Women's Fellowship Events at
St Peter's Church Farnborough, Hampshire
Church of England, Diocese of Guildford

Life as a Gurkha

He started his talk by sharing a greeting with us, Namaste  which is a symbol of respect said while joining one's own hands together, palms touching, in front of the body.

He told us he was a Buddhist and came from the flatter part of Nepal, where the people were dependent on farming until recently, where it is now tourism. He joined the army in 1986. He showed us a short film and told us a little about the formation of the Gurkhas. They have about 10,000 boys apply to become a Gurkha Soldier but the intake is only 178 a year!!

The selection process has been described as one of the toughest in the world and is fiercely contested.Young hopefuls have to run uphill for 40 minutes carrying a wicker basket on their back filled with rocks weighing 70lbs.There are other physical tests and medicals they have to pass. When accepted in Nepal by the small recruiting team , they come to the UK for their training in Catterick, Yorkshire.

Pali then told us how uncomfortable the hat is to wear, the hat is worn well tilted over one ear and a size or two smaller than necessary for effect.It is no longer worn in the field and its wear is primary confined to parades and ceremonial duties.

The Kukri (Knife) - All Gurkha troops are issued the kukri and they receive training in its use.

It was and in many cases still is the basic and traditional utility knife of the Nepali people. Very effective when used as a weapon, it is a symbolic weapon for all Gurkha regiments throughout the world and the Nepali Army signifying the courage and valour of the bearer in the battlefield.

To finish Pali told us about the Gurkha Museum in Winchester and answered some questions from the ladies.

It was a very interesting talk and rather poignant that this week three Gurkha soldiers have been repatriated back to the UK after being killed by a rogue Afghan soldier in Afghanistan.

We do not pay our speakers but have a retiring collection to a charity of their choice, Pali wants the money we collected to go to the Gurkha Welfare Trust. We gave him a small gift of home-made jam and cake, some  biscuits and sweets

We finished with tea and biscuits but the Captain Tamang couldn't stay as he had another appointment.

We are very grateful to Derek Lee for taking some of the photographs for us and for Heather again coming to our aid with the technical side.

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