Historical Record of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, 1958–2018

By J R Cawthorne

The Gurkha Army Service Corps, the predecessor of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, was raised in Singapore in 1958 ten years after the transfer of Gurkha regiments from the Indian Army to the British Army and towards the end of the Malayan Emergency. Within four years of being formed, it was committed to continuous operations in Brunei and Borneo during Confrontation with Indonesia between 1962-66. It was also redesignated the Gurkha Transport Regiment in 1965 to reflect changes to the Army’s logistic structure.

Between 1966-71, the Regiment was substantially reduced in size, along with the rest of The Brigade of Gurkhas, as Britain withdrew its forces from East of Suez. Concentrated in Hong Kong, the Regiment provided transport support to the Garrison for the next 20 years. In 1991, a composite squadron was sent to reinforce British Forces in the Gulf War after which, in preparation for the handback of Hong Kong to China, the Regiment moved to and became permanently stationed in the UK. In recognition of its past services, it was granted the royal title ‘The Queen’s Own Gurkha Transport Regiment’ in 1992.

The following two decades saw it undertake multiple operational tours to the Balkans, Iraq, Cyprus and Afghanistan as well as providing humanitarian assistance to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone. It also expanded both its role, to incorporate supply and catering, and size, which led in 2001 to it being redesignated to its current title ‘The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment’.

This history records the events and activities of the Regiment during its first 60 years of service to the Crown. While of wider interest to military historians, it is principally written for members of the Regiment, past, present and future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Jan 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781526787965

J R Cawthorne

Richard Cawthorne joined the Gurkha Transport Regiment in 1969, having spent the previous three years with 28 Commonwealth Infantry Brigade in Malaysia where he first came into contact with the Gurkha soldier, and served with 28 Squadron in Hong Kong. He was posted to the British Gurkha Transit Camp, Calcutta in 1972, which included an emergency tour at the British Gurkha Depot in Dharan, Nepal. He returned to Hong Kong in 1979 to command 28 Squadron at the height of anti-illegal immigrant operations.His tours in India and Nepal had kindled a keen interest in the history of Gurkhas in British service, which eventually led to him being invited to be a Trustee of The Gurkha Museum and subsequently its Chairman. He has written a number of articles on Gurkha service to the Crown including a short history of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment.

Book preview

Historical Record of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment 1958–2018

This Historical Record is dedicated to those who served in the Gurkha Army Service Corps Gurkha Transport Regiment The Queen’s Own Gurkha Transport Regiment The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment from 1st July 1958 to 31st December 2018

Historical Record of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment 1958–2018

Colonel Richard Cawthorne

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

Pen & Sword Military

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire – Philadelphia

Copyright © QOGLR Regimental Association, 2021

ISBN 978 1 47383 563 4

EPUB ISBN 978 1 52678 796 5

MOBI ISBN 978 1 52678 796 5

The right of the QOGLR Regimental Association to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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HRH Princess Anne The Princess Royal

Affiliated Colonel-in-Chief The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment.

Acknowledgment of Financial Sponsorship

The Colonel of the Regiment and the Trustees of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment Regimental Association wish to thank the undermentioned for their generous financial sponsorship towards the publication of the Historical Record of The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment 1958–2018.

Bisham Consultants Limited

General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited

Goodyear Dunlop Tyres United Kingdom

JC Bamford Excavators Limited

Land Rover

Selecta Tyre Limited

Sodexho Defence

Supply-Chain Procurement Solutions Limited

VT Support Services

Wilson James

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements and Introduction

The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment 1958–2018 – Lineage and Service

Digest of Service 1958–2018

Part I: Gurkha Army Service Corps (Gurkha ASC)

1958: Raising of the Gurkha Army Service Corps

1959: Cadre and Company Training

1960: Affiliation to the Royal Army Service Corps

1961: Gurkha ASC becomes Operational

1962: Deployment to UK and the Brunei Rebellion

1963: Worldwide Deployment

1964: Confrontation and Back-To-Back Deployments

Part II: Gurkha Transport Regiment (GTR)

1965: Redesignated Gurkha Transport Regiment

1966: End of Confrontation

1967: Redundancy and Hong Kong Riots

1968: 10th Anniversary and Disbandment of 30 Squadron

1969: Redundancy and the Gurkha Welfare Appeal

1970: Relocation to Hong Kong

1971: Consolidation of the Regiment in Hong Kong

1972: Re-introduction of Kasam Khane Ceremony

1973: Farewell to the Colonel of the Regiment

1974: Battle for Survival

1975: Restructuring

1976: A Year of Change

1977: A New Regimental Home

1978: 20th Anniversary Celebrations

1979: Anti-Illegal Immigrant Operations

1980: A Demanding Year

1981: Expansion

1982: A Year of Firsts

1983: The Regiment’s Silver Jubilee

1984: Agreement to the Hand Back of Hong Kong

1985: Introduction of Commander’s Sword Competition

1986: A Memorable Year

1987: Triumph and Tragedy

1988: A Year of Sporting Successes

1989: An Assured Future

1990: Formation of 28 (Ambulance) Squadron

1991: Gulf War and Formation of 34 (UNFICYP) Squadron

Part III: The Queen’s Own Gurkha Transport Regiment (QOGTR)

