Gurkha Units After suffering heavy casualties in the invasion of Nepal, the British East India Company signed a hasty peace deal in 1815, which also allowed it to recruit from the ranks of the former enemy. Following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India and Britain meant four Gurkha regiments from the Indian army were transferred to the British Army, eventually becoming the Gurkha Brigade. Since then, the Gurkhas have loyally fought for the British all over the world, receiving 13 Victoria Crosses between them. More than 200,000 fought in the two world wars and in the past 50 years, they have served in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo and now in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve in a variety of roles, mainly in the infantry but with significant numbers of engineers, logisticians and signals specialists. The name "Gurkha" comes from the hill town of Gorkha from which the Nepalese kingdom had expanded. The ranks have always been dominated by four ethnic groups, the Gurungs and Magars from central Nepal, the Rais and Limbus from the east, who live in hill villages of impoverished hill farmers. They keep to their Nepalese customs and beliefs, and the brigade follows religious festivals such as Dashain, in which - in Nepal, not the UK - goats and buffaloes are sacrificed. But their numbers have been sharply reduced from a World War II peak of 112,000 men, and now stand at about 3,500. During the two World Wars 43,000 young men lost their lives. The Gurkhas are now based at Shorncliffe near Folkestone, Kent - but they do not become British citizens. The soldiers are still selected from young men living in the hills of Nepal - with about 28,000 youths tackling the selection procedure for just over 200 places each year. 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles 7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles Royal Gurkha Rifles |