Memory Lane
Seventy-five years ago, on 15th August 1945, it was V-J Day, when Japan surrendered and war came to an end.
Sixty years ago, in 1960, I was commissioned into the 2nd Gurkha Rifles. I grew to admire the Gurkha military character greatly, though I recognised that he was only very rarely the kukri-wielding superman the tabloid press and military chroniclers would sometimes portray, tactically useful as that representation might be.
The Gurkha soldier did, however, seem to possess a certain insouciance and light-hearted detachment from the fray that allowed him to cope with some of the stresses of the battlefield.
I recall the story of a Gurkha rifleman waking his company commander at night with a gentle shake to the shoulder and stating softly, in the manner of a family butler announcing an uninvited guest, ‘Sahib, the enemy has arrived.’
For over 200 years, the Gurkha soldier has loyally campaigned for the British Crown. Nowhere was his gallantry more in evidence than in the Burma campaign, when 27 Gurkha battalions formed part of General Slim’s Fourteenth Army.
In 1995, 50 years on from victory in Burma, the anniversary of the Japanese surrender was marked with a parade in London. I was among the thousands watching as a large column of veterans, including five of the six surviving Gurkha holders of the Victoria Cross won in the Burma campaign, marched past the Queen in the Mall.
During their visit to England, I accompanied the Gurkhas on a visit to the Surrey home of the President of the Gurkha Brigade Association, the late Field Marshal Lord Bramall.
After drinks in his garden, we all set off for an Indian restaurant in Farnham. Ours was a happy, garrulous and drink-fuelled gathering which began to attract attention from a packed restaurant.
The Field Marshal stood up, called for silence and announced to the diners, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for the noise, but you need to know that you are dining tonight with five holders of the Victoria Cross.’
Immediately, and as one, the whole restaurant rose to its feet and greeted the Gurkhas with prolonged cheering. It was an entirely spontaneous response and it moved us all most greatly.
By General Peter Duffell, author of Gurkha Odyssey, who receives £50
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