1992: Redesignated The Queen’s Own Gurkha Transport Regiment

1993: Move of 28 Squadron to the UK

1994: Disbandment of 31 Squadron and End of an Era

1995: 28 Squadron Deployment to the Balkans

1996: A Second Deployment to the Balkans

1997: Handback of Hong Kong

1998: A Year of Consolidation and Taking Stock

1999: Return to Bosnia

2000: Planning for a Supply Specialist Squadron

Part IV: The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (QOGLR)

2001: Redesignated The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment

2002: Rebadging RGR Chefs to QOGLR and Redesignation of 94 Stores Squadron RLC to QOGLR

2003: The Iraq War

2004: A Year for Regenerating Capability

2005: Redesignation of 1 Engineer Support and Water Squadron RLC to 1 Transport Squadron QOGLR

2006: Redesignation of 10 Transport Regiment RLC to 10 Transport Regiment QOGLR

2007: Back-To-Back Operational Tours and Nepal Cup Victory

2008: Golden Jubilee Celebrations

2009: A Regimental Deployment to Afghanistan

2010: Return from Afghanistan and to a New Home

2011: Restructuring, Redundancy and Pre-Deployment Training

2012: Afghanistan, Cyprus and the London Olympics

2013: 10 QOGLR Reroled to a Theatre Logistic Regiment

2014: Support to the Ebola Virus Crisis in West Africa

2015: Celebration of Two Hundred Years of Gurkha Service

2016: Freedom of the Borough of Rushmoor

2017: QOGLR on Top of the World

2018: A Royal Review

Part V: Appendices

Appendix A: Roll of Honour 1958–2018

Appendix B: Honours and Awards 1958–2018

Appendix C: Affiliated Colonel-in-Chief 1993–2018

Appendix D: Succession of Colonels of the Regiment 1960–2018

Appendix E: Succession of Commanders 1960–2018

Appendix F: Succession of Gurkha Majors 1958–2018

Appendix G: Succession of Seconds-in-Command 1960–1994 and 2006–2018

Appendix H: Succession of Adjutants 1960–1994 and 2006–2018

Appendix I: Succession of Regimental Sergeant Majors 1962–1994 and 2006–2018

Appendix J: Succession of Company/Squadron Commanders 1958–2018

Appendix K: Succession of Queen’s Gurkha Orderly Officers 1964–2018

Appendix L: Recruit Intakes 1959–2018

Appendix M: Champion Recruit 1959–2018

Appendix N: Succession of Gurkha Officers 1958–2018

Appendix O: Succession of British Officers 1958–2018

Appendix P: Campaign Medals 1958–2018

Appendix Q: The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment Gold Medal 2008–2018

Appendix R: The Wallace-Dutton Trophy 2011–2018

Appendix S: Insignia 1958–2018

Appendix T: Regimental Customs and Traditions

Appendix U: History of the Pipes and Drums 1958–2018

Appendix V: Sub Unit Lineage and Digest of Service

Appendix W: Permanent Peacetime Stations 1958–2018

Appendix X: Military Skills and Sports Championship Successes 1958–2018

Appendix Y: The Regimental Association 1962–2018

Appendix Z: The Regimental Trust 1992–2018

Appendix AA: Regimental Property 1959–2018

Abbreviations

Glossary

Foreword

by

Major General ASJ Fay CB Colonel of the Regiment

More than 200 years since Gurkhas first began their service to the British Crown, this is the story of a Gurkha Regiment that was raised some 60 years ago, out of operational necessity, to meet the demands of the Malay Emergency and an end to National Service. Four years after the Gurkha Army Service Corps was raised, it was put to the test, operationally, in response to the Brunei Rebellion followed by nearly four years of confrontation; the undeclared war with Indonesia. Swingeing cuts to The Brigade of Gurkhas followed, to include the Regiment, which by now had been redesignated the Gurkha Transport Regiment, as British Forces were withdrawn from East of Suez, leading to the Regiment’s concentration in Hong Kong. Here it spent the next quarter of a century providing administrative transport to the Colony’s military garrison. Throughout these years, the future of The Brigade of Gurkhas, and in particular the Regiment’s role and survival, was constantly under scrutiny and discussion to see how more could be done with less. It is to the lasting credit of all those who served in the Regiment during this period of peacetime soldiering, and at some distance from the mainstream army, that it was able to maintain, without a glitch, the highest standards of professionalism, dedication and loyalty expected of a Gurkha soldier.

As the world order began to change with the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, along with preparations to hand back Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China, so did the fortunes of the Regiment. It’s successful participation, with its deployment from Hong Kong, in the 1991 Gulf War was pivotal as the start of an operational journey that was to take it to the Middle and Near East – earning the Royal title ‘The Queen’s Own’ – the Balkans, Afghanistan and West Africa over the next two decades. It was able to demonstrate, as part of the wider Army, those qualities inherent in a Gurkha that make him stand out and raise the overall bar in the Army’s operational effectiveness, training and sport. Not only had the Regiment underpinned its position in The Brigade of Gurkhas, but was at long last accepted as a fully functional and vital part of the Army’s logistic component. Its strengths were increasingly recognised both within the Army and the RLC, resulting in the expansion of the Regiment in the new millennium to meet the demands of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently, in spite of a short-lived period of contraction, it has further reorganised and became a benchmark for excellence to meet the future logistic requirements of contingency operations worldwide.

