Gaje Ghale

He stormed the ridge while bleeding from three grave wounds.

Gaje Ghale came from Barpak in the Gorkha district of Nepal. A Gurung soldier, he enlisted as a boy recruit in the mid-1930s and joined the 2nd Battalion, 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles. He served on the North-West Frontier and later instructed recruits at the regimental centre at Abbottabad before returning to field operations in Burma.

In May 1943 Japanese positions on Basha East Hill threatened the British and Indian forces in the Chin Hills. Two assaults had failed. The next attack required troops to advance along a bare knife-edge ridge, sometimes only a few yards wide, under machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire. Casualties among commanders had left Ghale, an acting havildar, in charge of a platoon of young soldiers.

Although he had never previously faced battle, he steadied his men and led them forward. A Japanese grenade wounded his arm, chest and leg. He ignored the injuries and continued the assault, throwing grenades and urging his platoon into close combat. His determination helped the Gurkhas capture the position.

The danger did not end with possession of the hill. Ghale remained to organise its defence and consolidate the ground under continuing fire. He would not seek treatment until an officer ordered him to the aid post after the position was secure. His Victoria Cross recognised leadership sustained through pain and exhaustion, rather than a single rush at the enemy.

Lord Wavell presented the decoration at Delhi in January 1944. Ghale was promoted to jemadar and represented his regiment at the London Victory Parade in 1946. After Indian independence he remained with the battalion, became subedar-major and served with United Nations forces in the Congo in 1963. Before retirement he received the honorary rank of captain.

After retiring in 1965 he also served on the Almora Cantonment Board. He maintained close links with former comrades and attended VC gatherings and the opening of the Gurkha Museum at Winchester. Married with eight children, he died in New Delhi on 28 March 2000 and was cremated.