Following a number of boundary disputes and repeated raids by the Nepalese into Bengal and Bahir, the Honourable East India Company declared war on Nepal in 1814. During the war a deep feeling of mutual respect and admiration developed between the British and their adversaries, the British being much impressed by the fighting and other qualities of the Gurkha soldiers. Under the terms of the peace treaty, following the war, large numbers of Gurkhas were permitted to volunteer for service in the East India Company, and from those volunteers were formed the first regiment of Gurkhas in 1815.

The numbers of Gurkhas serving the British in India continued to grow. They were instrumental in helping the British to put the Indian Mutiny of 1857 down, particularly during the ‘siege’ of Delhi where the Sirmoor Rifles won great glory. They took part in many campaigns on the North West Frontier. Between 1901 and 1906 Gurkha regiments were renumbered from the 1st to the 10th and redesignated as Gurkha Rifles.

During World War I some 100,000 Gurkhas enlisted in regiments of the Gurkha Brigade. They fought (and died) in France, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine and Salonika. They won two Victoria Crosses. In World War II there were no fewer than forty Gurkha battalions-some 112,000 men. Gurkhas fought side-by-side with British and Commonwealth troops in Syria, the Western Desert, Italy and Greece from North Malaya to Singapore and from the Siamese border back through Burma to Imphal then forward again to Rangoon. A total of ten Victoria Crosses were awarded to Gurkhas during World War II.

After the partition of India of 1947 it was decided that six regiments of Gurkha Rifles would remain in the Indian Army, while the remainder (2 GR, 6 GR, 7 GR and 10 GR) were established as an integral part of the British Army to become the modern Brigade of Gurkhas. They moved to the Far East in 1948 and formed 17 Gurkha Infantry Division in Malaya. Additional units of Engineers, Signals and Transport were raised and Regiments of the Brigade operated continuously throughout the twelve-year Malayan Emergency. They were again on active service in the Brunei Revolt of 1962 and during ‘Confrontation’ with Indonesia; four years of continuous operations from 1962 to 1966 in the jungles of Malaysia. It was in November 1965 that Lance Corporal RambahadurLimbu won his Victoria Cross, bringing the total of these awards to Gurkha nationals to 13 (of whom there are now only 4 surviving.) An additional 13 Victoria Crosses have also been awarded to their British Officers during the last 150 years.

Between 1967 and 1972 the Brigade reduced from some 14,000 to 8,000 men, as defence commitments changed and Britain’s Armed Forces reorganised. The Brigade’s home moved from Malaysia to Hong Kong with Battalions also being stationed in the United Kingdom and Brunei. In 1974 Gurkhas were deployed to reinforce the British Sovereign base in Cyprus when Turkey invaded the island. One battalion, the 7th Gurkha Rifles, took part in the Falklands campaign and Gurkhas were deployed in the Gulf War and Bosnia.

Following further restructuring and the withdrawal of the garrison from Hong Kong the number of Gurkhas serving has reduced to 3,400. Headquarters Brigade of Gurkhas, the Recruit Training Wing and the Band has relocated in the United Kingdom. The four Rifle Regiments have amalgamated to form a large, two battalion regiment, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, with the UK battalion based in Sir John Moore Barracks in Folkestone, Kent and the other battalion in Brunei. The Queen’s Gurkha Signals and Queen’s Gurkha Engineers are now each two squadrons strong and are entirely UK based, although they continue to deploy on operations throughout the world. The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistics Regiment (QOGLR), will shortly increase to three squadrons. Again, Gurkhas continue to be deployed on operations across the globe and since 1994, have deployed to Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Iraq (OP TELIC) and Afghanistan.