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QUARTERLY NEWS LETTER
APRIL - JUNE 2008
THE GURKHA SOLDIER
British Gurkha soldiers are selected from Nepal. Each year over 200 of these Himalayan ‘mountain men’ are chosen from thousands of applicants.
These men were originally chosen for their warrior disciplines and are, as a nation, according to hsitory, descended from the diciple of an eighth century Hindu warrior Saint.
They are renown for their courage, loyalty , stamina and aggression in combat - the reasons why the British army of India began recruiting them and continue to do so.
HISTORY
The very first Gurkha, Bappa Rawal , the deciple of the aforementioned Hindu saint took with him other warriors (the first Gurkhas) to halt the advance of the muslims who were invading Afghanistan. They succeeded. It is said that they also deterred the the initial Islamic invasion of what is now India.
The Gurkhas have served all over the world and in many conflicts with the British army.
World War One
Loos
Givenchy,
Neuve Chapelle
Ypres
Mesopotamia
Persia
Suez Canal
Palestine
Gallipoli
Salonika.
World War Two
Malaya
Singapore
Hong Kong
Burma
Syria
North Africa
Italy
Greece.
Malyan conflict
The Falklands
Afghanistan (3 times, including the present conflict)
To name a few.
26 Victoria crosses.
13 enlisted men
13 officers.
NESA STATEMENT
To the majority of people in Britain today, the Gurkha soldier is a member of our ‘family’. They have trained, lived, fought and died along side our men and women in our chosen battles and wars for over a century.
Despite the current social tensions in the UK today you would have to travel far and wide and speak to every single person you meet for a long long time before you hear a bad word said about the Gurkha soldier.
Quite simply, they are admired by all of us; soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians alike.
ISSUES
The main issues in recent times concerning the Gurkha Regiment/Brigade involve their rights to equal salaries and pensions.
In March 2007 the Labour Government made certain changes within and to the Brigade of Gurkhas which more or less gave them equal stature to other serving regiments of the British army.
It was announced that all Gurkhas who signed up after July 1 1997 can receive a pension equivalent to that of British soldiers. They are now also allowed to move among the British army units, corps and regiments or request transfer to other units as are ‘British’ soldiers. The odd one or two women Gurkhas may also have been spotted among their number since this date.
These changes, fought for by the supporters of the Gurkhas for many years, have in effect brought them equality with the rest of the British army.
However, the issue which remains is the same as that which has seen the formation of the AFPG (Armed Forces pension group) and AFPS (Armed Forces pension Society) to fight for the pensions of ‘British’ ex servicmen and women. That issue being how far back the British government are willing to go to reward decent pensions.
“The military pension date for ‘British’ ex services was set at 1975. That means that members of the armed forces who left the services before 1975 with less than 22 years service do not get a military pension. Those who left afterwards, even if they had (say) only five years service, do.”
(AFPG)
As with ‘British’ service men and women and the 1975 date, this means that a Gurkha who fought and/or served prepared to fight, in and with the British army for twenty years and who left or was discharged before 3 July 1997 does not recieve a military pension but a Gurkha who joined on 1 July 1997 and served for 5 years does.
Gurkhas also faced and still face hardship when they returned home to Nepal, a country with an average income of £100 per year. That is one hundred pounds per year.
Not really a lot to return to after facing the same bullets, bombs, mortar shells and I.E.Ds which ‘British’ soldiers face.
Thankfully, on 8th March 2007, Her Majesties government introduced a policy of allowing retired Gurkhas and their dependents residency rights in the UK.
THE GURKHA SOLDIER - THE BRITISH SOLDIER
PICTURES © Crown Copyright/MOD 2008
By R.Ayres
PRESS RELEASE
Court rules against Gurkha bid for equal pensions
We are saddened by the court’s decision not to order the MoD to review Gurkha pensions. Our clients intend to appeal against the judgment. We appeal to the MoD to equalise pensions, without waiting for further court proceedings.
The MoD’s changes to Gurkha pensions were marketed as an end to the inequalities between Gurkhas and the rest of the Armed Forces. In fact, a Gurkha who has recently retired through ill-health caused by his service can still be 27% worse off than a UK comrade with equal service.
