Nick Hinton – Sirmoor Rifles Association

This apochryphal story appeared in an unauthorised history of the XIth Gurkha Rifles by Lieutenant Colonel H R K Gibbs, late 6GR

Funny things ties. Jolly useful for holding up the odd pyjama, though I hear the subalterns all wear lungis these days . Saw a Yankee fellow wearing an MCC tie the other day ..turned out to have bought it at Tiffany’s in New Amsterdam and didn’t know a googly from a bar of soap. Now, when I was in the Regiment, we didn’t worry too much about ties, far too busy dodging the wily Pathans and the Bhunia with his bills and with damned little chance to wear mufti anyway except when we went poodle faking to the club when the staff wallahs in New Delhi sent their mems up to the hills. Goings on aplenty then, I can tell you, but I won’t – never did hold with telling tales out of mess.

Can’t really remember exactly what the Regimental tie looked like in those days, except that it had to be in colours that came from whatever it was that the planters grew locally – red, green and black I think, or was that the cocktail the griffins had to drink when they were dined in? Anyhow, now that I am retired so to speak. I do wear a tie a bit more often nowadays, old school, club that sort of thing and something that some scoundrel sold me years ago as the tie of the Regiment.

Anyway, one day, a few weeks ago, I trekked down to Hampshire to have a few snorts with old Bletherskite. Bit of a cad, Bletherskite, got posted to the South Waziristan Scouts for slapping the bum of some pretty young wench in Mhow once too often – turned she’d come out with the fishing fleet to marry some Brigadier General in the Jam Stealers. Walking down the street in Fleet, minding my own business, I ran into some fellow whom I had never seen before in my life . Dressed up like a Madrassi remount wallah with a black pullover and one of those hats like the Congress babus used to wear long after my time. Claimed to be an officer of the Regiment, did this chap and asked me where I’d got my tie. Well, after I had damned his eyes for his impertinence, he had the blasted cheek to tell me it was the wrong pattern! Apparently, mine goes left to right, and it should go right to left or some other damned fool nonsense.

Reminds me of the time in Kabul when young Belchworthy of the Bengal Staff Corps wanted to get a cushy posting to Calcutta, so he took to wearing his new-fangled Sam Browne belt ( invented by some counter-jumping wallah ) upside down so they would all think he was mad. Well, all the Generals in Afghanistan were barking anyway, so Belchers had to stay. His next wheeze was to send his Havildar Major up to Dargai to fetch him a black woman. The Haviladar obliged, and Belchers produced a damned toothsome Ghilzai tart at the Resident’s Ball next month. He got his posting all right, but the bibi married a Colonel of the Guides, became Lady Snipefoggers and wife of the Lord Lieutenant of Devonshire. Nobody minded much then, after all, Wheeler married a black Maharani.

Returning to ties …I went to the Reunion a few months ago – didn’t know anybody but had a good shufti around. It’s all different now. They don’t send the inlying piquet into the Ghussalkhana at first light anymore. In my day, there would have been a damned great Kabuli with a Khyber knife ready to whip your whatsits off if you neglected that sort of elementary precaution. We had a talk at the AGM by some whippersnapper dressed up like a French dancing master who said that most of our ties were the wrong pattern. In my day, the lad would have known that his seniors are always right and he would have nipped off and bought one of the same as ours sharpish. I didn’t really follow the story, but it seems that some archaeological excavation in Salisbury or somewhere had opened up a long barrow and found four empty bottles of rum, a losing betting ticket for the 1818 Derby and a skeleton clutching a Weobley and wearing a Regimental tie. Apparently, this was the mortal remains of young Crutchley, who had gone on long leave ( once every seven years if you can raise the price of a P&O ticket ) and never came back. We always thought the young blighter had shipped on a West Indiaman and was living the life of Riley on a sugar plantation with half the darzhis of Calcutta bemoaning unpaid bills. The truth apparently was that he‘d had a tip from some mountebank in the Life Guards for a three-legged congenital no-hoper in the Derby and had stuck the family silver and his younger sister’s dowry on it. When the uneducated dwarf riding the beast had failed to oblige, Crutchley did the decent thing and blew his brains out, but without first removing his Regimental tie – which just shows that you can never trust an Old Marburian.

