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THE BEGINNING The regiment was initially raised in 1817 as the Cuttack Legion; this was a unit of Indian natives from the Orissa area, before moving to Northern Bengal in 1823 as the '''Rungpoor Light Infantry'''. As time continued, the regiment began recruiting Nepalese Gurkhas into its ranks - initially two Companies of Gurkhas were formed, but, over time, more and more were recruited until it eventually became a pure Gurkha regiment, being numbered as the '''42nd Regiment of Goorkha Light Infantry''' in 1886 . During the period before the First World War , the regiment was primarily involved in patrolling the north-east border of India ; the regiment gained only a single Battle Honour up to 1914. In 1903 , the regiment was also renumbered as the 6th Gurkha Rifles. FIRST WORLD WAR The 1st Battalion was the first unit of Gurkhas to arrive at Gallipoli . Their first major operation saw them attack a Turkish position that was doing significant damage to Allied forces with Machine Guns - this involved them going up a 300ft vertical slope which had defeated both the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers - however, the Gurkhas gained the position with ease. This area is now known as ''Gurkha Bluff''. The 2nd Battalion meanwhile remained primarily in India. ++ As told by my father ++ My great grandfather Gambhir Singh Pun took part in this battle. The vertical slope that is mentioned above is as steep as a wall, almost impossible to climb unless someone is from a village near Mount Everest ( Lekh in Nepali ). The Turkish forces were on top with canons and heavy machine guns. Below the vertical slope was a patch of ground as big as two or three football fields, and it was the only way to reach to the top. When my great grandfather's battalion reached there, the field was covered with atleast three layers of dead British soldiers. By the time my great grandfather reached the foot hill, all British officers were dead and command of the handfull of survivors fell on my grandfather. They hid under the dead bodies during the day and at night they climbed the steep wall. When they reached top very early morning they saw the turkish soldiers sleeping. The turkish were 2 or 3 hundreds while my great grandfather's group were less than 50. The gurkhas then used Khukhri to kill as many as possible and made the rest of them surrender. The Turkish never knew how many of the Gurkhas were there. This way Gallipoli was won. Many Victoria Crosses were handed to battalions that were completely wiped. I think he received Military Cross. Today I see Australians and others commerating and remembering this battle, I only hope somebody would rememeber my great grandfather and his bravery. SECOND WORLD WAR POST INDEPENDENCE Following the end of the Second World War, India gained its independence, and four regiments of the Brigade of Gurkhas were allocated to the British Army , the 6th Gurkhas amongst them (although the 3rd Battalion was transferred to the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) ). In 1958 , the regiment was renamed as the 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles in honour of Queen Elizabeth II . As with other Gurkha regiments, the 6th Gurkhas primarily saw service in the Far East until the British withdrawal from East of Suez. In 1969 , the 6th Gurkhas was reduced to a single Battalion , when the 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated as the 1st Battalion. The single battalion continued to rotate with the other Gurkha regiments between Hong Kong , Brunei and Church Crookham until 1994 . At that point, while in Hong Kong, the 1st Battalion was amalgamated with the 1st Battalion, 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) to form the 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles . BATTLE HONOURS
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