Rambahadur Limbu
(1939-2023), Gurkha soldier; recipient of the Victoria CrossSitter in 1 portrait
Born in Chyangthapu village, Limbuwan, East Nepal, Limbu served in the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles of the British Army during the Indonesian Confrontation (1963–66). On 21 November 1965 his battalion was involved in the Battle of Bau. As Lance-Corporal Limbu and two other men advanced, they came under heavy enemy machine-gun fire. Limbu risked his life making multiple journeys into the open, still under heavy fire, to rescue his two wounded comrades and their Bren gun. For his gallantry he received the Victoria Cross from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 1966. He was the only Gurkha to receive the VC since the Second World War. He subsequently rose through the ranks to become Captain and after leaving the British army in 1985, he served in the Sultan of Brunei's Gurkhas Reserve Unit for a further eight years.
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