History
The Association was formed by officers who had left the Regiment on its transfer from the British Indian Army to the British Army in 1948, a time when many officers were released after wartime duty or retired. The Association provided a focus in UK while the battalions of the Regiment were stationed overseas. The first committee meeting was in 1949 and from then the record of committee members has been one of unstinting and generous service. The first Chairman was Bunny Strahan and successors included both Maj Gen Geoffrey Bruce and Brig Gil Hickey both of whom served for more than 10 years. From the roll of Honorary Secretaries mention must be made of Lt Col Ronald Gibbs, known to all as “Gibbos”, author of Volume 2 of the Regimental History and a source of regimental history and lore. Mention should also be made of Lt Col Tony “Tich” Harvey who was Secretary for 10 years, Chairman for 5 and the Regimental Trustee for the Gurkha Museum for 30 years.
The objects of the Association were to: keep alive the companionship formed after many years service together in the Regiment and to support and keep in touch with both Battalions of the serving Regiment.
The activities undertaken by the Association included organising annual and special reunions, the production of an annual Journal, the establishment of a Book of Remembrance in Winchester Cathedral, the production of Volumes 2 and 3 of the Regimental History and supporting local overseas branches of the Association in Nepal and Darjeeling. During the Regiment’s tours in UK, January 1977 to May 1979 and March1987 to April 1989, the Association provided support and organised a number of wonderful joint functions such as the 1989 Parade at church Crookham on the occasion of the departure of the Regiment.
The demise in 1994 of the serving element of the Regiment, which became part of the new regiment, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, signalled a change in the role of the Association as it became the sole representative of 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles. This has continued until the time of writing.
Activities continued as previously with annual reunions and the service of remembrance being well attended, plus the popular biannual Cuttack Lunch Club and a number of battlefield tours to sites of particular interest to the Regiment. The Association also established a comprehensive website including both historical information and recent events. The Association maintains close contact with the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the Royal Gurkha Rifles Association.
One measure of the Association’s success is its growth in membership from 134 in 1949, to over 250 in 2004 and nearly 300 in 2024, some 30 years after the demise of the serving Regiment. In 1998 membership was widened to include Associate Members and in 2010 Full Membership was opened to All Ranks who had served in the Regiment as more veterans settled in UK.
The Association has organised and hosted many notable reunions; in 1984 it was honoured at its Reunion Luncheon at the Grocers’ Hall by the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In 1992, in conjunction with the Regiment the Association was host to Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei at the Tower of London for the 175th Annniversary Celebration of the formation of the Regiment. In 1998, the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Association was marked by a celebratory Reunion held at St James’ Palace which was honoured by the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and His royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.
Together with the Regimental Trust, the Association has raised funds to enable our Nepal Branch to organise memorable Durbars (large gatherings) in 2005 and 2013. Association Members came from all over the world to meet old friends and comrades from the hills of Nepal and elsewhere. In 2005, the Durbar was attended by Honorary Lieutenant Tulbahadur Pun VC who won his VC in Burma with the 3rd Battalion of the Regiment.
In 2017, the Association had probably its busiest year ever as it celebrated the 200th Anniversary of the raising of the Regiment is 1817. Over 2,800 former 6th Gurkhas, their families and guests attended the Anniversary Durbars held in Pokhara and in Kempton Park Racecourse in theUK. Those who had served with the Regiment and their widows were presented with a 200th commemorative badge and received the commemorative historical brochure and on 16 May, the actual day of the Anniversary, the Gurkha Everest Expedition carried the 6th Gurkha Regimental Flag to the summit. Later in the year at a joint function with the King’s Royal Hussars Association (successors to the 14th/20th Kings Hussars) to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Ramadi, the first time that the two regiments had fought alongside each other, the President of the Association, John Anderson presented the Gurkha Museum with a silver statuette of Bill Slim, the Regiment’s most distinguished officer, as a permanent record of our 200th Anniversary. During the year the Association organised three very successful battlefields tours for members to Gallipoli, Italy and Burma which included visits to perhaps the most important battle sites of all four of our Battalions during both World Wars.