The history of a regiment is a tale of its doings both in peace and war. It is, of course, during operations that the true essence of a regiment is most evident. That the Regiment managed over an unusually long period without being committed to operations to maintain that tradition and inner faith is remarkable. As Colonel of the Regiment, I am proud to have served in this Regiment for over 30 years, with the great honour and privilege of commanding at every level in peace and on operations, uniquely commanding every element of the Regiment as Brigade Commander in Afghanistan. Throughout, no matter the challenge, it has been the courage, resilience, professionalism and steadfast cheerfulness of the Gurkha soldiers that has never faltered; building a reputation that is second to none. This Historical Record illustrates how much we owe to those who have led and guided the Regiment over the past 60 years and to the Gurkha officers and soldiers who have so proudly forged and upheld its standards, customs and traditions. It is to these officers and soldiers that this history is dedicated.

Acknowledgements and Introduction

This history is an amalgam of the writings of many. There are the Unit Historical Records, dutifully compiled for each financial year by the respective adjutants between 1960 and 1994. Dry in content but with a great deal of statistical data, so essential when compiling a history such as this. Over the years, hapless young officers were cajoled to record company/squadron activities for a range of newsletters published in The Waggoner and Sustainer and The Kukri Journal, who will find that their labours have been closely, if not faithfully, recorded. To these many unnamed authors goes my sincere thanks. The Regiment’s first internal newsletter appeared in 1963 and thereafter was published on a regular basis until 1975 when the Regimental Journal came onto the scene. These Regimental Newsletters and Journals have been an immense source from which I have been able to draw upon extensively and so again, I am indebted to all those authors and editors who helped to contribute to recording the Regiment’s activities. Likewise, I have drawn upon the Gurkha publication, Parbate, to which I thank the many Gurkha contributors. Others have taken to writing in professional Journals, such as the RCT Review, to record the evolution of the Regiment during its formative years and its performance on operations, which have greatly helped in recording the events of the times. There have also been a small number of short histories of the Regiment, which I have drawn upon. Lieutenant Colonel David Turner, when he was Second-in-Command (1979–81), compiled a short but informative history of the Regiment up to 1981, which was produced using the cyclostyle duplicating process but with a very limited distribution. Lieutenant Colonel David Ivison, Commander GTR (1977–79), helped to compile the GTR chapter for The Story of the RASC and RCT 1945–1982¹. An outline history of the Regiment was also included in Wait for the Waggon The Story of the RCT and its Predecessors 1794–1993². A Short History of The QOGLR 1958–2002 was published in 2003 as a stop gap until a more comprehensive record of service of the Regiment could be tackled.

At an early stage and to assist the reader, be they a member or former member of the Regiment, a relative or researcher, I decided to record the Regiment’s history on a yearly basis by chapter, which could be readily accessed and absorbed in ‘bite-sized’ chunks. I considered the various options to group the chapters based upon the Regiment’s geographical dispersion, operational and peacetime employments or under Regimental titles and came to the conclusion that it best sat with the latter, grouped as Gurkha ASC, GTR, QOGTR and QOGLR. I have also consolidated much of the information found in each of the chapter-years into readily accessible appendices for ease of reference and to give a summary of a particular topic.

In compiling this Historical Record, I have circulated each of the chapter-years to many of those who were serving at the time in key appointments for verification of the facts, review and comment. I am most grateful to all those who responded and provided additional information that had not been recorded at the time.

The post of Gurkha Adjutant was established in 2015 and over the past five years I have been assisted enormously by the holders of this appointment, Captains Basantadhoj Shahi, Nandaprasad Kala, Rudrabahadur Chhantyal and Deny Gurung, who have ferreted out much information held within the Regiment, HQBG and BGN and for whom I wish to record my special thanks. The RLC Museum furnished me with the lineage details of the squadrons and The Gurkha Museum gave me access to the photograph albums they hold of the Regiment pre 1994, for which I wish to record my sincere thanks.

I have tried to make this a frank and fair account. As such, it will probably not be regarded as a popular read, apart from those who served and might have a vested interest in a particular period or story or for the military historian engaged in research. This, therefore, is not ‘a ripping yarn’, but a historical diary of the Regiment’s activities over its first 60 years of service to the crown. During my research I have been forcibly struck by the high quality of service that the Regiment has provided. It has therefore been a real privilege and pleasure to have been invited to record something of the lives and deeds of so many who have served in the Regiment and I am only sad that some will not have lived to see this Historical Record of their Regiment.

Richard Cawthorne

Salisbury

2021

1. Edited by Brigadier DJ Sutton OBE and published by Leo Cooper, London 1983.

2. Edited by Brigadier John Sutton and published by Leo Cooper an imprint of Pen & Sword, Barnsley 1998.

The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment 1958–2018

An eight-pointed star, in silver, thereon two gilt scrolls inscribed ‘QUEEN’S OWN’ on the upper curved scroll, superimposed on the lower part of the kukri blades above the hilts, and ‘GURKHA LOGISTIC REGIMENT’ on the lower curved scroll, passing behind the hilts of the kukris, issuant therefrom a wreath of laurel, in gilt, with two kukris in saltire with silver blades crossing left over right, the hilts gilt, ensigned with the Royal Cipher in gilt.

