The King's Truncheon is a ceremonial staff carried by the

Royal Gurkha Rifles 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 Unite ...

that serves as the equivalent of and is carried as the

Colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

. It is made of bronze and silver. The top represents the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

of Delhi Palace with three

Gurkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recru ...

standing on it supporting the King's crown above their heads. The minaret contains a pair of crossed

kukri The kukri () or khukuri ( ne, खुकुरी, ) is a type of machete with a distinct recurve in its blade. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The ''kukri'', ''khuk ...

s and carries the

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

"Main Picqet Hindoo Rao's House, Delhi 1857". The Truncheon is a unique emblem upon which recruits swear allegiance to the Regiment and the Crown. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, the 8th (Sirmoor) Local Battalion made a particularly notable contribution. During the four-month

Siege of Delhi The siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass up ...

, they defended

Hindu Rao Raja Hindu Rao was a Maratha nobleman, the brother-in-law of Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia of Gwalior State, Gwalior, and the brother of Baiza Bai, the regent of the Indian princely state of Gwalior. Following the Revolt of 1857, he shifted to Delh ...

's house, losing 327 out of 490 men. During this action they fought side-by-side with the

60th Rifles The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

and a strong bond developed. After the rebellion the

pressed for the Sirmoor Battalion to become a rifle regiment. This honour was granted then next year (1858) when the battalion was renamed the

Sirmoor Rifle Regiment The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Bat ...

and awarded a third colour. In 1863

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

presented the regiment with the Queen's Truncheon, devised by Charles Reid, as a replacement for the colours that rifle regiments do not usually have. The Sirmoor Rifle Regiment eventually became the

2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Ba ...

, retaining possession of the Truncheon until 1994, when it was amalgamated with the other three British Gurkha regiments as the Royal Gurkha Rifles. The new regiment took possession of the Truncheon on permanent loan from the 2nd Gurkhas, and maintains the tradition of using it in place of colours.

References

{{reflist Royal Gurkha Rifles Brigade of Gurkhas Ceremonial weapons

See also

References