ONE of the British Army’s most loved regiments will strike up the band once more as it brings its rousing military marching music back to the North East.
The Band of the Brigade of the Gurkhas will return to Darlington for the 14th year running, on October 7, for an annual fundraising concert to help provide welfare, healthcare and pensions for retired soldiers and military widows in Nepal.
Organised by the chairman of the Yorkshire branch of The Gurkha Welfare Trust, Lt Col Keith Ryding, of West Burton, near Leyburn, the concert will feature an eclectic mix of military, folk and band music culminating in the Brigade of the Gurkhas March.
“To date more than 5,000 people have enjoyed performances by The Band of the Brigade of the Gurkhas in Darlington, with many of them returning year after year,” said Col Ryding, who served alongside the Gurkhas for nine years with the Queen’s Gurkha Signal Regiment and Parachute Company.
“We keep coming here as the people are so supportive of the cause and rightly so as over the past 13 years the band has never failed to deliver a highly entertaining evening filled with the warmth, enthusiasm and sense of fun that only the Gurkhas can create.”
In addition to the musical renditions, the performance will also include the famous Kukri knife dance with the flash of sharpened steel adding extra zest to the evening’s entertainment.
Once again the concert is being sponsored by family Vauxhall dealer Sherwoods whose managing director Alasdair MacConachie has close links with the Gurkha regiment.
“The Gurkhas are fantastic soldiers,” said Mr MacConachie, whose father commanded a Gurkha battalion in Burma.
“They are a privilege to work with and to support both here in the UK and in Nepal.”
This year marks the 199th anniversary of the recruitment of the Gurkhas into the British Army with special celebrations being planned for next year’s bicentenary.
To mark the auspicious occasion a number of Gurkha celebrations will take place across the country including a display at Buckingham Palace and a grand pageant attended by members of the royal family including the Queen and patron of The Gurkha Welfare Trust Prince Charles.
“Here in the North East the Gurkha Welfare Trust is planning to relocate our concert from Darlington, for the first time, to Durham Cathedral to celebrate the 200th anniversary,” said Col Ryding.
“We are also hoping to have Joanna Lumely, who is a staunch supporter of the Gurkhas, as our special guest.
“So this will be the last chance until 2016 for people in Darlington to come along and see the magnificent Band of the Brigade of the Gurkhas which has become a real must see event.”
Tickets for the concert on Tuesday October 7 at 7pm are available from the Dolphin Centre on (01325) 388406, Sherwoods on (01325) 466155 or the Gurkha Welfare Trust on (01969) 663551, price £12 and £7.50 (£10.00 and £6.00 for senior citizens and children aged 16 and under).
