Gurkhas win right to stay

Have just read this in the US, and am personally glad that they have won the right to stay in the UK. What a pitty it had to go to the high court for a judgment, and I feel a little embarassed, that it had to go that far, when others who may not be as welcomed are allowed to stay to the detrement of others.
To be willing to fight and die in so many wars for an other country whose culture and way of life bears little or no simmilarity to their own, deservedly have won the right to stay.

Kevin

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 01/10/2008 08:27:49

may I add my agreament to kevins comments while I am proud to be british there are times when we get our prioritys wrong this being a case in question

keith

I know my dad was in awe of them in Burma ..Wonderful men
I was on a Cross Channel ferry to France 2 year ago and there was a group of Gurkhas goin over . It was so nice to see ordinary people going up to them and asking if they were Gurkhas then shaking their hands . They were very moved by the attention

I've a huge amount of respect for the Gurkhas, both past and present, and I was disgusted that our Governments expected these guys to fight (often in the worst conditions) and serve our country and not treat them honourably.

Stephen, my father also served alongside the Gukhas whilst in Burma. Many thanks to you and others that have so far added to this thread.
Cheers
Kevin

This decision is a massive victory, not just for those Gurkha veterans still alive today but for all the Gurkha Rifles that died during all of the conflicts that they have contributed to.

My grandad was also amazed by the bravery of the Gurkhas. He mentioned a time in Burma when he saw a Gurkha soldier run out of ammunition and run screaming at the japanese throwing stones at them.

Truly wonderful soldiers

Dan Strain

I was reading an account of them from a soldier who saw them i n action against the germans ,,He said they were running to the attack ,then stopped stripped off all their equipment. drew thier kukris and charged ,,what a sight that wouldve been. They jumped into the german trenches fighting mad and took many with them before they were wiped out ,These men fight and die for us They should have anything they want

Another amazing tale I read regarding the Gurkhas in Burma: -

Intelligence had gathered information of two Japanese officers that regularly fished a lake close to one of their garrisons. Two Gurkha soldiers were sent to check out the position.

They returned almost a week later with a basket, they emptied the basket and two japanese heads fell out amongst some fish. After being congratulated, when asked why they were lingering, they replied "can we please have the fish?"

They were excellent figters over any terrain.

I remember my Dad speaking of the Ghurkas with the utmost respect.
I could be mistaken but I seem to remember him saying they had won/earned more VC's than any other group.
Also ,that having once drawn their kukriis they would not resheath them until they had drawn blood occasionally pricking their own finger if necessary.
Another story was that they were so stealthy they coud creep into an enemy camp and distinguish ranks by the tabs on their collars and slip away again leaving a lone survivor to tell the tale .

Their fearlessness is legendary.

Lindsay

Inevitably when discussing Gurkhas there are always a few anecdotes circulated.
I'm sorry to say that many of these legends are, in fact, rumours and myths of dubious origin.

Please see link:
http://www2.army.mod.uk/brigade_of_gurkhas/history/kukri_history.htm

What is never in doubt is that The Gurkhas are extremely loyal and brave and I'd much rather have them as my friend than as an enemy...

Well I dont know about any of the other 'rumours' on this forum but the ones I have posted were seen by my Grandads own eyes. The Gurkha did sometimes prick their own fingers with the Kukri, as this also my grandad has seen, so thankyou for this input Lindsay!
The other fact I posted was taken from the book 'The Unforgettable Army' by Colonel Michael Hickey and the Gurkha's running out of ammo was also something that my Grandad saw. These memories were discussed between My Grandad John Strain and his No.1 friend Arthur Holmes who recently passed away when they were reunited a few years back. The fact that the memories of these brave men could be questioned by someone with 'Google Access' is disgusting. I have the utmost respect for my Grandad and his fellow Commandos and I utterly resent your accusation that any of his memories may be false.
My grandad said that the Gurkha were the bravest men he has ever seen in combat.

In which conflict did you serve with the Gurkha's?

There is always one who has to spoil the discussion.

I DONT RECALL NIC SAYING HE DID NOT BELEAVE YOUR GRANDFATHER OR ANYONE ELSE. HE MADE A COMMENT IN GOOD FAITH AS ANYONE ON THIS FORUM IS ABLE TO DO.
ACCEPT COMMENTS IN GOOD FAITH , DONT READ INTO IT THINGS THAT ARE NOT SAID

KEITH

NO1COMMANDO wrote:Well I dont know about any of the other 'rumours' on this forum but the ones I have posted were seen by my Grandads own eyes. The Gurkha did sometimes prick their own fingers with the Kukri, as this also my grandad has seen, so thankyou for this input Lindsay!
The other fact I posted was taken from the book 'The Unforgettable Army' by Colonel Michael Hickey and the Gurkha's running out of ammo was also something that my Grandad saw. These memories were discussed between My Grandad John Strain and his No.1 friend Arthur Holmes who recently passed away when they were reunited a few years back. The fact that the memories of these brave men could be questioned by someone with 'Google Access' is disgusting. I have the utmost respect for my Grandad and his fellow Commandos and I utterly resent your accusation that any of his memories may be false.
My grandad said that the Gurkha were the bravest men he has ever seen in combat.

