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BRITISH GURKHAS NEPAL |
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Headquarters British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) is situated in Jawalakhel, Patan, just south of the river from central Kathmandu. It exists to provide a line of communication to support the Brigade of Gurkhas worldwide. It has five core functions.
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Recruiting
Trooping and transit
Re-orientation and discharge
Pension Paying
Welfare of serving personnel and ex-Servicemen |
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Britain has recruited Gurkhas since 1815 and thus the connection between Britain and Nepal is very well established. It is estimated that the Brigade of Gurkhas is the fourth largest foreign currency earner for the Nepali economy. This includes the cost of BGN, salaries of serving British Gurkhas, pensions for ex-serving personnel and the combination of individual and community aid provided by the Gurkha Welfare Scheme (GWS).
BGN are under the command of Headquarters Land Command at Wilton. BGN is commanded by a full Colonel who is also the Defence Attaché, Kathmandu. Beneath Headquarters BGN are three sub-units covering west (Pokhara), centre (Kathmandu) and east (Itahari, between Biratnagar and Dharan) Nepal.
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British Gurkhas Kathmandu (BGK). BGK is co-located with HQ BGN and is the focus for transit, serving soldier welfare, reorientation, discharge and resettlement. It also runs a Pension Paying Office a short distance from the camp. |
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British Gurkhas Pokhara (BGP). BGP coordinates recruiting countrywide and conducts central selection annually in December. Pensioners' records are held at BGP and there is a Pension Paying Office here also. Additionally the GWS is headquartered on Pokhara Camp. |
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British Gurkhas Itahari (BGI). BGI is a small camp housing a Pension Paying Office and a movement detachment. The latter facilitates BGN's operations in eastern Nepal. |
CORE FUNCTIONS
1. Recruiting. The prime and most visible role of BGN is recruiting. Unlike in the UK, BGN are in the enviable position of having many more applicants than places. At least 70 young men are looked at for each one who is selected. Recruiting takes place annually and there are two routes for potential recruits to reach central selection.
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The tough Doko race |
Route 1: Regional Selection in September directly to Central Selection in December / January
Route 2: Recruiter / Galla Selection in October to Hill Selection in November to Central Selection in December /January.
Regional Selection (Route 1). This was reintroduced two years ago to provide a larger pool of educated soldiers to Central Selection to go on to the Corps Units. These are known as Potential Educated Recruits (PERs). Regional Selection is held in two locations Dharan (East) and Pokhara and is attended by approximately 3,000 individuals of which around 350 are selected for Central Selection.
Galla Selection (Route 2). A Galla in Nepali means someone who provides a commodity, like a wholesaler. The men who select the raw material are called Galla Wallahs. These are all ex-servicemen and normally retired Senior Non-commissioned Officers who are each given an area of responsibility from which to recruit. They are briefed each April by the Recruiting Officer and tour their area from May to September before selecting young men from the hundreds they will see. Each year over 20,000 hopefuls attend Galla Selection.
Hill Selection(Route 2). Hill Selection takes place in the Nepali autumn. Six teams of Retired Gurkha Officers (RGOs), serving Gurkha Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers make a second assessment of the applicants brought in by the Galla Wallahs. This is carried out at selected locations in the hills. Hill Selection involves a rudimentary medical, physical and education tests. Each Galla Wallah will have provided about 100 men, from which 10 to 15% are chosen.
Central Selection. Those selected from Regional Selection and Hill Selection move on to the final hurdle, Central Selection at Pokhara. This is the most rigorous phase and involves a full medical by a doctor including a chest x-ray before a wide range of physical and mental tests. Over 1,000 individuals attend Central Selection each year and currently 230 are chosen for the British Army and 140 for the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force with whom BGN have an agreement. Those selected for the British Army depart Nepal in late January to start nine months of training at the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick.
Below are a selection of pictures representing the various stages of the Recruit Selection: Beginning with the potenial recruits arriving at the gate with their passes received during Regional and Hill Selections. The handing out of numbered bibs (instead of the traditional method of writing numbers on the candidates' chest), and through the tough stages of the famous 'Doko Race' (4 kms of arduous terrain to be completed in under 37.5 mins whilst carrying a doko weighted with 35 kgs(77lbs) of sand and stone).