Lineage

Campaign Service

Brunei 1962, Borneo 1962–66 & Malay Peninsula 1964–65

Gulf War 1991

Cyprus 1991–92 & 2007–08

Balkans 1995, 1996–97, 1999 & 2001–02

Iraq War 2003 & Iraq 2003 & 2006–07

Afghanistan 2009–10 & 2012

Humanitarian Service

Sierra Leone (Ebola Virus) 2013

Affiliated Corps

The Royal Logistic Corps

Affiliated Colonel-In-Chief

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal

Colonel of the Regiment

Major General ASJ Fay CB

Regimental March

Wait For The Wagon

Digest of Service 1958–2018

Part I

Gurkha Army Service Corps (Gurkha ASC)

1958

Raising of the Gurkha Army Service Corps

The Brigade of Gurkhas celebrated its 10th anniversary as part of The British Army and service in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Emergency in Malaya, which had been declared 10 years earlier, was starting to draw to a close, although the majority of Gurkha battalions continued to be committed to operations. The Brigade of Gurkhas still maintained a presence in India, with a Headquarters and Transit Camp in Barrackpore, Calcutta to oversee recruitment and the transit of Gurkhas to and from Nepal; however, a new depot at Dharan in East Nepal was rapidly taking shape and work had commenced on a smaller camp at Paklihawa in West Nepal. The first Gurkha officer to be commissioned from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (RMAS) had just joined his battalion¹ and 100 Gurkha officers and non-commissioned officers were attending UK courses; for which formal English language training was established in 1958 at the Army School of Education, Beaconsfield. Against this backdrop the initial raising cadres of the Gurkha Army Service Corps formed-up at Nee Soon, Singapore in August.

The decision to raise Gurkha mechanical transport (MT) companies stemmed from the Government’s announcement, in 1957, for a gradual reduction and end to National Service by 1963². Due to the impact this would have on Army manning and its ability to meet its worldwide commitments, one of the decisions taken was to replace Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) MT companies in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong with Gurkha MT companies³. The War Office therefore authorised the raising of four Gurkha MT companies in their signal 21757 [SD2c] of 10th February 1958. This led to the Gurkha Army Service Corps (Gurkha ASC) being formally incorporated into the Order of Battle (ORBAT) of The British Army by Royal Warrant at the Court of St James on 27th August 1958, which was published as Special Army Order No 67 dated 30th August 1958. It was subsequently agreed at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Army Council (ECAC), held on 12th September 1958, that the Gurkha units raised for supply and transport services were to be known as ‘Gurkha Army Service Corps’ (with agreement to omitting the definitive article ‘The’ in the title).

The newly raised Corps was to form part of The Brigade of Gurkhas with precedence below that of the Gurkha Signals (Gurkha Sigs) with an effective date of 1st July 1958. The fact that the Gurkha ASC was to become a component part of The Brigade of Gurkhas on being formed was significant, as this had not been the case for the other Gurkha corps units when they were raised in 1948–49. The Gurkha Engineers (Gurkha Engrs), Gurkha Sigs and Gurkha Military Police (GMP) had all begun their existence in The British Army as units of their parent corps - Corps of Royal Engineers (RE), Royal Corps of Signals (R Signals) and Corps of Royal Military Police (RMP) respectively -as opposed to being units of The Brigade of Gurkhas and wore the insignia of their parent corps. Gurkha officers and Gurkha other ranks (GORs) who were transferred from the Gurkha rifle regiments to the Gurkha corps units were permanently detached from their parent regiments until the Gurkha corps units were formally integrated into The Brigade of Gurkhas in 1955, when they were designated Gurkha Engrs, Gurkha Sigs and GMP⁴.

Prior to the publication of the Royal Warrant in Army Orders, General Headquarters Far East Land Forces (GHQ FARELF) had already issued instructions authorising the raising of the initial cadres for 28 Company Gurkha ASC (MT) and 30 Company Gurkha ASC (Infantry Brigade Group (Inf Bde Gp)) on 1st July 1958 and the formation of their respective companies one year later on 1st August 1959⁵. Although the structure and outline establishments of the two companies to be formed is on record, the detail of how the companies were to be raised and from where the personnel were initially to be drawn has not survived the passage of time. The criteria for the selection and/or nomination of British and Gurkha officers and GORs for the Gurkha ASC is therefore not known. It is assumed that the RASC, as the parent Corps, was responsible for the selection of British officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and sought volunteers. Headquarters Brigade of Gurkhas (HQBG) called for volunteers on behalf of the Gurkha ASC, which was anxious to obtain as many Gurkha officers and GORs as possible from battalion MT sections who had been trained at the RASC School, which formed part of the Far East Training Centre (FETC) at Nee Soon, Singapore⁶. It is assumed that the battalions were also tasked to nominate the requisite number of Gurkha officers and GORs, with a spread of rank, service and experience⁷. There is, however, no record of postings into the Gurkha ASC from Gurkha corps units. Whatever their regiment of origin, the Gurkha ASC owed units of The Brigade of Gurkhas a huge debt of gratitude for the calibre of Gurkha officers and GORs that were transferred.

An Army Council Instruction (ACI) sought volunteers from officers and NCOs of the RASC to serve with the Gurkha ASC, to be drawn from those already serving in the Far East or posted-in from the United Kingdom (UK) and British Army of the Rhine (BAOR)⁸. It is not known, however, whether RASC officers with former Indian Army or Gurkha service were specifically sought. Of the initial British officers that were posted into the Gurkha ASC, only Captain Dougie Horner, who later went on to command 28 Company, had former service with the Indian Army, having served with 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) (5RGR). However, others were to follow: Captain Jim Massey, who later commanded 30 Company/Squadron and was Second-in-Command, formerly served with The Rajputana Rifles; Major Bill Brown, who succeeded Major Dougie Horner to command 28 Company, had served with 3rd Queen Alexandra’s Own Gurkha Rifles (3GR); and Major Peter Attack MBE, who served as Second-in-Command, Commander and Colonel of the Regiment, had begun his military service with 4th Prince of Wales’s Own Gurkha Rifles (4GR)⁹.

