Gurkha Officer Reaches 100 years old
One of the most renowned British Officers in the history of the Brigade of Gurkhas Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) (Retd) J P Cross OBE has reached 100 years old on 21 June 2025. A Gurkha legend with a lifetime and the extraordinary activity. The occasion was marked with a celebration at the British Gurkhas Nepal camp in Pokhara.
Lt Col John Philip Cross, popularly known as JP Cross, served together with the Gurkhas in the British Army for nearly 40 years, when he earned legendary respect because of his experience, leadership and devotion to his units. Following retirement from a very rich service accounting numerous deployments, he has been living in Nepal for the last 49 years, the latter years as an official Nepali citizen. Now fond of being called a ‘Nepali born in Britain’.
He is recognised as an expert in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency, with experience as a police officer, defence attaché, and Gurkha recruitment officer. He is also a highly skilled linguist, fluent in Nepali and its dialects. His military service spans Burma, Indo-China, Malaya, Borneo, Pakistan, India, Hong Kong, and Nepal, among other regions.
He has written 19 books on his lifelong military service and experience. In his remarks and recollections, he has always held the Gurkhas in high esteem. His passion for Nepal, its people and the Gurkhas has cemented his name in Nepal and the Gurkha community, while his knowledge expressed in his writing has gained recognition in the wider military world.
Addressing the event attended by Mrs Julia Fenn, wife of the British Ambassador to Nepal, Gurkha veterans and serving officers and staff, Colonel Dan Rex MVO, Commander British Gurkhas Nepal remarked how the milestone celebration resonated beyond the camp in Pokhara to all of the Brigade of Gurkhas and British Army. He said, “It is also a moment being closely watched and related by many Nepalis who are proud of their association with J P Saheb”.
Birthday wishes to J P Saheb sent from the Gurkha communities around the world were screened at the event. General (Retd) Sir Sam Cowan KCB, CBE, the former and first Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas, in his message, elevated the address to J P Saheb from a ‘legend’ to an ‘icon’ “in the sense as a person representative of all that Brigade of Gurkhas stands for, as a person worthy of veneration and of the highest respect.”
He now lives a settled life in Pokhara, Nepal, the home of Gurkha recruitment, with his surrogate son and family.
