Officers and men of Brigadier General Gough’s Brigade taken in the square of Shah Shujah’s...

A group of officers and men of Brigadier General Charles Gough’s Brigade taken in the square of Shah Shujah’s old Palace, 1880. Photograph by John Burke, 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1880. Gurkhas, tribesmen of Nepal, had fought for the armies of British India ever since 1817, having impressed their British opponents in the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-1816. Although technically mercenaries, their reputation for steadfast loyalty had been enhanced during the Mutiny of the Bengal Army of 1857-1859, and by the time of the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880) such was their fighting prowess that Gurkha regiments were among the first to which General Roberts turned in a crisis. Here, gathered within the Bala Hissar on the terrace of Shah Shujah’s Palace, bandsmen of the 2nd (Prince of Wales’s Own) Regiment of Gurkhas watch as the officers of Brigadier-General Charles Gough’s Brigade pose for the camera. From an album of 61 photographs compiled by Lieutenant-Colonel C A Mercer, 4th Gurkha Regiment.