All the Gurkha officers and many of the Gurkha Senior NCOs who were transferred into the Gurkha ASC had served with the pre-1947 Indian Army in the Second World War and all the Gurkha officers and GORs that transferred had seen service in the ongoing Malay Emergency. Among the Gurkha officers and soldiers who transferred to the Gurkha ASC, the Gurkha Major, Major (Queen’s Gurkha Officer (QGO)) Prembahadur Ghale MBE late 6th Gurkha Rifles (6GR), was one of only six who had pre Second World War service, to include service on the North West Frontier of India; additionally, he and Captain (QGO) Dilbahadur Limbu late 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles (10GR) were Members of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). Three GORs, all from 10GR, had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)¹⁰ and the Military Medal (MM)¹¹ for gallantry during the Emergency and a number of Gurkha officers and GORs had been mentioned in despatches (MiD). Unlike the Gurkha rifle regiments, which recruited specifically from either West or East Nepal¹², the Gurkha ASC, in line with the other Gurkha corps units, took soldiers on an equal basis from both West and East Nepal, while many of the Gurkha clerks (and some of the Gurkha officers and general duty (GD) GORs in the early years) came from Darjeeling and its surrounding districts in North East India.

The cadres began to form up at the RASC School, Nee Soon in Singapore at the beginning of August 1958. The Gurkha Major, Major (QGO) Prembahadur Ghale MBE, was the first Gurkha to be posted-in, on transfer from 1st Battalion 6th Gurkha Rifles (1/6GR), having reported to the RASC School in June 1958¹³. He was accompanied by Major John Whitehead 7th Gurkha Rifles (7GR), who was the first of four British liaison officers to be attached to the Gurkha ASC during its formative years to help give advice and guidance on Nepalese customs and the traditions and kaida of the Gurkha and The Brigade of Gurkhas¹⁴. He was succeeded, sequentially by Captains Colin Scott 6GR¹⁵, David Pritchard 7GR and Mike Joy 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) (2GR). The Regiment owes these officers a huge debt of gratitude for the tremendous assistance that they so readily gave during its formative years¹⁶.

Gurkha Major Gurkha ASC Maj (QGO) Prembahadur Ghale MBE

The first Gurkha to be posted to the Gurkha ASC in June 1958.

Driver Narparsad Limbu DCM

One of three Gurkha soldiers cross-posted into the Gurkha ASC who had been awarded gallantry medals during the Malay Emergency.

The raising cadres of 28 and 30 Companies, comprising eight Gurkha officers (Captains (QGO) Kunjalal Moktan and Jarnabahadur Rai and Lieutenants (QGO) Bakasman Rai, Padamsing Gurung, Santabahadur Gurung, Gopiman Gurung and Balbahadur Thapa) and 69 Gurkha warrant officers (WOs) and NCOs, arrived at the RASC School for the start of their training on 7th August 1958. Many had come from battalion MT sections and had previously attended training courses at the School. Amongst the initial cadres were three future Gurkha Majors and a Gurkha Major Head Clerk: Captains (QGO) Kunjalal Moktan and Jarnabahadur Rai, the Senior QGOs of 30 and 28 Companies, would sequentially succeed Major (QGO) Prembahadur Ghale as Gurkha Major; Sergeant Aite Gurung would be the Gurkha Major in the mid-1970s; and Corporal Dhandhoj Tamang was destined to be the first Head Clerk of the Regiment and later Head Clerk, in the rank of Major (QGO), to Headquarters British Gurkhas Nepal.

Over the next three months, these Gurkha officers and NCOs underwent training at the RASC School in all aspects of driver instruction and transport management to prepare them for their new role. The instructors of the School were both British and Gurkhas, but to meet the surge in students they were supplemented by a platoon of RASC Malay driving instructors¹⁷. On conclusion of the training of the initial cadre in December, they in turn became instructors, reinforced by RASC Malay driving instructors, to the Junior NCOs, half of whom had already reported for training, as part of the raising cadre, at the RASC School.

28 and 30 Company Cadre, Singapore 1958

Back row (left to right): Sgt Balbahadur Thapa, LCpl Dalbahadur Limbu, Sgt Tilhang Limbu, Sgt Padambahadur Gurung, Cpl Tekbahadur Rai, Cpl Ranbahadur Gurung, Sgt Tulbir Gurung, Cpl Dilbahadur Gurung, Sgt Pemba Tamang, CSgt Padamdhoj Limbu, Cpl Chandrabahadur Rana, Cpl Krishnabahadur Rai and Cpl Dhandhoj Tamang.

Middle row (left to right): Cpl Maniraj Limbu, Sgt Paharsing Gurung, Sgt Phurba Lepcha, LCpl Masine Sunwar, Sgt Kharkabahdur Thapa, Sgt Debising Thapa, Cpl Dhanbahadur Tamang, Cpl Subhasing Gurung, Cpl Birkhabahadur Gurung, Cpl Sherbahadur Rana, Cpl Sarupsing Lama, Cpl Dilbahadur Thapa, Cpl Dalbahadur Gurung and Cpl Danbahadur Chhetri.

Front row (left to right): WO2 Narbahadur Gurung, Lt (QGO) Bakasman Rai, Lt (QGO) Padamsing Gurung, Lt (QGO) Santabahadur Gurung, Capt (QGO) Kunjalal Moktan, Maj J Whitehead 7GR, Maj (QGO) Prembahadur Ghale MBE, Lt Col HMC Every RASC, Brig MH Waters OBE, Col JDH Curling OBE, Maj R Boyeldieu RASC, Capt (QGO) Jarnabahadur Rai, Lt (QGO) Gopiram Gurung, Lt (QGO) Balbahadur Thapa and WO2 Dhanbahadur Limbu.

