The amazing work being done to re-house EVERY Gurkha veteran left destitute by Nepal Earthquake disaster
The devastating tremor killed 8,000, injured 21,000 and left 1,200 Gurkha veterans homeless
OVER six decades ago hero Gurkha rifleman Malla lay over the blooded body of his English commander as a hail of bandit’s bullets chewed the jungle ground around them.
The bodies of nine of their fallen comrades lay dead beside them - mowed down in a brutal ambush.
As rifleman Malla used his body to shield Lee Saheb a bullet blasted through his knee – but he held firm and battled on until a rescue chopper plucked both men from the carnage and raced them to safety.
Fast forward to the next century and it is now he who needs saving.
And once again his rescuers come from the ranks of his hallowed unit.
Tough Rifleman Narayanbahadur Malla, now 93, was in his home in Kholakhet village, Parbat district when the earth exploded during the Nepal earthquake of April 2015.
The devastating 7.8 tremor left 8,000 dead, injured 21,000 and left 1,200 Gurkha veterans, including Narayanbahadur, homeless.
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But now his home has been rebuilt by the Gurkha Welfare Trust who have vowed to re-house every Gurkha veteran left destitute in the disaster by 2017.
He said: “I was right here when the earthquake struck last year.
“Everything shook from side to side. When I went to have a look at my house, it was in a bad way.
“One of the walls had collapsed. We were going to try and repair the damaged wall, but got told that it wasn’t safe; we’d have to demolish the house and build a new one in its place.
“We are so grateful that GWT and the 6th Gurkha Rifles Regimental Association have sent money so that we may rebuild our house.
“Thank you, thank you. May you live long and may God protect you always.
“If we hadn’t received this aid, we’d be patching up here and there, I suppose. What else could we do? But this house is strong.
“I am extremely happy and once again I would like to send my best wishes to the Sahebs who have helped me. May God protect them always.”
The unassuming farmer – a grandfather of four – lived a life full of adventure serving between 1949-57 with Dunn Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles.
He attended the Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and fought against bandits during the Malaya Emergency.
The fight raged between 1948-60 after the end of World War II between British Army units in British controlled Malaya and a communist insurgency led by Chin Peng, commander of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA).
The Gurkha's incredible jungle fighting prowess was enhanced to legendary status during the battle.
Recalling his life-saving heroics, he said: “Our Company Commander was Major Lee and the Battalion Commander was Walker Saheb.
“One time – it must have been around 1951 – we were ambushed while moving in the convoy.
“Nine of our men were killed and Lee Saheb was hit by a bullet.
“I dragged him underneath me and fired back at the bandits. I was also shot in the right knee. It went in through one side and came out the other. Lee Saheb said: “Oh, Narayanbahadur is hit!”
“Then Lee Saheb got on the radio and called in a helicopter.
“The helicopter came and took us both away.
“Afterwards, the whole battalion of 1st 6th Gurkhas went there to fight the bandits. Dunn Company killed some of them; the remainder ran away.
“We went to a British Military Hospital in Singapore. My knee got better there and I came back.”
Recalling his time in the jungle, he said: “We had our bayonets fixed all the time. We slept with our rifles and ammunition and we had them to hand while eating.
“The whistle blast was the signal to open fire. As soon as it blew, the shooting would begin.”
In 1952 he sailed with 14 comrades for 22 days from Singapore for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
He said: “The Queen inspected us all. Asked us what we did, what we ate.
“We stayed there for two months and I was glad to be able to meet the Queen. After that we went back to keep fighting in Malaya.”
After he left the ranks of the British Army he returned to Nepal to farm and raise his family.
He said: “After I left the Army I returned to Parbat and began farming.
“Now it is been 40 years since my wife died but I have not remarried. She was the only one. Then I had to take care of our children.
“I spent my time raising and caring for them. It was very difficult; I couldn’t send my children to school. Luckily GWT helped me with my pension and then I was able to send them to school.
“I currently have two sons and two daughters – four altogether. There are two grandchildren from my younger son and two from the other, so four grandchildren too.”
The Gurkha Welfare Trusts’ mission statement is to see Gurkhas living their lives with dignity.
And when the earthquake struck – they were straight in to help.
Narayanbahadur is one of around 1,200 Gurkha veterans or widows who lost their homes in the earthquakes.
The Gurkha Welfare Trust is committed to providing new, earthquake resistant homes for all of them by April 2017. So far, 180 have been completed and 500 more are under construction.
From 2016-20, the Trust will build or repair around 1,700 Gurkha homes, 600 water supply systems, 220 schools and 16 community centres across Nepal.
And it will provide repairs and extensions to hundreds of similar projects.
The estimated cost of the Trust’s earthquake response is around £17.5 million.
To give visit The Gurkha Welfare Trust website at