The Gurkha Museum commemorates the service of Gurkha soldiers to the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

, a relationship that has endured since 1815. It is located in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and is part of Winchester's Military Museums.

History

The Gurkha Museum was first established at

Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham Queen Elizabeth Barracks was a military installation at Church Crookham, Hampshire, England. History The barracks, which were originally known as Boyce Barracks after Major William Wallace Boyce, DSO, RAMC, were built as a training depot for th ...

and was officially opened by Field Marshal Lord Harding on 21 June 1974. From the beginning it was clear that the museum, housed in a wooden barrack block, would need larger and more permanent premises. The closure of the Rifle Depot at Peninsula Barracks,

offered this opportunity. In April 1989 the museum at Church Crookham was closed and the transfer of the artefacts to

began. Field Marshal

Lord Bramall Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Edwin Noel Westby Bramall, Baron Bramall, (18 December 1923 – 12 November 2019) was a British Army officer. He served as Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the General Staff, th ...

officially opened the relocated museum on 16 July 1990. In 1994, a Gurkha Museum was established at a temporary site in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

; it moved to

Pokhara Pokhara ( ne, पोखरा, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the List of cities in Nepal, second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 518,452 inhabitants living ...

in 2005 and has become one of the main attractions of the area.

Collections

Besides tableaux,

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

s, showcases and interactive touchscreen displays, there are visual and audio depictions of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and of the Gurkhas' renowned military history, including the award of 26

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

es. The collections tell the story of Gurkha service to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

in many wars and campaigns and describe the history of the four Gurkha regiments which transferred to the British Army in 1948 (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 ...

, The

Queen's Gurkha Engineers The 36 Engineer Regiment is a regiment of the Corps of Royal Engineers within the British Army. The regiment trace their history back to before World War II as 36 Army Engineer Regiment. The regiment today is a general support engineer regiment pr ...

, the Queen's Gurkha Signals and the

Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, also known as 10 The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment or 10 QOGLR, is a regiment of the British Army's Royal Logistic Corps. History The regiment was created on 5 April 2001. It was formed as a mer ...

). There is also a library, archives facility and research room on the second floor.

References

External links

The Gurkha Museum

Gurkha 200

The Gurkha Brigade Association

The Gurkha Welfare Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurkha Museum British veterans' organisations Brigade of Gurkhas Gurkhas Museums in Winchester Regimental museums in England Museums established in 1974 Musical instrument museums

History

Collections

See also

References

External links