A UK military pension is already not generous, and losing 27% of even that makes things very difficult. For example, a Gurkha, medically retired last year with 17 years’ service, will get just over £4,650 a year. A British soldier in the same position would get about £6,400. The Gurkha gets £1,750 less to live on.
The difference is because of the far lower value that the MoD puts on years served before 1997, while the administrative headquarters of the Brigade of Gurkhas was in Hong Kong. In 1997 Hong Kong was handed back to China, and Brigade Headquarters was moved to the UK. The MoD argues that should affect the amount payable now.
We do not agree. This money is meant to be lived on, and in this country. Where a man’s headquarters were based years ago is no more than an administrative detail. It makes no difference to what he needs right now.
In the past, the Government justified pensions 90% lower than those of UK soldiers by arguing that the majority of Gurkhas retired to Nepal, where the cost of living is low. But since 2004 those retiring after 1997 have had the right to settle in the UK, and the majority of this group now do just that. Last year’s review was prompted by their needs. Those needs are the same as those of other members of the Forces.
The service the Gurkhas have given to the British people abroad has always been valued – indeed Gordon Brown said only this April;
“They have served loyally in every part of the world…They have done a tremendous job for our country”
We believe it is unfair to use that very reason as a justification for keeping them in poverty. Gurkhas have served in theatres of war, in danger and in hardship. They should be valued for it, not penalised.
When Derek Twigg, then Secretary of State for Defence, announced the review of Gurkha terms and conditions, he said he wanted “to ensure that the MOD’s position, both legally and morally, [was] beyond reproach.” Giving Gurkhas fair pensions now would achieve that aim.
Philippa Tuckman
Senior Solicitor
Direct Line: 0207 288 4822
Email: philippatuckman@boltburdonkemp.co.uk
NESA STATEMENT
To the majority of people in Britain today, the Gurkha soldier is a member of our ‘family’.
They have trained, lived, fought and died along side our men and women in our chosen battles and wars for over a century.
Despite the current social and ethnic tensions in the UK today you would have to travel far and wide and speak to every single person you meet for a long long time before you hear a bad word said about the Gurkha soldier.
Quite simply, they are admired by all of us; soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians alike.
They have become without a doubt a legend in British military history and in the majority of British households.
Whether entirely accurate or not, the very name ‘Gurkha’ conjures up, in many minds, a friend from far away willing to give all, a poverty stricken mountain man from the materialistic fruitless but spirit full mountains of Nepal., the loyal and noble ally with nothing to bring to the table but his body and spirit, a warrior of ancient times who arrives at the dawn of battle with his Khukuri and disappears over the horizon at sunset.
Oh, If bodies and Khukuris were worth as much as bunker busting bombs and battleships and if mountain peasants had material reward for spirit, perhaps a single Gurkha in Nepal discharged before 1997 might ever get to read this on a lap top, an item taken for granted by most of us.
Throughout history there will be many if not thousands upon thousands alive today who owe their life or way of life and that of their descendents to the Gurkha soldier. Perhaps, you’re the grandson of a British officer in Burma in 1944, a Falkland Islander, or skirmish buddy in Afghanistan of the rifleman who signed up on May 31st 1997, maybe you are a gap year student on a hiking holiday in the Nepalese mountains in need of medical attention and the only man at the village who knows what to do or operate your radio is................................ ?
Yes, bunker busting bombs and battleships may be where the money needs to go to win wars, but they can’t carry your mate, your son, your uncle, your brother or your father through the jungle on their back.
In Britain today we seem to have large groups of newcomers who ‘demand’ or have demanded respect without even seeming to know the meaning of the word, and they get it! Here, we have a relatively small group who actually deserve that respect so let’s give it to them. The new communist orientated rulership of Nepal has stated that they are to end Gurkha recruitment into the British army because it is demeaning to their people. It shouldn’t be looked at that way. It should be known, that the British army recruit the Gurkha, not as a cheaper alternative, but because the Gurkha is good, very good, at what he does.
It is time to give the Gurkha soldier what he deserves. The least we can do is align their pension rights with those of other British soldiers. The date for all British servicemen should be equal. If the cut off date for British soldiers is set at 1975, then the cut off date for the Gurkha soldier should be 1975. This is because the Gurkha soldier is a British soldier.