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Gurkha band plays to veterans in new Colchester home

Shivani ChaudhariEssex
News imageJamie Niblock/BBC An elderly woman smiling, she is wearing a black woolly hat and a pastel patterned scarf. The photo is of her side profileJamie Niblock/BBC
Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years

A Gurkha military band has performed for the first time since relocating from Kent to Essex.

The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas played traditional folk music of Nepal to Gurkha veterans in Colchester on Wednesday, ahead of its first public appearance at the city's Remembrance Sunday parade.

Tuba player Ankit Rai said taking part in the performance felt "like a home away from home" and that it reminded him of his grandfather, "who was in the British Army and I followed his legacy".

"Our Gurkha veterans are a foundation for us," he added. "They have built up the legacy that we are following today and seeing them dancing was quite overwhelming for us."

Following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India and Britain meant four Gurkha regiments from the Indian Army were transferred to the British Army, eventually becoming the Gurkha Brigade.

Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years and more than 200,000 fought in the two world wars.

Gurkhas have also served in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, Cyprus, the Falklands, Kosovo and now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC A man smiling at the camera while wearing a khaki green jumper. He is indoors and there people in the background Jamie Niblock/BBC
Ankit Rai said it was an honour to play for The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas

The band relocated to the city from St John Moore Barracks in Folkestone in the summer.

Rai said performing traditional and popular folk songs, like Resham Firiri, at the event was "a very privileged and honourable thing to do" and encouraged a sense of pride towards his heritage.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC A man wearing a suit with medals. He is looking at the camera and has grey hair Jamie Niblock/BBC
Retired Maj Udai Bahadur Gurung MBE said it was the first time he had seen the band on parade since the 1990s

Retired Maj Udai Bahadur Gurung MBE watched the performance and said: "They were excellent, I've seen them playing in the late 1990s and it's now 2026 - a lot of time has gone past.

"This is my first time seeing them on parade playing their music."

He said there were more than 3,000 members of the Gurkha community in Colchester.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC A man looking at the camera with short brown hair and wearing a dark green jumper Jamie Niblock/BBC
Cpt David James Hatton is director of music for the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas

Cpt David James Hatton, director of music for the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas, said the performance was "fantastic and lovely to see the Nepalese community really engaged with us".

Hatton said it is an honour for people to be in the Gurkhas.

He added that the day consisted of "a few traditional Nepalese tunes, some really modern and some very very old and really famous and that obviously strikes at the heart - remembering home".

"This is something we do annually, we play to the veterans in Nepal, but it is really lovely to connect to the local community here."

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