Gurkhas - Funeral held for last remaining Gurkha recipient of Victoria Cross - Hannah King 28th April 2023 at 11:24am

Watch: Funeral for Captain Rambahadur Limbu held at British Gurkhas Nepal HQ in Kathmandu.

A funeral for the last remaining Gurkha recipient of Britain's Victoria Cross has been held at British Gurkhas Nepal HQ in Kathmandu.

Captain Rambahadur Limbu was awarded Britain's highest military decoration by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966, for gallantry during the Borneo confrontation, when he ran across open ground under heavy fire to save two of his friends.

His casket was taken first to his residence in central Kathmandu, where family and locals crowded around the open doors of the ambulance clutching Nepalese scarves and flowers.

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He was then taken to British Gurkhas Nepal where a sports court crammed with personnel and representatives from the Nepalese army, government and the British Embassy, played host to a service of remembrance.

Capt Limbu's body was then later loaded onto a small plane and flown to his home in Damak where he will be buried after a village ceremony on Sunday.

Mourners pay their respects to Captain Limbu.

Captain Limbu had also received The Royal Victorian Order (MVO), a dynastic order of knighthood that recognises distinguished service to the British monarch. 

He served in the British Army for 28 years. After retiring in 1985, he joined the Sultan of Brunei's Gurkhas Reserve Unit (GRU) in which he served, as a Company 2IC, for eight years. 

Capt Limbu is survived by his wife Punimaya and three sons, Chandra Prakash, Jiwan and Bhanubhakta Limbu.