6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles

6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles
Active1817–1994
Country India
 United Kingdom
   Nepal
Branch British Army
TypeRifles
RoleLight Infantry
Size1–4 battalions (One: 1817–1903, two: 1903–68, three: 1940–47, four: 1941–46)
Garrison/HQBritish Hong Kong
ColorsGreen; faced black
MarchYoung May Moon (Quick March)
EngagementsThird Anglo-Burmese War

Great War

Second World War

Malayan Emergency

Confrontation
Decorations2 VCs
Insignia
Shoulder Flash
Abbreviation6 GR

The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Company, the regiment has been known by a number of names throughout its history. Initially the unit did not recruit from the Gurkhas, although after being transferred to the British Indian Army following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it became a purely Gurkha regiment, in due course with its regimental headquarters at Abbottabad in the North West Frontier Province of British India. After 1947 the regiment was one of only four Gurkha regiments to be transferred to the British Army and this continued up until 1994, when it was amalgamated with other Gurkha regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. Over the course of its 177-year history, the regiment was awarded 25 battle honours, although prior to World War I it had only been awarded one and no battle honours were awarded to it after World War II.