1914 Star. No clasp (No.3820 L.Nk. Jite Gurung, 2/8/Gurkha Rfls.)

Killed-in-Action: Rifleman Jite Gurung 2nd Battalion 8th Gurkha Rifles confirmed Killed-in-Action, at the Battle of Festubert, France, 30 October 1914

Festubert: 2/8 GR had barely been in France two weeks (they had disembarked at Marseilles on 14 October 1914), when they took their position in the 'Front-Line' at the Festubert on 29 October 1914, the eve preceding their bloody baptism of fire in the Great War. In their first - of what would become many battles against 'The Huns' - the 2/8 Gurkha Rifles suffered the below following casualties at Festubert on 30 October 1914:

- British Officers: x 9
- Gurkha Officers: x 5
- Gurkha Other Ranks: x 214

Jite Gurung, son of Lalsing Gurung, was a native of Arthar, Nawakot, Satung, Nepal, who held the appointmentof 'Lance-Naik' (Lance-Corporal) while serving with 2nd Battalion 8th Gurkha Rifles, an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army

The life, service and supreme sacrifice of Jite Gurug, is perpetuated in posterity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, where he is commemorated on one of the memorial panels of the CWGC 'Neuve Chapelle' Indian Memorial, located on the outskirts of the commune of Neuve-Chapelle, in the département of Pas-de-Calais. The memorial commemorates some 4,742 Indian soldiers with no known grave, who fell in battle while fighting for the British Indian Army in the First World War. The location of the memorial was chosen because of the participation by Indian troops at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle

During their service in Belgium & France 1914-15, the 2nd Battalion 8th Gurkha Rifles incurred terrible casualties (Killed, Died, Wounded & Missing), that the regimental history (Huxford) estimated as:

- British Officers: x 40
- Gurkha Officers: x 27
- Gurkha Other Ranks: x 1356

In spite of the high casualty rate incurred by the infantry units of the Indian Corps,in 1914, and in particular amongst the Gurkha battalions, extremely few 1914 Stars named to Gurkhas are known to be in private collections or seen on the market, and hence all can be considered extremely scarce, if not rare

Condition: About VF

Code: 21514