Gurkha band plays to veterans in new Colchester home

Gurkha band performs for veterans at new Colchester base

Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years

A Gurkha military band has played publicly for the first time since moving from Kent to Essex.

On Wednesday, the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas performed traditional Nepalese folk music for Gurkha veterans in Colchester, before its first public outing at the city’s Remembrance Sunday parade.

Tuba player Ankit Rai said joining the performance felt "like a home away from home" and 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."

After the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India and Britain led to four Gurkha regiments from the Indian Army being transferred to the British Army, later forming the Gurkha Brigade.

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

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

Ankit Rai said it was an honour to play for The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas

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

Rai said performing traditional and popular folk songs, including Resham Firiri, at the event was "a very privileged and honourable thing to do" and fostered pride in his heritage.

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 then 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.

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 included "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."