The Brigade of Gurkhas serving, veterans, family and friends gathered in large numbers this in Aldershot for the Brigade Bhela and Nepal Cup final.
The Brigade Bhela event was first run in 2006 in Aldershot and it has become a major event in the calendar for the Gurkha community.
The event saw all ranks join together from across the Brigade and a great opportunity for our veteran community and families to come together on a day of glorious sunshine. There were a number of trade stands and momo stall and a very popular Nepalese food stall serving various dishes food all day.
Activities during the day included:
- Kathmandu Football Cup for Veterans.
- Ladies Volleyball competition with teams of wives from each unit across the Brigade.
- Mens demonstration Volleyball
- Khukuri and Taekwondo Display by Gurkha Recruit Intake 22, who had travelled all the way down from Catterick.
- The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas entertained the crowds with two marching band displays.
- Fun Fair.
- Nepalese food stalls and drink stalls.
- Local trade and information stands.
- Gurkha veteran association stands.
- The Nepal Cup Final.
The big attraction of the day was the Nepal Cup Final. A competition that dates back to 1948 when it was first presented by the Prime Minister of Nepal.
The modern competition is played over a few weeks across the UK with the final taking place at the Bhela event. This year the final was between the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers (QGE) and the Queen’s Gurkha Signals. A tough competitive game with the several thousand in attendance at the event drawn to watch from the sidelines.
QGE won on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time.
