REGIMENTAL
6TH QEO GURKHA RIFLES
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REGIMENTAL MEMORIAL PROJECT
ast year I introduced to you the project for the creation of a Memorial to the Regiment, which had been proposed by John Mackinlay in the Spring of 2018, and approved for further consideration by the Association. That introduction can be found on pages 10 and 11 of the 2019 Journal. In November 2019, I set out for those who attended the Annual General Meeting of the Association the progress that the Project Committees had made over the year since then. I emphasised that it was important to bear in mind, in appreciating that progress, the key points of the Committees’ terms of reference – namely that the Memorial was not to be a “War Memorial”; it should be designed to survive, be aesthetically pleasing and safe from threats of vandalism or earthquake; and ideally located in a safe, accessible location in Nepal. The Committees’ attention this year has turned to address two aspects of the project: where to locate the Memorial, and what kind of Memorial? The Committees considered and evaluated a number of locations, but ran against the problems of security or maintenance, and also the not insignificant cost of purchasing the necessary land, in the large majority of the potential sites. In the course of our researches
we established a very good relationship with the Gurkha Museum in Pokhara, and I cannot overstate the Committees’ gratitude to the Major Yam and his team at the Museum for their constructive and helpful cooperation with the Committees both here and in Nepal. As a consequence we have agreed with the Museum that our Memorial could be sited in the centre of the fence, bounding the Museum site in Pokhara, to the left of the Museum entrance. To the extent that anything can be permanent or secure these days, the Committee feels that this site is the best we could ever have hoped for. Contemporaneously with evaluating possible locations, the Concept Officer (John Mackinlay) progressed the possible design of the Memorial; his first task was to identify a possible sculptor who might have the expertise as well as the required sympathetic approach to the concept of the Memorial; he consulted widely with experts in the field, drawing on his contacts in the Memorial Artists Association, and was introduced to Mr Martin Cook, a nationally and internationally recognised sculptor of some of the most important Memorials both in the UK and abroad. The Committee agreed that Martin be given the brief to design a Memorial along lines conceived by John and agreed by the Committee.
The proposed location of the memorial outside the entrance to the Gurkha Museum in Pokhara
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