"Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous" – who are the Gurkhas?


	"Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous" – who are the Gurkhas?

Lexica

4-29-2009 11:33 PM

418 views

tags:

war, heroes, nepal, britain, gurkhas

Lexica says:

If there was a minute's silence for every Gurkha casualty from World War II alone, we would have to keep quiet for two weeks. – Gurkha Welfare Trust

3 Comments |

Add a Comment

4-30-2009 8:33 AM

apgalea

If I understand correctly, these soldiers join the British and Indian Armies for a stipend.
In other words they are mercenaries, right?

4-30-2009 2:22 PM

Lexica

No, they are not mercenaries, any more than any other soldier who gets paid for their military service is a mercenary.

Besides, I doubt many mercenaries swear an oath of allegiance:

"I swear by Almighty God that I will bear true allegiance to her majesty Queen Elizabeth the second, her heirs and successors, and that I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend her majesty, her heirs and successors, in person, crown and dignity against all enemies, and will observe and obey all orders of her majesty, her heirs and successors, and of the generals and officers set over me."

4-30-2009 6:54 PM

Antara

Joanna Lumley did a great job here. Viva the Gurkhas!

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