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The Irish Gurkha
How does an Irishman end up in the Gurkhas? Good question.
I always wanted to be a soldier. I lived in Dublin as a boy but went to school in Northern Ireland. This meant that I didn't learn the Irish language (though my Dad was a fluent Irish speaker and RAF Air Crew). Not having done an Irish A level meant that I couldn't join the Irish Army, so I had to look somewhere else!
I went to Calvi in Corsica, the home of the Second French Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment to see what that was like.
I spoke to a couple of English Legionnaires. They didn't have a good thing to say about life in the Legion. Training was hard (no problem) but life was boring. They also told me that the working language was French, that didn't come as a surprise but I hadn't been that good at French!
I decided that I needed an Army that spoke English so I chose the British Army.
The only problem was that in 1982, the Troubles in Northern Ireland were in full swing and I am an Irish Citizen.
That wasn't that big an issue. They told me that if I did basic training as a Soldier that I could then do the assessment for Sandhurst. I couldn't do this training with the Gurkhas so I was given a choice of two Regiments and opted for the Royal Green Jackets, who are affiliated to the Gurkhas.
I completed six months of basic training at the Rifle Depot in Winchester, which was tough and on occasions very tough.
I could now apply to Sandhurst, which I did.
There were a few adventures in between this application and my being commissioned into 2nd Battalion, 2nd Gurkha Rifles, which you can read about if you choose to buy the book!
In 1986, as a 2nd Lieutentant, I was involved in the rescue of some fellow 2nd Gurkhas in a helicopter crash in the Falkland Islands. This was the first real test of my developing leadership capability. We lost people as a result of the crash.
After the Falklands Tour, I served in the Far East and had postings to Korea, Borneo, Australia for the Bicentenary, Borneo (again) and Belize, here are some photos..
Rambahadur Chettri in the Falklands
Recruits Attestation Parade in Pokhara, Western Nepal
Borneo
I left the Gurkhas in 1991 with the objective of setting up a business in Kathmandu, Nepal (well I did speak the language).
After two years in Nepal, I was headhunted to take a Team of retired Gurkhas to Angola in West Africa to provide diamond security on a mine.
On my sixth day on a diamond mine in Angola, West Africa, I was shot at twice and chased (on foot) by a gang of illegal diamond miners. I then had to walk about ten kilometres through the African bush, at night.
Finally, our diamond mine was attacked by the UNITA rebel army and we were taken captive. Held for four days, we were then released and evacuated to Namibia. I was asked to return to civil war torn Angola. You can imagine my initial response ("are you MAD?"). I did return, had some more adventures and most importantly of all, survived.
The book is about life before the Gurkhas, life in the Gurkhas and my life in Nepal and in Angola, which were both with Gurkhas in some form.
I hope you enjoy the stories, it was good fun making them!
(I also run leadership development events in the Corporate Sector. Part of this service includes our sending out occasional e mails when we believe we have something interesting and relevant to say. If you would like to avail of this service please e mail me at bryan@bryandunlop.com)
Thanks
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