Three: Rifleman B. Rai, 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles 1914-15 Star (No. 2356 Rfmn. Balbahad...

Three: Rifleman B. Rai, 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles

1914-15 Star (No. 2356 Rfmn. Balbahadur Rai, 2/7/Gurkha Rfls.); British War and Victory Medals (2356 Rfmn. Balbahadur Limbu, 2-7 Grks.), note surname, worn, nearly very fine (3)

Balbahadur Rai is not listed as a Prisoner of War at Kut. It is therefore assumed that he was serving with the Battalion echelon, which did not form part of the Kut Garrison or had become a casualty during fighting before the siege of Kut who had been evacuated and therefore avoided capture.

The 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles deployed to Egypt in defence of the Suez Canal in 1914. It was then re-deployed to Mesopotamia in 1915 and formed part of the Kut Garrison, which was besieged and eventually surrendered to Turkish forces in April 1916. A new Battalion was raised almost immediately in Mesopotamia and took part in the capture of both Kut-al-Almara and Bagdad in 1917. The Battalion went on to serve in Palestine in the final year of the War.

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