Peter Duffell

Organisations

• National Army Museum
• Gurkha Museum
• Amazon

Details

Gurkha Odyssey - Campaigning for the Crown - Peter Duffell - with illustrations by Ken Howard OBE RA  Pen & Sword

It is 1814 and the Bengal Army of the Honourable East India Company is at war with a marauding Nepal. It is here  that the British first encounter the martial spirit of their indomitable foe - the Gurkha hill men from that mountainous land. Impressed by their fighting qualities  and with the end of hostilities in sight the Company begins to recruit them into their own ranks. 

Since then these light-hearted and gallant soldiers have successfully campaigned for the British Crown. Their service stretches from the North West Frontier of India, through two World Wars to the contemporary campaigns of Malaya, Borneo, the Falklands, Bosnia and Kosovo and onto Iraq and Afghanistan.  Additionally for forty years the Gurkha soldier provided stability in Hong Kong prior to the 1997 handover to China.

In this intimate portrait, I recount something of the character, spirit and campaigning of these loyal and dedicated soldiers and the countries in which they served. It is a journey seen through the prism of my service as a regular officer in the 2nd King Edward Vll's Own Gurkha Rifles, as the Brigade of Gurkhas Major General and as Regimental Colonel of the Royal Gurkha Rifles as well as the Commander British Forces Hong Kong.

                             'An inspiring journey - delightfully related.' Times Literary Supplement

          'General Duffell's thoughtful, amiable and idiosyncratic journey through Gurkha history and not least his own.'  Country Life

'There have been many books written about Gurkhas but few with so deep an understanding of the cultural, historical and spiritual dimension and none with so acute a view of the future.'  Alan Mallinson - military historian and author

'A compelling journey through Gurkha history - written with grace and style.' Field Marshal Lord Bramall KG GCB OBE MC

"Lieutenant General Sir Peter Duffell was commissioned into the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in 1960. As a young Company Commander he was awarded the Military Cross leading Gurkhas in clandestine operations against Indonesia in 1965. Military service took him from Malaya to Whitehall with much campaigning in between. General Duffell was Commander British Forces in Hong Kong between 1989 and 1992 before becoming the British Army's Inspector General. On retirement he subsequently worked commercially in London, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, Moscow and elsewhere. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Trustee of the Foyle Foundation that supports the Arts. For some years he was a member of the advisory Board of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 

I have lectured widely on the history of the Gurkha Soldier and the history of Hong Kong, Malayan Emergency, Borneo Confrontation campaign, Jungle warfare, Brunei Emergency and  Nepal 

Experienced interviewee on Radio and Television

Lectured at National Army Museum, Chalk Valley History Festival, Oriental Club, Hong Kong Society etc. All lectures illustrated with Power Point presentations

Prepared to travel throughout UK to lecture -  and abroad if invited. I live in London and Salisbury

Can undertake written commissions for newspapers and magazines on Gurkhas and their campaigns throughout the 200 years of their history as well as on Hong Kong. My articles have appeared in Daily Telegraph, the Oldie, etc.

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