions and the right to stay in the country they served. This sparked a national petition to entitle them to British Citizenship when their service ends.

They were also seen recently protecting Prince Harry when he was serving secretly in Afghanistan.