WW2 Article of the 9th Gurkhas

sirupate · 16th September 2013, 02:29 PM

Picked this up from Ebay the other day, a brief background to when and why the 9th Gurkhas came into being;
In April 1893 the 9th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry became a Khas regiment (Chhetri, and Thakur being the stable of the regiment), and the Bengal Army converted all sixteen Hindustani Infantry Regiments into class units. The Khas class came about as a result of a query as to recruiting more Newars into the regiment, in reply Captain Eden Vansittart (of 5th GR) the current recruiting Officer replied with this argument; 'The valiant Army which had overrun Nepal, Kumaon, and Garwhal, attacked China and Tibet, and twice fought the British in the 1814 and 1816 War, was mainly made up of Khas Gurkhas (again a misuse of the word Gurkha), and as such this class of men were much more deserving of enlistment.' Captain Eden Vansittart is considered the 'Father' of the 9th Gurkhas. By General Order in 1891 all Goorkha titled Regiments were to have the name Goorkha changed to Gurkha (Ochterlony’s original spelling).

Havildars Kukri

The 9th having their issued kukri inspected by the Subedar

sirupate · 16th September 2013, 03:26 PM

From a separate picture, a Naik with issued kukri

sirupate · 17th September 2013, 01:15 PM

The kukri on the top right

The description

A close up of the issued kukri on parade

kronckew · 17th September 2013, 03:05 PM

Aha!
definitive proof of the boomerang throwing theory. the 'sighting notch' to ensure pin-point accuracy for long range throwing. the wood grip of course being used to catch it on it's return after it's mission of severance.

they left off showing the opposite side which contains the parachute and landing gear in case the thrower misses his retrieval catch. one should of course not catch it by the blade, it upsets the gyroscope, and may cause tumbling...

fearn · 17th September 2013, 10:34 PM

Don't forget, the notch also doubles as a screwdriver and bottle cap opener...

Sighting notch. I love it!

F

sirupate · 18th September 2013, 11:14 AM

Even the then War Office got confused on the making of the Mk4

“Jack Wilkinson Latham (MD at Wilkinson’s from 1935-1952) had a tussle with the War office (Now MOD) over a contract Wilkinson’s had for Kukri in 1951 marked WSC and 1951, of which 1,400 were manufactured. This was placed with Wilkinson’s as the War office was alarmed of what was perceived as to frequent replacement of Kukris.
It was noted that the inspection tolerance on the Notch (Kaura) were very, very tight. When this was queried with the Chief Inspector of Small Arms, Wilkinson Latham was told that the notch is a SIGHT and subject to the same inspection tolerances as a Rifle sight, Wilkinson Latham explained at length about the notch as being a traditional symbol and gave the CISA a short discourse on the history of the Kukri. At last, the CISA relented and the same manufacturing tolerances as the rest of the blade were applied.”

kronckew · 18th September 2013, 04:10 PM

which of course brings to mind the other myth.

the other forces were always asking the gurkhas to show them their khukuris and wanting to handle them, so one bright nepali came up with the idea that telling them that they could not draw the blade unless it drank blood would put them off asking, which notion became gospel worldwide forever after.

i still hear that constantly when showing off mine. most people of course do not believe the truth and swear that all gurkhas have to cut themselves before sheathing the blade if they haven't killed something, and that i should too.

contrary to 'what everybody knows', the nepalis who use these in their daily lives are not foolish and do not cut themselves a few times every day when out cutting wood, etc...

they are also not going to throw a perfectly good weapon away unless they are really desperate and have no other choice, and are quite happy to hit the enemy from quite a few hundred meters away with a modern firearm, or artillery,rockets, close air support, etc. rather than a khukuri charge. tho they do always seem to get into situations where they use them to great effect. the ghurkha on the train recently comes to mind.

LINKY for those who are not familiar with his story

sirupate · 18th September 2013, 06:14 PM

That is one of the better myths

It might have had its origins from when a Nepalese draws out his kukri in a revenge killing back in the good old days, then the kukri couldn't be returned with honour being satisfied.

