Royal Gurkha Rifles

The Royal Gurkha Rifles
Cap badge of the Royal Gurkha Rifles
Active	1 July 1994 – present
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Rifles
Role	1st Battalion: Light Infantry 2nd Battalion: Air Assault Infantry
Size	Two battalions
Part of	Brigade of Gurkhas
Garrison/HQ	RHQ: Shorncliffe 1st Battalion: Seria, Brunei 2nd Battalion: Shorncliffe
Nickname(s)	The Gurkhas / The Bravest of the Brave
Motto(s)	कांथर हुनु भन्दा मर्नु राम्रो "Kaatar Hunnu Bhanda Marnu Ramro" (Nepali) "Better to die than to be a coward"
March	Quick: Bravest of the Brave Double Past: Keel Row Slow (band): God Bless the Prince of Wales Slow (pipes and drums): The Garb of Auld Gaul
Anniversaries	Meiktila (1 March) Medicina (16 April) Regimental Birthday (1 July) Gallipoli (7 August) Delhi Day (14 September)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	The Prince of Wales
Colonel of the Regiment	Brigadier J C Lawrence CBE
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Tartan	Douglas (pipers trews and plaids) From 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles
Abbreviation	RGR

The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British army, soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the United Kingdom nor a member of the Commonwealth. Their motto is: Better to die than live a coward.

The regiment was formed as the sole Gurkha infantry regiment of the British Army following the amalgamation of the four separate Gurkha regiments in 1994:

The amalgamations took place as follows:

The 3rd Battalion was amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion in 1996 as part of run down of British forces in Hong Kong.

The Gurkhas in general and the direct predecessors of the Royal Gurkha Rifles in particular are considered by some to be among the finest infantrymen in the world, as is evidenced by the high regard they are held in for both their fighting skill, and their smartness of turnout on parade.

In December 1995, Lieutenant-Colonel Bijaykumar Rawat became the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, the first Nepalese to become a battalion commander in the RGR. He oversaw the departure of the battalion from Hong Kong just before that city's transfer to Chinese control, and the battalion's relocation to Church Crookham, Hampshire in 1996.

Twice during its most recent Brunei posting the 2nd Battalion was deployed as the Afghanistan Roulement Infantry Battalion, while the 1st Battalion deployed as part of 52 Infantry Brigade in late 2007. During this tour, Cornet Harry Wales (Prince Harry) was attached for a period to the 1st Battalion as a Forward Air Controller.

Under Army 2020, the regiment was intended to provide two light role battalions, rotating between Brunei and the UK, with their higher unit as 11th Infantry Brigade. However, in June 2015, the 2nd Battalion, then based in the UK, was reassigned to form part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, in the air assault infantry role.