In which conflict did you serve with the Gurkha's?

There is always one who has to spoil the discussion.

I am sorry if my post caused any offence, certainly there was none intended and so I will try and answer all your points,

A forum is a place for open discussion; our fathers and grandfathers fought for (amongst other things) freedom of speech; just because one person doesn't share the same view as others doesn't necessarily mean that he/she/they are wrong.

One of my goals, as an Associate member of the CVA, is establishing accurate facts regarding my father, his commando colleagues, their Brothers-in-Arms and their exploits and experiences. Sometimes these facts are banal and mundane, but they're facts...
Unfortunately, there are also many myths, legends and rumours associated with The Commandos too and if these are perpetuated then we are not doing our fathers and grandfathers etc any favours either.
I see it as my duty, to the memory of my father, to try and correct any inaccuracies told about The Commandos and any of the soldiers etc that they served with...

I have not served with The Brigade of Gurkhas, but I have served with quite a few individual Gurkha soldiers attached to my unit - during peace keeping operations, following the first Gulf conflict.

I have never questioned the bravery or the loyalty of The Gurkhas

The link I included was from the official (MoD) British Army Website.

If you read the link, you will see that there is an anecdote regarding the 'heads in a basket of fish' but it is ever so slightly different from the story related in this post - which is the correct version?

You mentioned that " the Gurkhas did sometimes prick their own fingers with the Kukri..."
Sometimes is very different to Always!

It is a fact that, as messages are passed from person to person, small details are missed out or changed albeit ever so slightly (Chinese Whispers), an apocryphal example is the "Send reinforcements, we're going to advance which became Send three and fourpence, we're going to a dance"

There was also a quite a lot of propaganda/false intelligence put out, by official sources, in an attempt to intimidate the enemy

Some of the accounts I've been told about the Gurkhas has them stealthily creeping into an encampment at night and establishing whether the sleeping soldiers were friends or foe, simply by touch.
One story explains that this is why laces in the footwear of HM Forces are (still) threaded in a certain way - so the the Gurkhas can tell friend from foe. [The real reason is that, in case of an injury etc the laces can be cut through easily with a knife/bayonet and the boot removed swiftly]
Sometimes they would slit the throats of all the sleeping enemy just leaving a sole survivor to spread the account of how fierce and deadly these little hill men were.
The Gurkhas always used their Kukri to cut off an ear from an enemy soldier they'd killed - thus satisfying the 'blood must be drawn' theory.

As with all these accounts there will be a certain amount of fact attached to them but, as the saying goes, " never let the truth stand in the way of a good story!"

And don't discount the Gurkhas' mischievous sense of humour - having know a few during my 27 years in HM Forces, I wouldn't put it past some of them deliberately perpetrating some of these stories solely for their amusement and at the expense of the British squaddy.

Finally, but not least, I did not level any accusation against your Grandfather or the relative of anyone else on this forum.
I am not questioning his memories or his honesty and integrity,
I have no doubt that your Grandfather believed everything that he told you to be true.
He was, himself, very brave and witnessed feats of extreme bravery and you are justified in your pride and respect of him.

Nick

keith hurst wrote:I DONT RECALL NIC SAYING HE DID NOT BELEAVE YOUR GRANDFATHER OR ANYONE ELSE. HE MADE A COMMENT IN GOOD FAITH AS ANYONE ON THIS FORUM IS ABLE TO DO.
ACCEPT COMMENTS IN GOOD FAITH , DONT READ INTO IT THINGS THAT ARE NOT SAID

KEITH

Keith,
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nick

I had the greatest privilege to serve alongside the Gurkha's, both in Hong Kong, and during the Falklands Campaign. I always found them to be brave, fearfully loyal, and true soldiers and comrades.
And yes, they did have habits that some would deem strange, including certain actions with the Kukri. However, like British soldiers, each man had a different way of doing things. Some would not return the Kukri to it's scabbard without drawing their own blood, whilst some would.
All the so called 'habits' listed above ARE true, I know, because I witnessed each and every one of them.
I also knew a British soldier who could blow the most perfect smoke rings through his SLR...........
Dave.