DRAFT PRESS RELEASE
In the 1974 Defence Review, Her Majesty's Government
announced that, subject to consultations with the Sultan
of Brunei, the Gurkha battalion should be withdrawn from
Brunei; and that as part of the Army's manpower reductions
the Brigade of Gurkhas would be cut from 7000 to 6000 by
1 April 1979. (Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975 ·
Cmnd 5976, paragraphe 37 and 64). In amplification
US of S(Army) stated in a written Parliamentary answer in
May 1976 that the reduction would be achieved by an
amalgamation in the course of 1978 of the two battalions
of 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles.
The Sultan of Brunei and HMG agreed at talks held
in London in June that a battalion of Gurkha infantry will
continue to be stationed in Brunei for up to five years.
It has therefore been decided that the proposed amalgamation
should not take place, and that the Brigade will continue to
comprise five battalions, totalling about 6900 In audition
to the battalion in Brunei, three Gurkha battalions are
stationed in Hong Kong and one will continue to be stationed
in the United Kingdom.
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