Indian Mutiny veterans of the 2nd (Prince of Wales' Own) Gurkha Regiment, 1880 (c)

Photograph by Bremmer, India, 1880 (c).

During the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859), the 2nd Gurkhas, then known as the Sirmoor Battalion, played a leading role in the siege and capture of Delhi. During the siege they garrisoned Hindu Rao's House on the Delhi Ridge and were subjected to repeated forays by the mutineers inside the city. The garrison was under continuous fire for over three months until the British had finally gathered enough men to assault Delhi in September 1857. During that period the Sirmoor Battalion suffered 327 casualties out of a total strength of 490, including eight of their nine British Officers. In 1876, the regiment became the 2nd (Prince of Wales' Own) Gurkha Regiment.