Kulbir Thapa
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Kulbir Thapa was a first Nepalese recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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[edit] Details
He was 26 years old, and a Rifleman in the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 25 September 1915 south of Fauquissart, France, Rifleman Kulbir Thapa, having been wounded himself, found a wounded soldier of The Leicestershire Regiment behind the first-line German trench. Although urged to save himself, the Gurkha stayed with the wounded man all day and night. Early next day, in misty weather, he took him through the German wire and, leaving him in a place of comparative safety, returned and brought in two wounded Gurkhas, one after the other. He then went back, and, in broad daylight, fetched the British soldier, carrying him most of the way under enemy fire.
[edit] Further information
He later achieved the rank of Havildar.
[edit] The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Gurkha Museum (Winchester, Hampshire, England).
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)
