The first ever auction of a Victoria Cross (VC)
awarded to a Gurkha soldier is expected to raise
at least 110,000 pounds to help poor children
in Nepal.
Agansing Rai, a veteran of the
famous battle for Imphal in World War II, lived
a humble life. He could have chosen a path of
luxury, simply by selling his VC. But it never
occurred to him. Now, four years after Agansing
Rai’s death, his VC is being sold. It is
the first Gurkha VC ever to be sold at auction.
His two sons and three daughters
will give the money to a charity that provides
welfare and education for Nepal’s desperate
children.
“What you can do with 110,000
pounds to help children in Nepal is fantastic,”
said Richard Bishop, a consultant at London auction
house Spink. “ We’re hoping the medal
raises even more.”
Rai was a 24-year-old corporal in the fifth Royal
Gurkha Rifles when he showed outstanding bravery
during the campaign against the Japanese in Burma
in June 1944.
There was fierce fighting around
Imphal. Rai and his men, who had already taken
heavy casualties, were ordered to capture an area
covered by the murderous fire of two machinegun
posts, 200 yards apart, and an artillery position.
As every minute passed, Gurkhas
were being cut down and Rai knew he had to attack
fast. The first machine-gun post could only be
approached by going up a hill in full view of
the enemy. With men dying all around him, Rai
stormed the post single-handed, killing three
of the four crew.
Then Rai led his men towards
the artillery position. Half of the Gurkhas were
killed but he charged on, silencing the gun. With
a tommy gun in one hand and a grenade in the other,
he took on the second machine-gun position, killing
all the enemies.
Bishop said: “It is likely
to be the only Gurkha Victoria Cross that is sold
at auction. Most of them are in museums and a
couple of them have been stolen from the men.”
Rai died in kathmandu at the
age of 80. Many turned out for his funeral procession.
He was always known as a quiet hero with a gentle
sense of humor. In 1971 Rai retired from the Indian
army with the honorary rank of captain. He went
back to the village of Amsara in eastern Nepal
where he was born, and lived with his wife and
children in a two-room house.
In 1986 he was presented to the
Queen when she made a state visit to Nepal.
Courtesy – The Himalayan
Times |
