Rambahadur Limbu

Through relentless enemy fire, he refused to abandon his men

Rambahadur Limbu earned the Victoria Cross for extraordinary courage during the Battle of Bau in Sarawak on 21 November 1965. Serving with the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles, the young lance corporal repeatedly braved machine-gun fire to recover two wounded comrades during the Indonesia–Malaysia Confrontation.

Born on 8 July 1939 in Chyangthapu, eastern Nepal, Limbu belonged to the Begha clan of the Limbu people. Determined to join the Brigade of Gurkhas, he persevered after an initial rejection and enlisted in the British Army on 1 November 1957. Following jungle training during the Malayan Emergency, he joined the 2nd Battalion in October 1958. In 1965, his battalion deployed to Sarawak to counter Indonesian incursions across the border.

On 21 November, Limbu’s company attacked a strongly fortified enemy position on Gunong Tepoi in the Bau district. The approach followed a narrow, knife-edge ridge beneath entrenched Indonesian troops. Leading his support group forward, Limbu reached a point just ten yards from an enemy machine-gun trench before a sentry opened fire, wounding a Gurkha beside him. Limbu immediately charged the position, killed the sentry and secured a foothold for the assault.

As enemy automatic fire swept the ridge, Limbu moved his men into a better firing position and crossed exposed ground to report personally to his platoon commander. Seeing two members of his fire group seriously wounded, he began a succession of rescue attempts under concentrated fire from enemy machine-gun posts.

Twice forced back, Limbu persisted. Alternately crawling and rushing forward, he reached one casualty and carried him to safety. He then returned for the second man, again crossing ground struck by sustained enemy fire. The rescues and preceding actions took approximately twenty minutes, during which he was almost continuously exposed. Both wounded men subsequently died, but Limbu’s determination to reach them became the defining act of his Victoria Cross action.

Rejoining the assault, he recovered their abandoned light machine gun and provided covering fire, killing four enemy soldiers attempting to escape. His leadership and courage helped his company overcome the position after an hour of fierce fighting.

Queen Elizabeth II presented Limbu with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 1966. The honour came amid personal grief: his first wife had died shortly before the award’s announcement, leaving him with two young sons.

Limbu continued his military career, receiving a commission as a Queen’s Gurkha Officer and reaching the rank of captain. Following service as a Queen’s Gurkha Orderly Officer, he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1984. He retired from the British Army in 1985 and served with the Sultan of Brunei’s Gurkha Reserve Unit until 1992 before returning to Nepal.

Captain Rambahadur Limbu died on 22 April 2023, aged 83. The last surviving Gurkha Victoria Cross recipient, he is remembered for his courage at Bau and his unwavering devotion to the men under his command.