| THE WW2 VICTORIA CROSS AWARDED TO NAIK AGANSING RAI, 5TH ROYAL GURKHA RIFLES, INDIAN ARMY, HAS BEEN SOLD AT AUCTION BY SPINK. |
|---|
| 22 July 2004 |
| The Victoria Cross, WW2 campaign medals and Indian medals of Naik Agansing Rai have been sold at auction by Spink of London for the sum of £115,000. The VC group was sold by the Rai family for the benefit of a charity the proceeds going towards a planned Trust for Education and Healthcare in Nepal. The VC group was bought on behalf of the Michael Ashcroft Trust, the holding institution for Lord Ashcroft's VC Collection. |
| Agansing Rai was born in Amsara in east Nepal on 24 April 1920. He enlisted in the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles ( Frontier Force ) in 1941 and, after joining the 2nd battalion, soon became a section commander with the rank of Naik ( corporal ). Following his service career, he lived quietly at his home some three days' walk from Katmandu. Subedar-Major and Honorary Captain Agansing Rai, VC, hero of the defence of Imphal, died on 27 May 2000, aged 81. In June 1944 the 17th Indian Division was still under intense pressure from the Japanese at Bishenpur, southwest of Imphal. Their supply route, a mere track running through the hills to Silchar, became a scene of bitter fighting. On the morning of June 25, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles ( Frontier Force ) was ordered to recapture an enemy position dominating the track. [ London Gazette, 5 October 1944 ], Burma, 26 June 1944, Rifleman ( acting Naik ) Agansing Rai, 2nd Bn, 5th Gurkha Rifles ( Frontier Force ), Indian Army.
In Burma on 24th and 25th June 1944, after fierce fighting, the enemy, with greatly superior forces had captured two posts known as "Water Piquet" and "Mortar Bluff". These posts were well sighted and were mutually supporting and their possession by the enemy threatened our communications. Agansing Rai was invested with his Victoria Cross from the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Lord Wavell in Peshawar, India, on the 23rd January 1945. |
Home Page
Iain Stewart, 22 July 2004