The point of all this is that young Crutchley’s tie is the oldest known specimen of the thing, and the black and green stripes are three-quarters of an inch wide, and the red is one-tenth. Apparently, we old buffers are all going to have to buy new ties and allow the box wallah who makes the damned things to light up another fat cheroot . Shan’t bother myself . Funny things ties.

MAJOR JOHN HERRICK

A Simoori and First World War veteran who enlisted in Canada and lost his life in Iraq in 1920, and has been commemorated on four memorials.

Major John Riversdale Warren Herrick was born on 22 May 1893, the eldest son of Dr Robert and Mrs Edith Herrick of 30 Regent Street, Nottingham. His younger brother, Captain Robert Lysle Warren Herrick, served in the 29th Lancers Regiment ( Deccan Horse ) and was awarded the DSO for an action against the Turks that took place on 21 August 1918 in the vicinity of Wadi Nimrin, a bridgehead over the River Jordan.

John Herrick was educated at Nottingham High School and, on leaving school in 1910, aged 17, he worked as a bank clerk in Nottingham. He represented the Old Boys in the first-ever competitive rugby match played by Nottingham High School on Boxing Day 1913.

At some stage during 1914, he went out to Canada. After the start of the First World War, and in response to a call to arms by the Dominions, he enlisted on 23 September 1914 at Valcartier, Quebec, as No 260 Private Herrick in the 8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry ( later to become 90th Regiment Winnipeg Rifles ) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His attestation papers described him as being 5ft 11ins tall and his occupation as a storeman. He sailed to England with the Battalion on 3 October 1914 in the SS Franconia.

However, John Herrick must have impressed his superiors, because very soon after having returned to England, he was discharged from the Canadian Infantry on 15 November 1914 to join The Territorial Force for ‘a commission in the Imperial Army ‘. This was confirmed by a notification in The London Gazette dated 4 December as his being gazetted as a Second Lieutenant in the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry ( Sherwood Rangers ). His name appeared subsequently in The Army List in the 2nd Sherwood Rangers, which was a Second-Line mounted regiment ( 2/1st Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry ) of The Territorial Force responsible for home defence. In August 1917, the regiment converted to a cyclist unit and, in early 1918, was located in Canterbury.

Around this time, John Herrick, by now an acting Captain, and presumably having avoided being sent to the Western Front, was transferred on 12 January 1918 to the Indian Army on probation, but forfeiting nine months’ seniority under Indian Army Order 511/1917. He was posted to the 3rd Battalion 2nd Goorkhas, who were stationed in Peshawar on the North West Frontier. This was a testing time for this newly formed battalion, not least for the reasons described in the Regimental History Volume II:

‘It cannot be said that the 3/2GR had the appearance of an old Battalion, as many changes had a naturally disturbing effect. Although the number of officers had been considerably increased by officers on probation for the Indian Army, they had had no previous experience with Indian troops and were ignorant of the language, and their value to the newly raised Battalion was at first not great.’

Indeed, John Herrick was soon to find himself promoted to Acting Major and appointed as Battalion Second-in-Command until August 1918. The 3rd Battalion was bitterly disappointed by not being deployed to fight in the Third Afghan War (May – August 1919 ). Instead, it was ordered to remain in Peshawar on internal security duties until February 1920, after which the Battalion returned to Dehra Dun before its disbandment later that year.

Meanwhile, in June 1920, and in response to the Arab Rebellion which had broken out in Iraq ( formerly known as Mesopotamia ), the 1st and 2nd Battalion 11th Gurkha Rifles were hurriedly sent out to the British-occupied area of Iraq, which was where they had originally been formed in 1918. The 11th Gurkha Rifles had been raised as an ad hoc unit in 1918 in Mesopotamia with troops and officers being drawn from other Gurkha regiments, and it comprised four battalions. All had fought in Mesopotamia, and at the end of hostilities, they were deployed to the North West Frontier and took part in the Third Afghan War before their eventual disbandment in late 1920.

Sometime after July 1920, John Herrick was seconded from the 3rd Battalion 2nd Goorkhas to the 1st Battalion 11th Gurkha Rifles, now located in Iraq, where he was to experience some fierce fighting against the rebel forces led by Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji. The campaign was to be short-lived, and both Battalions were to soon return to India for disbandment, but not before John Herrick had tragically died of wounds on 24 October 1920, allegedly caused by being hit by a spent bullet during operations in British-occupied Iraq.

He is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Basra War Cemetery, Iraq. Plot II, Row K, Grave 14.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial at Basra

He is also commemorated on three other memorials, but curiously not on the 2nd Goorkhas First World War brass plaque, which was originally dedicated in St Thomas’ Church, Dehra Dun.

● Nottingham High School – War Memorial. The memorial is a statue of a life-size figure in bronze of a young second lieutenant in service dress uniform leading his platoon in the attack. The names of those who died are inscribed on two bronze panels. The sculptor was Henry Poole ARA.

Nottingham High School Memorial

● St Peter’s Church, Nottingham. The memorial, which was originally dedicated in St James’ Church, Nottingham, was transferred to St Peter’s Church in 1933. The names are inscribed in red on a white marble tablet below the naked body of a young man who is lying on his back. Behind him is a Cross and two angels. The memorial was designed and executed by Robert Wilson, who was a teacher at the Nottingham School of Art.

The Memorial in St Peter’s Church, Nottingham

Close-up of the inscription on the memorial

● Transcona Cenotaph, Memorial Circle Park, Winnipeg, Canada. The memorial comprises a roughly finished grey granite obelisk, 14 feet in height, and is placed over a smoothly polished granite base inscribed with 62 names. It was made by the Memorial Marble and Tile Company of Winnipeg and was erected in 1931. The memorial was relocated to its present site in 2001.

The Transcona War Memorial

John Herrick had the following medals: British War Medal 1914 – 20, Victory Medal 1914 – 19, General Service Medal 1918 – 1962 with clasp IRAQ.

He never married.

JRH

As an alternative asset class in a year when the FTSE 100 was up 21.5%, medals and military-themed art with a Gurkha connection held up reasonably well, but failed to deliver the remarkable returns enjoyed by silver ( + 150 % ) or gold ( + 65 %). Please note that this article does not refer to those items which were available for sale through dealers or via the internet.

Medals

Amongst campaign medals sold at auction last year, which were awarded to soldiers of the 2nd Goorkhas, there was an example of an Indian General Service Medal 1854 – 95 Clasp N E FRONTIER to a Jemedar ( name illegible ) and an Indian General Service Medal 1908 – 1935 Clasp ABOR 1911 -12 to Naik Surbir Gurung 1/2GR. However, the standout group was that which included an immediate award of the Military Medal to Naik Krishanbahdur Gurung 1/2GR at the Battle of Monte Cassino on 18 February 1944. He was later promoted to Halvidar, but sadly died on active service in Italy on 9 September 1944.
( Hammer price £1200 ). Extracts from his citation:

‘ On the night of 18th February 1944, while forming up his section in difficult conditions, several enemy automatics opened up over a very short range, and grenades were thrown. Every man in the section was either killed or badly wounded, Naik Krishanbahdur Gurung himself receiving a severe wound in the face. Despite this, he fired his Tommy gun and threw grenades, which silenced the enemy fire. He then joined his platoon commander – also wounded – and with a handful of survivors advanced under heavy fire. When the order to consolidate came, and although in great pain, he assisted the platoon commander in organising stretcher parties. He refused to be evacuated himself until ordered by his platoon commander about 5 hours after being wounded. His determination to advance and destroy the enemy was an inspiration to all, and his cool courage under heavy fire was unsurpassed.’

Another group was the medals of WO2 Tejbahadur Gurung 1/2GR which included a General Service Medal 1918 -1962 Clasps MALAYA and BRUNEI with MID awarded during the Malayan Emergency and a scarce Commander-in-Chief Commendation for the period up to 31 May 1954. The London Gazette dated 1 June 1953 states:

‘ In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Malaya, during the period 1 July 1952 to 28 February 1953 ‘

Hammer price was £850.

Finally, the Gurkha Museum acquired, with the help of two generous donations via the 7th Gurkha Rifles Regimental Association, the pair of medals, including the Military Medal awarded to Cpl Bombahadur Limbu 1/7GR, who was a leading scout in a contact which took place on 18 March 1965 during the Borneo Confrontation. Hammer price was £4600.

Art

Paintings with a Gurkha or Indian Army association also commanded a modest premium, as can be seen from the following lots, which were sold last year:

• One of the two prints of an Assemblage of Gurkha Hillmen from James Fraser’s Views in the Himalaya Mountains ( Hammer price £800 ).

• Print Incident in the Subzee Mundee 1857 ( One of eleven prints) (Hammer price £1100 ).

• Portrait miniature of Major General Sir David Ochterlony Bt GCB by Robert Home ( 1752 – 1834 ) ( Hammer price £1100 ). The main portrait is in the National Army Museum’s collection.

• Watercolour signed and dated 1913 by Richard Simkin of the 2nd Goorkha Truncheon Jemadar ( Hammer price £600 ).

Accoutrements

There were almost daily offerings through various auction houses of kukris for sale, dating from WW1 to the present day . Although the Gurkha Museum did purchase one originally from the 153 Gurkha Independent Parachute Company. In addition, the 2GR cap badge, shoulder titles and chevrons, etc were often auctioned as part of individual collections. There was one item of particular interest, a leather Cross Belt with officers’ pouch belt plate 1953 – 1960 ( ie without WW2 Battle Honours ) ( Hammer price £420 ).

Porcelain

If precious metals delivered positive returns in 2025, then certain figurines by Michael Sutty, which were sold at auction in February 2025 in Florida, USA, fetched extraordinarily high prices, viz:

• 2GR Truncheon Jemadar US$2000

• HAC Pikeman US$1000

Although it was not the same for every figurine in that particular auction A statuette of a Grenadier Guards Officer only fetched US$200, a Royal Marines Bugler and two figurines of a 6th Gurkha and a 7th Gurkha ( estimate £150 – £200) on offer at an auction in Guernsey all failed to attract any bids – as if any proof was needed for the attractions of God’s Own!

Silver

Unique engraved silver ( hallmark Birmingham 1939 ) cigarette case with a naked lady surrounded by a snake with the cypher of 3rd Queen Alexandra’s Own Gurkha Rifles inscribed ‘V FOR ….’ ( Hammer price £160 ).

The cigarette case.

Summary

It is not just the Gurkha or other military museums which own artefacts and items associated with the Gurkha soldier, as evidenced by the continued interest shown by collectors of Gurkha militaria and the Indian Army of the Raj. There continued to be a paucity of medals awarded to Gurkhas being offered at auction, and those which came to the market invariably attracted a premium.

The auction market is global, and the days of possible good fortune by being present in person in the auction room, suitably armed with a paddle, are long gone. For example, last year Wimbledon Auctions sold a marvellous collection of original watercolours of various Indian Army uniforms by Brigadier General Alfred Lovett, which were all sold to a successful bidder who had ‘attended ‘ the online auction from New Delhi.

John Harrop

Please see this article from April 2025 about Memorials to 2GR officers.

Background

In 1903 King Edward VII was the Regiment’s Honorary Colonel ( he was to become our Colonel -In – Chief from 12 May 1904, an appointment which he held until his death on 6 May 1910 ) .

Apparently, HM The King would endlessly drive his beloved Daimler, whatever the weather. However, in 1903, Sir James Reid, GCVO, KCB, VD, who was the Royal Physician, became concerned about the monarch’s health . So, he called upon Berry Bros and Rudd for a solution – a high-strength liqueur which would warm and revive His Majesty.

The King’s Ginger

Thus it came about that a very special liqueur known as The King’s Ginger which had been crafted from ginger ( for centuries celebrated for its medicinal properties ) was created in 1903 by Berry Bros and Rudd.

The King’s Ginger is golden in colour and delightfully robust in flavour. A revitalising and warming spirit that brings people together etc .

A Sirmoor Liqueur?

It might be too late for a bottle to be placed in a Sirmoor Christmas stocking, but in view of the unique connection of this liqueur with the Regiment’s first Honorary Colonel and subsequent Colonel in Chief, I believe that this liqueur deserves a place in the cellar of any self-respecting officer of the 2nd Goorkhas .

NB It also makes a particularly good cocktail when mixed with champagne. See the Berry Bros & Rudd website for other recipes.

“I was only saying to old whats’is name the other day – at least I think it was the other day – the old memory isn’t quite what it was – you know, the chap with a wooden leg – nasty accident pig-sticking in Dehra Dun – anyway, where was I? Oh yes thank you, I was saying to this fellow the other day that, when I was in Burma – at least I think it must have been Burma, bloody hot and a lot of temples – I met a chap who was Adjutant of 1st Burma Rifles, can’t remember his name for the life of me – anyway hell of a good chap – killed, poor bugger, on one of Wingate’s expeditions – at least I think it was Wingate, might have been with Slim who was by way of giving the Nips a good hiding until the little sods gave up and the war was ended in 1948 – 45 did you say? – not much good at dates any longer – never was if I’m honest – no need to tell my Memsahib that.”

“Oh I’ve just spotted a couple of chaps who were brigaded with us in Skinner’s something or other – Horse did you say? You’re probably right, I must tell them about that chap – can you remember his name? – yes, Carstairs absolutely right – who lost his leg pig-sticking – at least I think it was pig-sticking – might have been polo. So if you’ll forgive me, I’ll just go and have a bit of a chin wag with them. Sorry, what did you say your name was? oh yes – funny things memories – let you down every now and again don’t you find?”

Mike Robjohn spotted an article in Country Life about feral goats. It prompted him to write this letter to the Editor, which was published recently:

Your short article on feral goats in your October 15th edition brought back the memory of another incident involving a similar problem. In 1971 1st Battalion 2nd Gurkha Rifles went from Singapore to Western Australia for six weeks training, in a range area north of Perth. A request was received from the local government as to whether the battalion could assist with culling a huge number of feral goats which had accumulated on an offshore island which were gradually destroying the wildlife and woodland. Accordingly, a company was dispatched to carry out this mission under the command of an unusual officer nicknamed “The Admiral”. The task was of course gleefully welcomed as goat meat is very much appreciated in a Gurkha cook house!

The job was done but the Admiral saved one animal from the pot, a very pretty small white kid which he managed to bring home from Australia to Singapore courtesy of the Royal Air Force. After three or four months in Singapore, the goat made yet another journey from Singapore to Hong Kong, courtesy of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Once established in Hong Kong, the Admiral appointed a goat orderly whose job it was to sit outside of his office on the lawn and manage the animal. But by now the kid was no longer a pretty little thing, it had developed into a rather large, overfed, smelly and brown beast. Much time was spent by unkind members of the battalion carefully watching the goat and its handler and when there was a chance, releasing the beast from its lawn position and then watch it race down to battalion headquarters where it proceeded to devour carefully cultivated flower arrangements and beds. A telephone call was then made to its owner saying that the animal was loose and what it was doing, and then watching the Admiral fly out of his office at high speed followed by the idle orderly to retrieve it.

After several escapes and much floral damage and much amusement, somebody had a word in the ear of the Gurkha Major. Unsurprisingly, it mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again except possibly by those enjoying a special meal in the cook house.

Sirmooris might also be interested to know that there were two other attempts to have a Regimental mascot. In the mid-1930s and again in 1944 the Regiment acquired a ram which was given to the Buglers to look after. Unfortunately neither survived very long, it is thought because of the poor or inappropriate diet their handlers fed them.

In response to an article in the Gurkha Museum newsletter about the experience of Gurkhas in Japanese captivity, Brigadier Bruce Jackman wrote this email to the editor on 1st Novembner 2025:

My uncle (father’s brother), WJ (‘Bill’) Jackman, was the Inspector of Schools in Malaya/Singapore when the Japanese invaded. He was enlisted into a militia that was raised from all men of military service (including planters etc). He was captured at Singapore and spent time in Changi before he was sent to the Burma Death Railway. His eldest daughter (who lives near me in Bristol) has a piece of paper on which her father drew a map of the Death Railway on which he had marked each of the camps along the railway that the POWs had to build to house themselves. Against each camp he had listed the various diseases he suffered in each – malaria, dysentery, yellow fever etc – yet he survived.

He, along with all the other POWs, were transported to Ceylon in 1945 when they were released. There he met my father who had been working in Far East HQ, Delhi, as Head of E Group (Escape Group), whose job it was to locate and infiltrate Japanese POW camps, and try to arrange escapes – so he had been aware of his brother’s plight.

One of the people Pa helped escape from Hong Kong was Dougie Clague, later Sir Douglas Clague, who many of us would have known in Hong Kong in the ‘70s when he was Chairman of Hutchinson’s International and President of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He escaped from a POW camp in Kowloon through the sewers and got over Lion Rock, which was then the border with China. When I was CO 2/2GR in ’79/80 he and his wife, Lynne, lived in a magnificent house at Beas River, very close to the quarter where I lived.

Additional information:

Photo of WJ (‘Bill’) Jackman:

Short biography:

Taught at Kuala Kangsar Malay College from Jul 1937. (Kenneth Luke also on staff)
Member of (2nd Lt) Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, 1st Perak Batallion, Ser No 5470
Married 25 Oct 1940
On leave in Kashmir Sep 1941 when war in Far East breaks out
CWJ returned to Singapore via Calcutta. Ship (SS Taisang) torpedoed close to Singapore. Spent several hours in water before being rescued.
Captured @ fall of Singapore to Japanese 15/2/42. Detained in Changi.
1st official notification of POW Jan 43. First POW postcard from CWJ in Aug 43
MRJ stayed with Ray & Joan/Rosemary & Edward Hunt for some months teaching at a school in Darjeeling India but then returned UK end Aug 1942.Tempy work as speech therapist to stroke victims then War Office in Oxford (MI5 decamped to Blenheim Palace. Worked with Marjorie Hutchinson) from Apr 43 to Aug 45
Assigned in Nov 42 to No 2 Group in Thailand. Various camps Changkai, Wun Lun, Tarkalin, Wan Po, Takunun up to Kilo 226) until railway completed in Oct 43. Returned to Chungkai in Mar44 and remained until Mar 45 then via Kamburi until Jun 45 when moved to Nakon Nyok (east of Bangkok) until liberation in Aug 45.
Released Aug 45
Returned UK via India in troopship Empire Pride Oct 45
Returned to Malaya in May 46

Click on the following links to download related documents as shown:

The Sirmoor Simulated Game Shoot, run by Josh Brown of the Barbury Shooting School, took place at East Kennett on the Marlborough Downs on Saturday 27 September. 16 guns assembled at 0900 for breakfast at ‘The Farm at Avebury’ prior to heading out for the shoot. There were four drives of simulated partridge in the morning where we manned eight pegs with two guns – one shooting and one loading, changing over halfway through each drive. After the first two drives we had elevenses, including some sloe gin to help regain focus. At 1230 we broke off for a sumptuous lunch back at ‘The Farm at Avebury’ and then returned to man our respective pegs at 1400 for another drive prior to the team shoot in which teams of four, drawn randomly, shot ‘birds’ coming at all angles and heights, to end another fabulous Sirmoor event. The day ended with tea and cakes in the field. We witnessed some excellent shooting throughout but the ‘top guns’ (men and ladies) for the day (chosen by Josh Brown) were Richard Firth and Val Urquhart.

So ended a fabulous day with a great group of like-minded people, intent on honing their shooting skills at the beginning of the shooting season.

BCJ

Guns on their pegs for a ‘partridge’ drive.

The winning team called ‘the Poofters’ on account of their pink caps (left to right) Chris Rushworth, Richard Firth, Julia Bridges and Edward Mackaness.

Group photograph (taken by Edward Mackaness) of all the guns (from left to right): Richard Firth, Mike Berry (guest), John Swanston, Sarah Mackaness, Bruce Jackman, Nigel Blackwell (behind), Sean Crane, Sammie Crane, Tom Martin (behind), Julia & Richard Bridges, Val Urquhart, and a guest Paul Schreier (behind), Will Hacking, Chris Dowling (guest), Chris Rushworth and Will Rushworth.

PFA the breakdown of Sirmoor Club membership by categories and historically as at October 2025: