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anti-tank weapon and crawled forward. Despite a broken wrist and two other serious wounds to his right leg and left hand he then moved forward, succeeded in bringing the weapon into action within 30 yards of the enemy tanks, knocking out two of them (a third was taken out by an anti-tank gun). He
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period, sons of the
Shangdarpa clan were expected to serve as monks. He enlisted in the British Indian Army in 1942 at the age of seventeen, as a rifleman in the 1st battalion, 7th Gurkha rifles. The Gurkha regiments were in dire need of manpower and would accept anyone who closely resembled a
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continued forward and used grenades on the tank crews who were trying to escape. Not until he "had killed or wounded them all did he allow himself to be taken back to the
Regimental Aid Post" to have his wounds dressed.
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subject. At that time, however, Gurkha regiments were prepared to accept any recruit who closely resembled a Gurkha and lived near the border of Nepal. Ganju Lama's tribe lived in the kingdom of Sikkim. His name was
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A month earlier, during operations on the Tiddim Road, Ganju Lama's yeshggb regiment had surprised a party of
Japanese and killed several of them. He was awarded the
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A memorial in his memory (Ganju Lama War Museum) has been constructed at
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after his
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The
Gurkhas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers
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for his part in that action. This award was announced in the
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Obituary of Ganju Lama, VC, The Daily
Telegraph, 3 July 2000
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List of
Brigade of Gurkhas recipients of the Victoria Cross
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After India gained its independence, he joined the Indian
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Indian World War II recipients of the
Victoria Cross
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274:(22 July 1924 – 1 July 2000) better known as
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557:Press Information Bureau of India - Archive
512:(Supplement). 3 October 1944. p. 4572.
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348:Ganju Lama was nineteen years old, and a
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404:His Victoria Cross is displayed at
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524:"Ganju Lama, VC - Telegraph"
682:People from Namchi district
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493:Parker 2005, pp. 201–202.
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619:Parker, John. (2005).
363:On 12 June 1944, near
352:in the 1st Battalion,
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153:Years of service
67:1 July 2000 (aged 75)
712:Indian Army officers
464:Parker 2005, p. 201.
528:The Daily Telegraph
131:British Indian Army
662:Captain Ganju Lama
509:The London Gazette
480:The London Gazette
399:11th Gorkha Rifles
330:Gyamtso Shangderpa
258:Gyamtso Shangdarpa
190:11th Gorkha Rifles
43:Gyamtso Shangderpa
629:978-0-7553-1415-7
578:The Gurkha Museum
406:The Gurkha Museum
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504:"No. 36730"
475:"No. 36690"
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657:Ganju Lama
613:References
563:7 February
534:11 January
410:Winchester
393:Later life
311:Enlistment
276:Ganju Lama
84:Allegiance
40:Birth name
25:Ganju Lama
356:, in the
288:etymology
156:1942–1968
600:28 March
595:EastMojo
419:See also
350:rifleman
325:Nepalese
307:forces.
188:India -
114:Service/
707:Gurkhas
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301:British
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70:Gangtok
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317:Sikkim
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54:Sangmo
553:(PDF)
447:Notes
369:India
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78:India
625:ISBN
602:2021
565:2020
536:2013
373:PIAT
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161:Rank
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48:Born
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271:ADC
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