While the Gurkha elements of the cadres were undergoing training, the first RASC officers to be seconded to the Gurkha ASC were posted-in and sent on a Gurkhali language course. This was followed by familiarisation attachments, to include jungle training, much to the consternation of some, with the 2nd Battalions 2GR and 10GR (2/2GR and 2/10GR) and at the Training Depot Brigade of Gurkhas (TDBG) Sungei Patani, Kedah in northern Malaya. The first British officers to join the Gurkha ASC were Majors Mike Tierney and John Wilson, Captain Dougie Horner, Lieutenants Pat Lloyd and Dale Mcllvean and Second Lieutenants Jim Connochie and Mike Thorp. Major Mike Tierney was appointed to command 30 Company on 21st October 1958 and Major John Wilson was appointed to command 28 Company four days later; Major Tierney is therefore accredited as being the first British officer to be seconded to the Gurkha ASC¹⁸.

Maj TM Tierney RASC

The first Gurkha ASC Company Commander.

Nearly half a century later, Major (Retired) Mike Thorp described how he and Second Lieutenant Jim Connochie flew from Stansted Airport in the UK to Singapore in a chartered ‘Skyways of London’ aircraft along with 48 other passengers. At a cruising speed of 270 miles per hour and an average altitude of 12,000 feet, it took five days to reach their destination with stopovers in Italy, Turkey, Bahrain, Pakistan, India and Thailand. On arrival they were met by Movement Control Staff who had no record of the existence of the Gurkha ASC and advised them to return to the UK. Fortunately, they ignored this advice and eventually found their way to the RASC School, Nee Soon where they met-up with the Gurkha ASC Cadre. They were then put on a train bound for Seremban, Malaya where they reported to Headquarters RASC 17 Gurkha Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces. Here they were briefed about the formation of the Gurkha ASC and their immediate future before being sent on to TDBG at Sungei Patani to attend their language course. On arrival at TDBG, they were measured for their olive green (OG) Gurkha shirts and shorts and acquired Gurkha ASC blue hose-tops and puttees along with RASC yellow stocking flashes (later changed to Gurkha ASC old gold) and RASC shoulder titles, which along with their badges of rank, were painted black to conform to the uniform dress of The Brigade of Gurkhas¹⁹. Here they met some of their brother officers, to include Majors Mike Tierney and John Wilson, and started their language training under Major Malcolm Meerendonk MBE BA Royal Army Education Corps (RAEC), known to many generations of British officers for the Roman Gurkhali dictionary and grammar book that he published²⁰. It was at TDBG, following the arrival of their tailored OG Gurkha shirts and shorts, that they were introduced to the manner in which they were dressed and wore their uniforms. The OG shirts and shorts were rigid in starch and pressed to the extent that the Gurkha shorts stood upright on the floor²¹. The sequence of getting dressed was to first put on issue short socks, hose-tops, stocking flashes, boots and puttees. Next went on the shirt followed by the shorts, which were stepped into, pulled-up and buttoned up at the waist. Finally, and an action which always took new British officers both by shock and surprise, the Gurkha orderly would kneel down in front and thrust his hands up the shorts to pull-down the tail of the shirt to get rid of any wrinkles around the waistband. This was Sam-Browne belt before going off to work. on the OG shirt along with the RASC For those on parade, there was no sitting blue and gold lanyard and were eligible to down before breakfast²², some one and a the award of the General Service Medal half hours later, and meant travelling around TDBG standing in the back of an open LANDROVER. For the language students, they had to carefully fold the rear wings of their shorts when sitting down in the classroom. At the end of the course in December an oral exam was held with a financial reward, if passed, of Gurkha Language Pay. The Gurkha ASC British officers then proceeded to southern Malaya and Singapore, where they were attached to Gurkha battalions for the next six months²³.

Gurkha ASC Insignia

On the formation of the Gurkha ASC, followed by putting-on the highly polished all ranks wore the RASC cap badge and RASC metal shoulder titles, painted black, (GSM) 1918 clasp MALAYA.

1. Second Lieutenant Chandrabahadur Rai 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles (10GR).

2. The National Service Act, which replaced wartime conscription, came into effect on 1st January 1949, from which date men called-up had an obligation of 18 months service (later extended to two years) with the colours and four years on the reserve. This was to meet the required high levels of military manpower in parts of the world where the UK had strong ongoing commitments (i.e. British Army of the Rhine, East and West Africa, Caribbean, Middle and Near East, South East Asia and the Far East).

3. The Times ’ obituary for Major General PG Turpin CB OBE dated 23rd September 1996 recorded that as Brigadier Administration 17th Gurkha Division in Malaya, he supervised the formation of Gurkha transport units to replace British units, which could not be manned after the end of National Service.

4. Gurkha Sapper. The Story of The Gurkha Engineers 1948–1970 . Major General LECM Perowne CB CBE K S t J. Cathy Press Limited Hong Kong 1973, Pp8–9.

5. GHQ FARELF letter FE 583092 MP2 (ORG) dated 11th July 1958.

6. The Waggoner The Journal of the RASC . January 1959. It is assumed that this was coordinated by Headquarters RASC 17 Gurkha Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces, which was based at Seremban, Malaya.

