10th PMO Gurkha Rifles Association

[gurkharifles]

An ex Major in the 10thGR sent me this badge issued by the 10thGR Association in 2016. Apparently whilst the Brigade of Gurkhas celebrated in 2015 the 200 years of loyal service that the Gurkhas had given to the British Crown - the 10th GR Association went rogue and decided to wait until 2016 to celebrate the 250 years of "their Regiment's" founding in 1766.
The 10thGR take a perverse pride in claiming to be the "senior" Gurkha Regiment because they can trace their roots back to 10th Regt of Madras Infantry which in turn could trace it's ancestry back to the 14th Btn of Sepoys Madras Native Infantry formed in 1766. Depending on your view point the claim to "seniority" is somewhat tenuous. In 1890 the Regiment was allocated the number and place in the Madras line of the old 10th Regiment Madras Infantry whose men were mustered out. The funds, colours, mess and band property were all transferred to the new Regt. Many of the new draft came from the Kubo Valley Military Police Btn who were mostly Gurkhas, so it was only from this date that the Regt could properly claim to be a Gurkha btn - whereas the 1GR,2GR and 3GR, could all trace their Gurkha roots back to 1815. Not seen one of these before. It's made by London Badge & Button Company.