After our big year of 2017, Association events continued as before, but with many important extra functions. In 2019 we commemorated 75th Anniversary of the award of the Victoria Cross to Captain Michael Allmand during the attack on Mogaung in Burma by 3/6 GR. This was done at the family church, St Edward the Confessor’s Catholic Church in Golders Green, North London and included many of Michael Allmand’s extended family. In 2020, the Association was approached by the BBC who were preparing a documentary on the war in Burma. We arranged for them to interview and film Honorary Captain Kulbahadur Gurung MM at his home in Pokhara. Kulbahadur, but then 100 years old had served with the Chindits in Burma and been awarded his Military Medal for sustained bravery fighting against the Japanese. Dame Joanna Lumley, one of our Members, whose father had served with Kulbahadur, hosted the programme, but of the participants Kulbahadur was cleary the star of the show. Later that same year we realised that there was no portrait of arguably World War 2’s finest General; Bill Slim in the Gurkha Museum and so the Association remedied this omission by commissioning a beautiful copy of the 6th Gurkha regimental portrait and presenting it to the Museum where it rightly has pride of place. Although Bill Slim was extremely well known as a General and Field Marshal, it was felt that little was known about his formative years as an officer in the Gurkhas on the North West Frontier and this was remedied in 2021 by a series of lectures entitled “Slim the Gurkha Officer” by a team led by John Mackinlay and including Ray Pett These were extremely well received. Later the same year the Association were involved with Great Western Railways who were naming their new class of locomotives after World War II heroes and chosen Tulbahadur Pun VC for one of these. We attended a lovely, if noisy, ceremony on Paddington Station for the naming ceremony.
One long term aspiration of many in the Regiment, but initially inspired by John Mackinlay, had been to have a permanent memorial in Nepal to those who had served and in some way been part of the Regiment, including families and supporting staff. Although preparatory work had been going on for some years, finding a suitable location, agreeing a design etc, formal Trust and Association support was finally agreed in late 2021. Funds were raised mainly from personal donations both in UK and Nepal and the project was properly under way. A total of almost £90,000 was given, allowing a fine memorial to be constructed in white granite (quartz) which both looks wonderful and will last. The project was led by Mike Channing in UK with Gopal Gurung in Nepal, both with hard working committees and with Purna Gurung as the Project Manager on the ground in Pokhara. A huge amount of work was involved in both UK, India and Nepal, but by November 2022 the Memorial was completed in the grounds of the Gurkha Memorial Museum in Pokhara. The Nepal Branch of the Association were just able to have their Remembrance Parade at the site. A formal dedication of the Memorial took place in March 2023, attended by more than 400 veterans and families, many from distant shores, which ended with a lunch in the British Gurkha Camp and the renewal of many old friendships. The inscription, in both English and Nagri “Let their deeds not be forgotten” bears testament to the dedication and sacrifices of everyone involved with the Regiment since its formation in 1817.
In early 2024, the Association was very involved in an unusual event in St Mary Abbot’s Parish Church in Kensington, recreating a service that had taken place in the same church in 1916 to honour those of the 5th, 6th and 10th Gurkhas who had fallen at Gallipoli. The initiative came from Robert Llewellyn-Smith whose great uncle had been killed at Gallipoli while briefly commanding 1/6th Gurkhas. More than 100 people were present, for a very moving service which including the Turkish Defence Attache and our own Captain Birbahadur Thapa whose grandfather had been in 1/6 Gurkhas at Gallipoli as well as our Secretary whose great uncle was wounded while serving with 1/6 Gurkhas at that time.
The Association has always been run by a wonderful and dedicated team, typified by Brig John Anderson who has been President since 2002. We always considered ourselves a family while serving and this commitment to the Regiment and Association is borne out by still having 300 members 30 years after the serving Regiment was disbanded.
In the years leading up to 2018 there was a concern that there were insufficient Full Members of the Association to ensure that its continuation was viable. After much discussion it was decided at the AGM in November 2023 that rather than close it would reduce in scope to an “Association Light”, making maximum use of the increased support available from the Gurkha Brigade Association. The proposal and new Guideline were voted on by Full Members and agreed at the 16 November 2023 AGM.
From 2024, the Association will continue to host or is involved with a number of annual events; our 6 GR Shoot & Ladies Dinner, Cuttack Lunches, the Gurkha Brigade Association Bhela, the Regimental All Ranks Reunion, and the Association Service of Remembrance and Reunion. We still have a major project under way; the Archive Project led by Lt Col Brian O’Bree, to catalogue and digitise as much important and personal history of the Regiment that we can before it is forgotten or lost.
“Jai 6th Gurkhas”