1939-45 War Medals to three Gurkha brothers

[thorne83]

Hi guys, thought I would share these medals that I picked up four years ago in Pokhara, Nepal. I bought them from a shop owner for about £40. They are to three brothers; Ujaram (1-8 Gurkha Rifles), Kharku (4 Gurkha Rifles) and Mane Pun (8 Gurkha Rifles). Although missing their ribbons and a bit grubby, I just really liked the fact they were to three brothers and had to get them.

Cheers,

Tom

[davejb]

Pretty rare to have that type of grouping,and its also a shame these three brothers medals ended up on sale,probably sold by relations as normally Ghurkas are very proud of their medals and rarely let them go

[Wagriff]

Impressive-an almost never seen family grouping. Very nice!

[thorne83]

Cheers guys,

yeah, I was quite shocked to find them. They were just in a cabinet in one of the numerous tourist stores, surrounded by tourist tat! One of my prized items now!

Cheers,

Tom

[Aberdeen Medals]

Hi Tom,

The medals are a nice Pokhara find, and a good souvenir.

How do you positively know the medals are to 3 x brothers, as opposed to them being to 3 x different persons who just shared the same clan name?

Based on experience, I have seen such family lots of medals come to market in various locations across the subcontinent, but in the absence of supporting documentation it's not always possible to ascertain if the medals are indeed to brothers, or just otherwise related by a common clan name.

As you may know the clan name PUN is common in Western Nepal, and is well represented at any one time in any of the Gurkha Rifles (or Gorkha Rifles) regiments in the British or Indian Armies that drew or draw their recruits from Western Nepal. Other names are even commoner, e.g. GURUNG, THAPA etc.

Having personally trawled Nepal for medals, in the past it was not uncommon to come across strings of Second World War cupro-nickel medals for sale in the bazaars and tourist spots, where all or most of the medals were named to soldiers sharing the same clan names, i.e. Gurungs, Thapas, etc......

Not here wishing to rain on your party, but just making comment for your consideration.

Whether to brothers, fellow villagers or kindred clan members, they remain a great take home souvenir of your time in Nepal.

Mark