Tikajit Pun was born in a village called Nangi, in the district of Tehsil, Nepal, he enlisted into the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in November 1922, and saw his first active service on the North West Frontier in 1924, being awarded the Indian General Service Medal 1923-24. He served on the frontier again with the battalion in 1937 and was awarded his second IGSM for the 1937-39 campaign.  He was granted the Viceroy's Commission in 1937 and transferred to the 3rd Battalion when it was re-raised in 1940. In 1943 as a Subedar in the Chindits, he took part in the First Wingate Expedition, leading a group of very young and inexperienced Gurkha Riflemen behind enemy lines in Burma. Here he performed outstandingly well under very difficult and arduous conditions and ended up being awarded the Indian Distinguished Conduct Medal for his efforts that year. Here is the citation transcript for that award, as recommended by his commander Major R. Bromhead :

For a much more detailed account of the military life and career of Tikajit Pun, please click on the link below. Congratulations must go the gentlemen who produced the website pages, especially Mark Sellar who compiled the information on Tikajit Pun.Tikajit Pun went on to serve with the 2nd Gurkha Rifles after the war in places such as Malaya, he continued to excel and impress during this period. In the photograph opposite he can be seen in the centre of the back row. This photo was taken in the 1950's and is of the 1st battalion 2nd GR, at the Ulu Pandan barracks in Singapore. By this time Tikajit was a Lieutenant in the battalion, but went on to achieve the rank of Captain.

The family tradition of faithful service to the 2nd Gurkha Rifles was continued by his eldest son Lalbahadur, who became the first Gurkha Rifle recruit to attend Staff College, passing out from Sandhurst in 1959. Lalbahadur was awarded the Military Cross in 1965 during the 1st battalion's tour of duty in Indonesia. He led a successful ambush attack on a large group of insurgents just inside the Indonesian border and nullified their future effect on proceedings. Seen below is the full medal entitlement of Captain Tikajit Pun, a real Chindit hero in every sense of the word.

The first Gurkha soldier to be killed fighting in Afghanistan has been named as Yubraj Rai. The 28-year-old, from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, died on 2008 in the Musa Qala area of southern Afghanistan when a patrol came under attack.Rifleman Rai, from the Khotang district in eastern Nepal, was the first Gurkha soldier to be killed. In October 2008, British Gurkha Major Alexis Roberts was killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

Rifleman Rai was taking part in a joint ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces operation against enemy forces when they came under fire.He was treated at the scene but died from his wounds.The Gurkha was the 122nd member of British forces to be killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001.An avid sportsman and Manchester United fan, he followed in the footsteps of his uncle by joining the British Army in January 1999.

Lieutenant Colonel Chris Darby, commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, the Royal Gurkha Rifles, said: "Yubraj Rai was an extraordinary character and a hard professional soldier with a proven operational record."Having served his time as a driving force in 5 Platoon, he moved to a supporting role in Musa Qala, but it was typical of the man that he volunteered for a place on the operation in Dagyan when another member of his company fell ill, and a measure of his professionalism that he did it so seamlessly."

Kualalampur : DOZENS of Gurkhas have been recognised for fighting in a Malayan conflict more than 50 years ago.Soldiers who live across the east of England gathered in Colchester yesterday to be recognised by the Malaysian Government.Around 170 Gurkhas were presented with the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal. It is the first time they have been recognised by the Malaysian Government for their part in the conflict.Khemraj Sunuwar, 70, of Colchester, served as a sapper in the Gurkha Engineers in Malaysia from 1964 to 1966.

He said: “It was a very difficult time for us all.“We were always fighting in the Malaysian jungle against militia.“It was raining every day and very difficult. We joined the British Army, trained for nine months and then went straight there. “Today is a good day. We fought in the conflict and were never given any recognition by the Malaysian Government. The medal is important.” The Malayan Emergency lasted from 1948 to 1960 saw Commonwealth forces defeat insurgents from the communist Malayan National Liberation Army.Troops remained in Malaysia until 1966 because of tensions with neighbouring Indonesia.

The Gurkhas were given a general service medal by the British Government following the conflict but have never been recognised by the Malayasia. On 03 september the Gurkhas were presented with the medal by Malaysian defence attache Brigadier General Othman Bin Jamal. They held a ceremony at the Territorial Army Centre, on Circular Road East.