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Trooping and Transit. Gurkhas return to Nepal once every three years on five months leave. They are also entitled to one married accompanied tour of between two and three years in their first fifteen years service and permanent accompanied service once they reach the rank of Colour Sergeant. All Gurkha personnel and their families moving between their units and Nepal stage through the transit camp in Kathmandu. On arrival BGK facilitate their onward movement and when they return from leave, check all documentation before arranging flights on charter or part charter aircraft to UK or Brunei. BGK also receive and process the unaccompanied baggage of all personnel returning to Nepal. |
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Reorientation and Discharge. The first step towards leaving the British Gurkhas is for a soldier / officer to attend the Penultimate Leave Course at the start of their penultimate Long Leave period. This two-day course is designed to introduce serving personnel to the realities of life in Nepal and to allow them to begin to think about targeting their resettlement courses for their second career outside the Army. At the end of their service all Gurkhas are discharged in Nepal under the provision of the Tripartite Agreement and attend a one-week Reorientation Course run by BGK on life in Nepal. This includes lectures on local government, taxation and other issues which soldiers will not be familiar with after their service outside Nepal. They are formally discharged after any leave owing to them has been taken.
| Pension Paying. There are currently over 26,000 service pensioners and their widows in Nepal and BGN pay pension and remittances worth over £30 million annually. There are four Pension Paying Offices in each of Kathmandu, Pokhara, Itahari and Bhairahawa and these pay about 58% of ex-servicemen their pensions. To allow pensioners in the more remote areas to collect their pensions more easily and more frequently, they are paid quarterly from the Area Welfare Centres run by the GWS. Approximately 3,700 ex-servicemen are paid in this way and the remaining 24% are bank paid. |
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Serving Soldier Welfare. In-service welfare hinges on investigating the need for compassionate leave in the absence of an effective civilian infrastructure. Most Gurkhas serve unaccompanied and only return to Nepal on Long Leave once every three years. BGN ensure that if anything happens to their family they are informed and flown back to Nepal on compassionate leave if it is something serious. The investigation of these cases frequently involves a great deal of walking by BGN or GWS staff to remote areas to find out what has happened to family members.
Map indicating the location of the 25 Area Welfare Centres
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Ex-Servicemens' Welfare. Welfare support for ex-servicemen is provided by the Gurkha Welfare Scheme (GWS) which is the field arm of the UK based charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust (GWT). The GWT aims to alleviate hardship and poverty amongst ex-servicemen and their widows, many whom due to relatively short war service or redundancy in the 60s do not have a Service Pension. The Trust is supported by the Ministry of Defence who meet the staff and administrative costs of the GWS. |
HQ GWS in Pokhara |
The Gurkha Welfare Scheme (GWS). The GWS is the field arm of the Gurkha Welfare Trust (GWT), a UK based charity. The GWS is based at Pokhara and is run on a day-to-day basis by the Brigade Welfare Officer and his staff. The BWO is a serving Brigade of Gurkhas Lt Col. He is supported by two Captains and several retired and serving officers. Commander BGN is the Director of the GWS and answers to the GWT trustees in UK. The GWS is represented in the hills by 25 Area Welfare Centres (AWCs) spread across all the traditional recruiting areas. There are 11 AWCs in the east of Nepal, 12 in the west, one in Kathmandu and one in Darjeeling, India. They are purpose built and are staffed by an Area Welfare Officer, one or more assistants depending on the size of the parish, a medical assistant and one or more peons who act as cooks or runners. It is this staff that investigates all claims for aid from ex-servicemen and frequently the circumstances of serving soldiers families. Aid dispersed by the GWS is directed to support ex-servicemen and their widows either individually with welfare pensions, hardships grants, medical grants and education grants or communally through projects such as water points, schools and suspension bridges. This year out of a budget of £7.2 million, the GWS spent 48% on individual aid and 36% on community aid.
Summary. BGN is responsible for recruiting Gurkhas, manages serving soldier welfare and provides a comprehensive support package for the ex-service community in Nepal.
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Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of this information, personnel must confirm details through the chain of command or with their Administrative Office before taking any action or making any commitment.
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Last Reviewed: 7 Jan 04
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