The failure of successive Westminster governments to deal adequately with almost all aspects of our armed forces' welfare (March 5) appears to be receiving some attention at last. However, there is one section of the British Army that has been, and continues to be, sadly neglected and that is the Gurkha volunteers, who now number about 3500.
In 1947, it was agreed that these volunteers would accept the same pay scale as those serving in the new Indian army and would have no claim to pay parity with their British counterparts. Unbelievably, this agreement still applies and, as a result, Gurkha pensions are only worth about one-quarter of those of British soldiers. These troops need 15 years of service to qualify for a military pension, while British troops qualify after two years' service. Surviving Second World War veterans are awaiting an MoD decision on pension improvement but at the moment rely on the Gurkha Welfare Trust, linked to the MoD, to collect money from the public, distribute medical and financial aid to the worst-off and establish community-based aid projects.
At the moment, an ex-soldier and his family receive 3000 rupees ($50) per month, for which they have to travel four times a year to receive.
It is not surprising that many veterans would like to move to Britain, but most of their requests (costing $1250) are rejected because they "don't show sufficient signs of special links with the UK". We have conveniently forgotten that estimates suggest that 45,000 have been killed and 150,000 injured since the creation of their regiments, while 13 Victoria Crosses have been awarded.
Ian F M Saint-Yves, Isle of Arran.
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