16th September 2013, 02:29 PM	#1
sirupate Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: England Posts: 373	WW2 Article of the 9th Gurkhas Picked this up from Ebay the other day, a brief background to when and why the 9th Gurkhas came into being; In April 1893 the 9th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry became a Khas regiment (Chhetri, and Thakur being the stable of the regiment), and the Bengal Army converted all sixteen Hindustani Infantry Regiments into class units. The Khas class came about as a result of a query as to recruiting more Newars into the regiment, in reply Captain Eden Vansittart (of 5th GR) the current recruiting Officer replied with this argument; 'The valiant Army which had overrun Nepal, Kumaon, and Garwhal, attacked China and Tibet, and twice fought the British in the 1814 and 1816 War, was mainly made up of Khas Gurkhas (again a misuse of the word Gurkha), and as such this class of men were much more deserving of enlistment.' Captain Eden Vansittart is considered the 'Father' of the 9th Gurkhas. By General Order in 1891 all Goorkha titled Regiments were to have the name Goorkha changed to Gurkha (Ochterlony’s original spelling). Havildars Kukri The 9th having their issued kukri inspected by the Subedar

18th September 2013, 04:10 PM	#7
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,150	which of course brings to mind the other myth. the other forces were always asking the gurkhas to show them their khukuris and wanting to handle them, so one bright nepali came up with the idea that telling them that they could not draw the blade unless it drank blood would put them off asking, which notion became gospel worldwide forever after. i still hear that constantly when showing off mine. most people of course do not believe the truth and swear that all gurkhas have to cut themselves before sheathing the blade if they haven't killed something, and that i should too. contrary to 'what everybody knows', the nepalis who use these in their daily lives are not foolish and do not cut themselves a few times every day when out cutting wood, etc... they are also not going to throw a perfectly good weapon away unless they are really desperate and have no other choice, and are quite happy to hit the enemy from quite a few hundred meters away with a modern firearm, or artillery,rockets, close air support, etc. rather than a khukuri charge. tho they do always seem to get into situations where they use them to great effect. the ghurkha on the train recently comes to mind. LINKY for those who are not familiar with his story Last edited by kronckew; 18th September 2013 at 04:21 PM.

16th September 2013, 03:26 PM	#2
sirupate Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: England Posts: 373	From a separate picture, a Naik with issued kukri

17th September 2013, 01:15 PM	#3
sirupate Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: England Posts: 373	The kukri on the top right The description A close up of the issued kukri on parade

17th September 2013, 03:05 PM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,150	Aha! definitive proof of the boomerang throwing theory. the 'sighting notch' to ensure pin-point accuracy for long range throwing. the wood grip of course being used to catch it on it's return after it's mission of severance. they left off showing the opposite side which contains the parachute and landing gear in case the thrower misses his retrieval catch. one should of course not catch it by the blade, it upsets the gyroscope, and may cause tumbling...

17th September 2013, 10:34 PM	#5
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Don't forget, the notch also doubles as a screwdriver and bottle cap opener... Sighting notch. I love it! F

18th September 2013, 11:14 AM	#6
sirupate Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: England Posts: 373	Even the then War Office got confused on the making of the Mk4 “Jack Wilkinson Latham (MD at Wilkinson’s from 1935-1952) had a tussle with the War office (Now MOD) over a contract Wilkinson’s had for Kukri in 1951 marked WSC and 1951, of which 1,400 were manufactured. This was placed with Wilkinson’s as the War office was alarmed of what was perceived as to frequent replacement of Kukris. It was noted that the inspection tolerance on the Notch (Kaura) were very, very tight. When this was queried with the Chief Inspector of Small Arms, Wilkinson Latham was told that the notch is a SIGHT and subject to the same inspection tolerances as a Rifle sight, Wilkinson Latham explained at length about the notch as being a traditional symbol and gave the CISA a short discourse on the history of the Kukri. At last, the CISA relented and the same manufacturing tolerances as the rest of the blade were applied.”

18th September 2013, 06:14 PM	#8
sirupate Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: England Posts: 373	That is one of the better myths It might have had its origins from when a Nepalese draws out his kukri in a revenge killing back in the good old days, then the kukri couldn't be returned with honour being satisfied.