Members of the Royal Gurkha Rifles in Helmand, 2006

Photograph, Afghanistan, 2006.

Gurkha soldiers are recruited from Nepal in the Himalaya. Each year over 17,000 applicants volunteer at the British Gurkha Camp in Pokhara. Of these only about 230 of the very best candidates are successful. Gurkha soldiers are paid around 50 times the Nepalese average wage so their service with the British Army helps support thousands of people in their mountain homeland. They are commanded by British officers who are expected to speak Nepali after attending a language course in Nepal.

From a compact disc of multi-media associated with Royal Gurkha Rifles, Helmand, Afghanistan, 2006.