GRANDFATHER OF THE GURKHAS

In his second exclusive dispatch from Pokhara, Nepal, LORD ASHCROFT meets the 100-year-old British Army veteran who served in the Burma Campaign... and whose words of wisdom prepare new recruits heading to Britain for their training

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AS MY taxi arrives at his home on the outskirts of the Nepalese city of Pokhara, I am greeted by a true British Army legend. Dressed in a dark green double-breasted mufti jacket and sporting a Brigade of Gurkhas red and green striped tie is Lieutenant Colonel J.P. Cross, OBE.

The retired officer is standing in his drive using two walking sticks to support his frail frame. Sporting a traditional Nepali dhaka topi hat, he playfully salutes me before I have even stepped out of my silver 4x4 vehicle. After shaking my hand, he points to his large two-storey stone home and informs me: "I walk around this house 100 times every morning - that's seven miles."

That is, in fact, one lap of his home for every year of his life. For Colonel Cross is 100 years old and, despite being almost blind, his mind is incredibly sharp and he displays an astonishing memory for key dates and facts from his life.

As an admirer of the gallantry, professionalism and loyalty of the Gurkhas for many decades, I visited Colonel Cross because I wanted to know more about the famous warriors from the man who has worked with them for more than 80 years. I also wanted to learn more about his extraordinary life.

Even now, Colonel Cross is asked to give an annual lecture to the new Gurkha recruits before they fly from Nepal every February for nine months of infantry training in Catterick, North Yorkshire. The Brigade of Gurkhas, which has its recruiting centre in Pokhara, knows he is so well respected that the recruits will listen to his every word.

"I began lecturing the new Gurkha recruits both for the British Army and the Singapore Police in 2002 and since then 8,119 young men have listened to what I have to say. I don't really give the British Army recruits advice, but I do tell them what to expect and how to conquer their fears," he said.