The Durand Medal Winner 2026 – Warrant Officer Class Two Roshan Budha Magar

By Warrant Officer Class Two Roshan Budha Magar, The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers

Receiving the Durand Medal as a member of The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers (QGE) from Major General J L Clark CBE (Colonel QGE), alongside the Commandant QGE and Gurkha Major, was a truly immense honour. The award of Durand Medal was presented during the QGE Birthday Celebration on 28 September at Invicta Park Barracks.

A heartfelt thank you to the amazing bunch of people who have supported and mentored me throughout my journey, and to those who believed in me enough to put my name forward as a nominee.

My career has taught me that failure is not the opposite of success; it is part of learning. Understanding our failures, learning from them and using those lessons to influence others is what makes us better leaders.

The Durand Medal is one of the oldest established Institution prizes. It was instituted as a memorial to Major General Sir Henry Durand KCSI CB, who died in an accident on 1 January 1871, whilst holding the appointment of Lieutenant General Governor of Punjab.

The award falls to the QGE in rotation every third year and is given to an Officer, NCO or Sapper, who, in the opinion of the Commandant, has most “distinguished himself as a Soldier and Sapper by good and efficient service”. A complete record of recipients since its inception in 1882 is maintained in the Royal Engineers Library, Chatham.