A Brief History of the Gurkhas Quiz

Answer: Nepal

Nepal is a landlocked country with most of it located in the Himalayan region. It borders China (the region of Tibet) and India with its capital at Kathmandu. Gurkhas are primarily associated with Nepal although some come from the north-eastern parts of India.

Answer: Town

The name comes from the town of Gorkha, also spelled as Gurkha, which is situated in central Nepal. It was the centre of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lasted from 1559 until 1768, when it became the Kingdom of Nepal. The town is known for its shrine to Gorakhnath, the founder of Kanphata Yogi.

The name of Gorkha was used for residents of the region and hence to the soldiers who originated from there.

Answer: Prithivi Narayan Shah

Prithivi Narayan Shah ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Gorkha in 1743, and set his sights on the unification of Nepal which, at the time, was divided into more than fifty different states. Early attempts met with defeat in the 1743 Battle of Nuwakot, but Shah tried again the following year and gained control of Nuwakot. He continued to expand his kingdom by fighting the states closest to him, with victory in the Battle of Kathmandu, which began in 1768, giving him control of the whole of Nepal in 1769.

Prithivi Narayan Shah has the distinction of being the last King of Gorkha and the first King of Nepal, establishing a dynasty which remained in power until Nepal became a republic in 2008.

Answer: Nineteenth

The war lasted from November 1814 until March 1816 and involved the Kingdom of Nepal, as it then was, and the East India Company. The reason for the conflict was the ambitions of the British company to expand into areas which the Nepalese also wished to control to extend their territory. The British forces were supported by Indian forces, particularly from Sikkim, but were disadvantaged by fighting in terrain unfamiliar to them. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Sugauli with Nepal having to lose some of its land.

The prowess of the Gurkhas as fighters had impressed the British, though, and they were quick to recognise the benefit of having them as part of their fighting forces rather than as enemies. Recruitment of Gurkhas into the forces of the East India Company began immediately, and soldiers from Nepal took part in battles involving the British as early as 1817.

Answer: False

Being landlocked and mountainous, Nepal has no tradition of naval or air force service and the Gurkhas serve as soldiers. Their main brigades are rifle brigades and signal brigades although Gurkhas have also served with the Royal Engineers and Royal Military Police historically. Their reputation as fierce and brave fighters is based on their exploits in the British Army.

Answer: Hinduism

Nepal's proximity to India, and the overlap of the two nations historically, means that Hinduism is the primary religion in the country. Buddhism, though, was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (known by several other names) who was born in Lumbibi, now part of Nepal, so Buddhism also has many followers in the country.

Answer: Knife

The kukri (also spelled in other ways) is a machete with a curved blade. It serves as a multi-purpose tool for the Gurkhas, not just as a weapon. A Gurkha will use his kukri for mundane tasks such as cutting wood, digging or even as a tin opener. It is also used for cutting up meat or slaughtering the animal before doing so. Of course, it can also be a lethal weapon, but the idea that it must spill blood every time it is taken from its sheath is a myth.

Answer: Burma

The Victoria Cross is Britain's highest award for military bravery, and members of the various Gurkha Rifle Brigades have received the honour on 26 occasions between 1858 and 1965, having first been introduced in 1856. The earlier awards went to officers, usually British, but by the Second World War many more awards were made to native Gurkhas. Since the brigades were deployed primarily in Burma, this is where most of the VCs were won, although two were earned in Italy and one in Tunisia.

The 1965 award went to Rambahadur Limbu for his bravery in Borneo.

Answer: Church Crookham

The barracks used for the Gurkhas were originally built in 1938 for use by the Royal Army Medical Corps and were given the name of Queen Elizabeth Barracks in 1948 when visited by the wife of King George VI, mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Their next use was by the Royal Corps of Transport between 1965 and 1970 before the Gurkhas moved in.

They were a popular addition to the town (I lived there myself in the latter part of the 1970s and saw them regularly). When they departed, the Gurkhas marched through the adjoining town of Fleet. The site of the barracks was sold for housing after this.

Of the options listed, only Church Crookham is in Hampshire. Castle Cary is in Somerset, Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire and Colchester is in Essex.

Answer: Joanna Lumley

Joanna took a personal interest in the campaign as her father had served with one of the Gurkha regiments. The issue was that only former Gurkha soldiers who had retired since 1997 had been granted settlement rights with the Gurkha Justice Campaign being set up to extend this to all veterans.

The government eventually accepted that the campaign had merits and passed legislation in 2009 allowing any Gurkha who had served for four or more years to settle in the UK if he wished.

The description of Joanna as 'fabulous' in the question was an additional hint as she appeared in the television series called 'Absolutely Fabulous' with Jennifer Saunders.