Book "A Pride of Gurkha's"

W

Will Kwan

Joined
Nov 23, 1998
Messages
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Interesting book about the Gurkha's (sorry thats how the book spells it) between 1947 to 1970. I don't recall this book being mentioned previously.

Most of the book is about small unit battles fought in Malaysia and Borneo. There are quite a few stories of desperate battles between out numbered small Gurkha units and Communist terrorist.

Also, there are a few pictures of Gurkha's from this time period in the book. The khukuri is usually carried behind the right hip but not always. The men carried mostly FN FAL rifles but some carried M1 carbines. An interesting mix of firearms.

Will
 
Will, I tried ordering the book only to find out that it is no longer being printed. Just thought I'd pass this along in case anyone else is thinking of trying to get a copy.
 
Are there any books on the earlier (pre-British era) Gurhkas?

Particularly, I'm curious about the attempted Gurkha invasion of Tibet in the 18thc. The invasion was beaten, and the Qing launched a counterattack and occupied Kathmandu. I wonder if this was when Yin-Yangs started appearing on Khukuri hilts.
 
Ruel,
There are no books devoted to Gurkhas but some general histories of Nepal discuss the early military engagements.
If you find anything specific, please let us know.

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JP
 
There's a new book out about the Gorkhas. It's titled, "The Gurkhas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers" and is by John Parker. Right now, only the hardback version is available ($40), but a paperback version will be available in a few months for $15.95. If anyone is interested, you can pre-order the book from Amazon.com so that you'll automatically get a copy as soon as it's on the market.
 
Thanks all for good info.

Pala's folks came to the Nepal side of the Himalayas from Kham in Tibet about 400 years ago the best he can figure. Some came before this and they all brought the yin-yang with them.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Steven,

Thats to unfortunate.

It was interesting to see the changes in firearms used by the Gorkha's during the time frame covered. It starts with Gorkhas with Jungle Carbines, FN-FAL, and then M16's.

Is the M16 widely issued in the British Army?

Will
 
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