8th Gorkha Rifles (? Date)
The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the United Kingdom nor a member of the Commonwealth.
The numbering system of the Gurkha units started in 1861 based on the Regiments loyalty during the Indian Mutiny, with only 12 of 74 regular regiments of the Bengal Native Infantry not mutining.
Following India´s Independence on 15 August 1947 the Gurkha regiments were divided between Great Britain and India.
1 GR - 3 GR - 4 GR - 5 GR -8 GR - 9 GR stayed with the Republic of India.
2 GR - 6 GR - 7 GR - 10 GR went with Great Britain (United Kingdom).
In 1950 the Indian Army adopted "Gorkha" as an official spelling for their regiments.
In 1994 the 2 GR - 6 GR - 7 GR - 10 GR amalgamated to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR).
The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I and World War II, before being one of the six (of ten) Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independence in 1947. Since then it has served in a number of conflicts including the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971. Today the 8th Gorkha Rifles is one of the most celebrated regiments of the Indian Army, having received numerous citations for bravery in the field of battle, and even producing one of the two field marshals of India, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, of the Indian Army.
