Queen's Gurkha regiment reformed after 27 years in Great Britain

A new structure for the Queen's Gurkha Engineers and 36 Engineer Regiment has seen the rebirth of an old squadron and a number of other changes.

The Royal Engineers Band set the scene to mark the important chapter at Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone, Kent.

Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Castro, Commanding Officer 36 Engineer Regiment, said: "The regiment is still 36 Engineer Regiment, and we're still a hybrid regiment, both with Gurkha soldiers but also UK soldiers.

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"Live, move and fight, effectively, is our motto. We help people survive in difficult environments.

"We help people move through the battlefield and we sustain them.

"We've reformed an additional squadron, an additional Gurkha squadron and got another squadron to do a different task for the regiment. So, a really special time." he added.

This is the first time that 67 Gurkha Field Squadron has been reformed – and the first time it has existed in the UK – since it was disbanded in the 1990s when the Brigade of Gurkhas left Hong Kong. 

The changes also include the reforming of 61 Field Support Squadron which was closed in 2018 as the newly formed 20 Field Support Squadron.

Major Beresford said: "Today we've reformed 67 Gurkha squadron, the first time the squadron has been in existence for 27 years, the first time that it's existed in the UK.

"It is also the 75th anniversary of the Queen's Gurkha Engineers existing in the Army."