The last remaining Gurkha recipient of the British Victoria Cross died in Nepal on Saturday at the age of 83, a statement from groups representing the elite brigade said on Saturday.
Rambahadur Limbu was a member of the Brigade of Gurkhas, a unit of Nepalese recruited into the British army who earned a reputation for fierce fighting, loyalty and bravery since it first served as part of the Indian army in British-ruled India in 1815.
“He has been a figurehead and exemplar of Gurkha bravery for generations of Gurkha recruits and soldiers,” the Gurkha Brigade Association said in a statement. “His loss will be felt profoundly by all those he has inspired.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Queen Elizabeth II awarded Limbu the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace in 1966 for gallantry during an attack on Indonesian troops the year before, during which he rescued two fellow soldiers.
The rescue occurred during the three-year Konfrontasi conflict sparked by Indonesia’s opposition to the formation of its now-neighbor Malaysia.
“I didn’t think I was going to be shot,” Rambahadur had told The Mirror in an interview in 2014. “All I cared about was rescuing my friends.”
Limbu, by then a captain, served in the Sultan of Brunei’s Army after leaving the British Army in 1985. He lived in the eastern Nepalese city of Damak after retiring in 1992.
British Ambassador to Nepal Nicola Pollitt traveled to Damak in September last year so that Limbu could sign the condolence book for Queen Elizabeth II after her death that month.
At the queen’s funeral in September, 17 of the then 23 living recipients of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross for civilian gallantry were in attendance, including one from New Zealand and four from Australia.
“He signed the book, recalling with pride and sadness his long service for Her Majesty,” Pollitt wrote on Twitter at the time.
Limbu is survived by his wife, Eunimaya, and three children.
Additional reporting by The Guardian
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