7. A search through Part One Orders for the 1st Battalion 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles (1/2GR) and the 1st and 2nd Battalions 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles (1/6GR and 2/6GR) for this period, held by The Gurkha Museum, showed that each of these three battalions transferred about 25 Gurkha all ranks to 28 and 30 Companies in 1959. This would indicate that upwards of 400 Gurkha all ranks were transferred from the eight battalions of the four Gurkha rifle regiments in two tranches in 1959 and 1960, which went towards meeting the Gurkha ASC’s initial establishment of 924 Gurkha officers and GORs. The balance of its establishment was made up from Recruit Intakes posted directly into the Gurkha ASC from the Training Depot Brigade of Gurkhas between 1959 and 1962.

8. Before 23rd June 1959 . Major (Retired) Mike Thorp. The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (QOGLR) Journal 2008, P165.

9. According to the 1963 Newsletter of 4th Prince of Wales’s Own Gurkha Rifles Officers’ Association, Major Peter Attack’s original aspiration to command a Gurkha ASC Company was frustrated by a posting to a RASC Company in BAOR!

10. 21136894 Driver Narparsad Limbu DCM served with 28 Company. Known as ‘DCM’, his portrait, copy medals (his actual medals are held by The Gurkha Museum) and citation are displayed in 28 Fuel and General Transport Squadron QOGLR.

11. 21140212 Corporal Rasbahadur Rai MM (who served with 34 Company and who had also been awarded a MiD) and 21146489 Driver Jasbahadur Rai MM (who served with 30 Company).

12. 2GR and 6GR recruited from West Nepal while 7GR and 10GR recruited from East Nepal.

13. Lieutenant Colonel Jim Massey recalls that ‘ We stopped at a picture on the wall, it was that noted photograph of the Commander of the XIVth Army, the bulldog jaw, the bush hat, the personification of grit and determination, Field Marshal Bill Slim. Among the wide variety of [31] Company groups, end of Course photographs and odd individual portraits which decorated the QGOs’ Mess, it stood out as so easily recognisable that it presented itself as a first talking point for my companion and myself, he with no English (or so it appeared) and I with a vaguely remembered smattering of Urdu from my brief days spent in India over thirteen years previously. Slim Sahib! Oh yes, he was my company commander in 1932 or 1933 when I was a lance naik. This was my companion speaking and it really put things into perspective for me. I had joined the Gurkha ASC raising cadre for 31 Company in Nee Soon that day and had just been introduced to the Gurkha Major, Prembahadur Ghale MBE, in the little QGOs’ Mess there. Prembahadur Sahib was the first Gurkha Major appointed to the Gurkha ASC and a happy choice it had been. He was a splendid character, the epitome of all that I expected in a Gurkha officer and he was exactly the right sort of man to have at the top of a newly forming Regiment .’ Random Recollections from a Burho . GTR Journal 1976, P31.

14. John Whitehead went on to command 1/6GR (1968–69) and 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade (1973–76) in Hong Kong and was Colonel 7GR 1982–91. He remained a staunch friend of the Regiment and was an active member of the Regimental Association.

15. Colin Scott was the son of Major General JB Scott CB DSO MC, late 6GR who raised and commanded the 1st Burma Division during the Burma campaign 1942. Colin Scott went on to command 6GR 1973–75 and assisted in training pipers for the Regiment’s embryo Pipes and Drums in the mid-1970s.

16. Lessons had been learned from the raising of The Gurkha Engrs in 1948, when liaison officers had been appointed, belatedly, from the Gurkha battalions, to include Major John Whitehead 7GR, to assist and advise on Nepalese culture and Gurkha kaida .

17. Old Memories Rekindled in Brunei and Sandakan . Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Tony Bridger OBE. QOGLR Journal 2004, P71.

18. By coincidence, Major Mike Tierney had commanded 28 (Anti-Aircraft) Company RASC in 1952–54.

19. On the formation of the Gurkha ASC, all ranks wore black badges of rank and RASC insignia pending the approval of its own insignia. The RASC cap badge was worn on all forms of headdress and the RASC collar badge on tropical mess dress. The RASC metal shoulder titles, painted black, were worn by all ranks on the OG shirt along with the RASC blue and gold lanyard.

20. Commissioned into the Indian Army in 1943, served with 6GR and transferred to the RAEC in 1946. He was the founding editor of Parbate , the weekly newspaper of The Brigade of Gurkhas, in 1948 and became the Senior Education Officer at TDBG. He died in 2001.

21. The width of Gurkha shorts was legendary. In 1966, the Major General Brigade of Gurkhas, Major General AG Patterson DSO OBE MC, decreed that the width of the bottom of the shorts should be no greater than twice the circumference of the wearer’s knee plus the circumference of two clenched fists!

22. Later when 28 Company was stationed in Whitfield Barracks, Hong Kong, British officers took breakfast in the British Officers’ Rest Room at 0900 hours, two hours after first parade. Here they would step-out of their shorts and leave them, standing under the peg on which they hung their hats, while they sat down in a second pair of shorts for breakfast.

