Armed Forces: Gurkhas
(asked on 5th March 2025) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33147 on Armed Forces: Commonwealth, which (a) units and (b) independent sub-units form the Brigade of Gurkhas; and which regular armed forces units include Nepalese service personnel.
The units and independent sub-units which form the Brigade of Gurkhas; and the Regular Armed Forces units that include Nepalese Service personnel are shown in the tables below.
Table 1: Units and Independent Sub-Units that form the Brigade of Gurkhas
Unit / Sub-Unit |
Brigade of Gurkhas Capbadges |
1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1 RGR) |
2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR) |
The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers (QGE) |
The Queen’s Gurkha Signals (QG SIGNALS) |
Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (QOGLR) |
Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas (Band BG) |
Gurkha Staff & Personnel Support (GSPS) |
Extra Regimentally Employed (ERE) Units |
British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) |
Gurkha ARRC Support Battalion (GARRC Sp Bn) |
ERE Sub-Units |
Gurkha Company Catterick |
Gurkha Company Babaji |
Gurkha Company Sittang |
Gurkha Company Tavoleto |
Gurkha Company Mandalay |
A (Krithia) Company, 1 RANGER |
F (Falklands) Company, 2 RANGER |
G (Coriano) Company, 4 RANGER |
Table 2: Units in UK Regular Armed Forces which include Nepalese Service personnel
Army Arm/Services |
Army Air Corps |
Adjutant General’s Corps |
Royal Army Physical Training Corps |
Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps |
Infantry |
Other |
Royal Corps of Signals |
Royal Regiment of Artillery |
Royal Army Medical Services |
Royal Corps of Army Music |
Corps of Royal Engineers |
Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
The Royal Logistic Corps |
Small Arms School Corps |
Royal Navy/Marines |
RN Engineer GS (OF) |
RN Logistics GS |
RN Royal Marines GS |
RAF |
RAF Engineering |
RAF Logistics |
Source: Analysis Tri-Service |
Notes to Table 2
- UK Regulars comprise of Full time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), High Readiness Reserve (HRR) and Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) personnel. Unless otherwise stated, includes trained and untrained personnel.
- Nationality is as self-declared on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA).
- JPA data is based on primary nationality and people can have a second nationality recorded.
- There are a large number of Gurkha personnel who have taken the opportunity to naturalise once they moved to the UK Regulars, some of these may have subsequently joined different Arm/Services than the ones listed in Table 2.