Gurkha Doug tells his story:
AS Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley stood on the steps of Parliament in May 2009, she proudly declared: “Ayo Gurkhali.”
The cry is Gurkhan for “the Gurkhas are coming”, and was bellowed by the then 62-year-old actress after the news that all Gurkha veterans would be allowed to carry on living in the UK.
In Suffolk, an 87-year-old man was equally delighted to hear the news, having served as an officer with the Gurkhas during the Second World War.
Laxfield resident Doug Crooks, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, fought with the Gurkhas in Burma, the Middle East, Greece and Italy from 1941 to 1946.
“I’m still proud to consider myself a part of the Gurkhas, and am a member of the Gurkha Welfare Trust and the association,” he said.
Gurkhas, who originate from Nepal, have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years,
More than 200,000 have fought in the two world wars, and have served more recently in the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
So just how did Mr Crooks come to join the Gurkhas?
He was born in Hankou, China, in 1921, to parents who moved to the Far East from London.
After attending school in Southend, Mr Crooks moved back to China at the age of 16 to join the family exports business, despite having just met Irene - the pair married in 1944, and are still together to this day.
As the war broke out, Mr Crooks looked to emulate his brother, Raymond, a rear gunner in The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, by joining the army.
Despite initially being rejected by the British Indian Army after failing a medical test, he was eventually allowed to join the war effort six months later in 1941.
“After a period of quite enjoyable training, we were given a list of battalions needing officers, and I put the Gurkhas down as one of my three choices,” Mr Crooks said.
“I got the Gurkhas, and my battalion was to be the newly formed 3rd in the 7th Gurkha Rifles regiment.”
Following further training, Mr Crooks led his troops into Burma, with the mission being to halt the Japanese continuing their advance.
After losing scores of soldiers and his glasses, which rendered him partially sighted, what remained of the 3rd Battalion returned to India.
From there, the survivors moved onto Cairo in 1943, where they joined up with the newly reformed 2nd Battalion of the 7th Gurkha Rifles.
Then, in January 1944, Mr Crooks and his Gurkha soldiers rejoined the 4th Indian Division who were en route to the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
“The crossing was one of the roughest voyages I have ever had,” he said.
“The Gurkhas are not good sailors either, and they really suffered during the crossing.”
Nevertheless, Mr Crooks is adamant that such a weakness is an anomaly when it comes to the mental and physical toughness of the Gurkhas.
He said: “They are absolutely fantastic soldiers, and you couldn’t wish to be serving and fighting with a better bunch.
“They are just so brave, and will not run away from anything. They always gave us officers 100 per cent support, and there was never any arguing.”
Mr Crooks left the army in 1946 as a Major, as he “just wanted some home life.”
The war had seen his brother, Raymond, lose his life in December 1942, after being shot down over France whilst on the Turin Run.
“I didn’t find out about my brother’s death until about a year after it happened, and my parents thought that it was me who had died,” he said.
After retiring in 1983, Mr Crooks and his wife moved to East Anglia where he became well known as a bell ringer - a hobby he still pursues in Dennington, Badingham and Wilby.
He celebrated his 90th birthday in March of this year, and received a surprise visit from a recently retired Gurkha officer looking for information on the history of the Gurkhas.
Following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India and Britain meant four Gurkha regiments from the Indian army were transferred to the British Army, eventually becoming the Gurkha Brigade.
They now receive their training in England, which means that language is no longer a problem.
“During officer training we were having lessons in Hindustani, and although this helped as some words are similar to Gurkhali, I just had to pick up bits as I went along,” Mr Crooks said.