23. Before 23rd June 1959 . Major (Retired) Mike Thorp. QOGLR Journal 2008, Pp165–167.

1959

Cadre and Company Training

At the beginning of the year, 6GR and 7GR were each granted Royal titles and became 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles and 7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles; all four Gurkha rifle regiments now had Royal titles. By the end of the year, only one Gurkha battalion was deployed on operations in Malaya as the Emergency started to wind down. The movement of Gurkhas and their families to and from India by sea was replaced by air trooping, reducing travel time from Singapore to Calcutta, India by sea from several days to six hours! By 1959, all units were equipped with the new 7.62mm FN Rifle (later redesignated the Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), which replaced the bolt action Lee Enfield No 5 short barrelled .303-inch rifle). Gurkha Sigs supported the first elections to be held in Nepal and HM The King of Nepal visited Gurkha units in Hong Kong while en-route to Japan and the United States of America (USA). The first Gurkha ASC Newsletter was published in The Kukri The Journal of The Brigade of Gurkhas.

The first sub-unit of the Gurkha ASC to be formed was the Composite Platoon 30 Company. Under the command of Captain Dougie Horner, one QGO and 20 GORs reported for duty at Kluang, Johore State, Malaya on 1st February 1959 for training, under the supervision of Headquarters RASC 17 Gurkha Infantry Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces, and soon became well known throughout the area for the issue of rations from 62 Supply Depot RASC.

The second contingent of British officers to join the Gurkha ASC for service with 28 and 30 Companies arrived in early 1959. These were: Captains Jimmy Durrant, Bill Godwin, and Mike MacDonald and Lieutenants Roland Fahey, Bob Tannock, David Chapman and David Randall. They did familiarisation attachments with the 1st Battalions 7th and 10th Gurkha Rifles (1/7GR and 1/10GR) and at TDBG before attending their Gurkhali Language Course. A number of British NCOs were also posted into both Companies during this period as company quartermaster sergeants, company chief clerks and MT platoon sergeants. However, they and their successors did not have the benefit of either familiarisation attachments or receiving any formal Gurkhali language training¹.

By late June 1959, the raising cadres of 28 and 30 Companies had completed their initial training at the RASC School in Singapore and moved to Batu Pahat Camp and Balaclava Lines, Kluang respectively to form-up as companies. Over the next few weeks, the cadres prepared the camps and drew up vehicles and equipment in time for the arrival of the main body of GORs being transferred from the Gurkha battalions. At the same time the Light Aid Detachments (LAD) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) for the Companies were raised and began to form-up². The two Companies were formally formed-up on 1st August 1959³: 28 Company (MT) consisted of a company headquarters, three transport platoons and a LAD REME, with an establishment for 250 British and Gurkha officers and soldiers, and 30 Company (Inf Bde Gp) consisted of a company headquarters, three transport platoons, a composite platoon and a LAD REME, with an establishment for 290 British and Gurkha officers and soldiers. Additionally, each Company had 40 locally enlisted civilians (LEC). QGOs and GORs who had family permission⁴, initially arrived unaccompanied until tented family lines had been erected; they were joined by their families at the end of the August. Once the Companies and their families had been settled into their accommodation, driver training began in earnest. Training was conducted in MORRIS 1 Ton and BEDFORD QL 3 Ton trucks, many of which were World War Two vintage, and had stencilled on the inside of the cab at the back behind the seats ‘CLASS IV FOR GURKHA TRAINING ONLY’. Over the next 10 months, the Companies’ vehicles, with their ‘L’ plates and the distinctive QL high-pitched whine, were to be seen and heard throughout the length and breadth of the southern peninsula of Malaya and Singapore. To assist in driver training, a RASC training team, comprising a company quartermaster sergeant, sergeant clerk and five sergeants and two corporal driver instructors, was attached to each of the Companies for the duration of training. It was also at this early stage of driver training that Major John Wilson relinquished command of 28 Company in September, pending retirement, and was replaced by Acting Major Dougie Horner, from the Composite Platoon 30 Company, who was to take the Company to Hong Kong the following year.

While 28 and 30 Companies were in the process of forming up in Malaya, the raising cadres for 31 Company Gurkha ASC (Inf Bde Gp) and 34 Company (MT) Gurkha ASC formed up on 1st July 1959⁵ and began to arrive at the RASC School. The Gurkha officers included the Senior QGOs for 31 and 34 Companies, Captains (QGO) Dhansing Gurung and Dilbahadur Limbu MBE, as well as Captains (QGO) Paldenchiring Lama and Kharakbahadur Gurung and Lieutenants (QGO) Padambahadur Limbu, Karnabahadur Thapa, Narbahadur Limbu, Khimbahadur Rana, Siriprasad Limbu, Dilbahadur Gurung, Dalbahadur Thapa, Samarsing Rai and Dilbahadur Rana. Over the next nine months, these Gurkha officers and NCOs underwent a similar cycle of training to that of their sister companies. Similarly, RASC officers seconded to 31 and 34 Companies were posted in and sent on Gurkhali Language Courses at TDBG followed by familiarisation attachments to the Gurkha battalions before joining the raising cadres. These included: Majors Bob Thorpe and Jock Henderson, who assumed command of 31 and 34 Cadres and Companies on 1st July 1959 and 23rd September 1959 respectively, Captain Dick Ablett and Lieutenants Tony Ottewell, David Ivison, Shane O’Neill and Richard Moore.

BEDFORD QL Fleet

Driver training was conducted on the BEDFORD QL, which were World War Two vintage, and had stencilled on the inside of the cab ‘CLASS IV FOR GURKHA TRAINING ONLY’.

Visit of Commander-in-Chief Royal Nepalese Army, Batu Pahat

Commander-in-Chief Royal Nepalese Army, Lt Gen Nir Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana, with the recently appointed 28 Company Commander, Maj DFJ Horner.

The raising of the Gurkha ASC had been overseen by Headquarters RASC 17 Gurkha Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces