Brigadier CJD Bullock OBE MC
Christopher Bullock as a Captain commanding Support Company of the 2nd Battalion
Christopher Bullock was born in 1939. He joined the King’s Royal Rifles Corps (the 60th Rifles) in 1957 and served with them until January 1963 when he was seconded to the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Goorkhas in Hong Kong. He ran mortar and anti-tank concentrations for the Battalion, as well a leading the Battalion shooting team which won the Far East Land Forces Competition in Singapore and did well at Bisley. In November 1963 he took command of the Reconnaissance Platoon for a year before temporarily commanding A Company in Sarawak and then becoming Battalion Intelligence Officer.
After a break from operations the Battalion returned to Sarawak, based in Lundu. Bullock was now commanding Support Company which under his leadership carried out many patrols and cross-border operations during which he was slightly wounded in the hand and earned the Military Cross.
In August 1965 he transferred to the 2nd Goorkhas. From 1966-68 he was Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion at a time when many soldiers were being made redundant, a melancholy experience which nonetheless stood him in good stead later in his career when he had to deal with further reductions. After appointments as Adjutant of the Brigade Transit Camp in Barrackpore and in command of A Company he went to the Staff College Camberley, returning to the Battalion as Second-in-Command. He was subsequently Brigade Major
Brigade of Gurkhas, commanded Alamein Company at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of the Berlin Field Force.
From June 1978 until January 1981 he commanded the 6th Gurkha Rifles in the UK and Belize before returning with them to Hong Kong where they took part in Operation CULEX, assisting the Royal Hong Kong Police to stem the influx of illegal immigrants from China and Vietnamese boat people. At the end of his tour he was appointed OBE.
After command he held staff appointments in Headquarters United Kingdom Land Forces and Headquarters British Forces Hong Kong before being appointed Brigadier Brigade of Gurkhas in 1990. It was a difficult time when the Brigade was being reduced in size and the merger of the four infantry regiments was being planned. He was appointed ADC to the Queen.
After retiring from the Army in 1993 he was Secretary of the Army Rifle Association for two years before becoming the Curator of the Gurkha Museum in 1995, remaining in that post until 2002. He was subsequently Chairman of the Museum Trustees until 2009.
During his service Christopher Bullock was interested in competition small arms shooting and in retirement has taken a keen interest in fly fishing. He wrote a book about his experiences in Borneo, ‘Journeys Hazardous’, and also produced a very popular history, ‘Britain’s Gurkhas’. He is married with two daughters.