Gurkha war hero's agony
By TOM NEWTON DUNN
Defence Editor
MUSEUM chiefs have broken a Gurkha war hero’s heart by refusing to let him see his treasured Victoria Cross one final time.
Fearless Lieutenant Tulbahadur Pun, 89, won the nation’s top medal for bravery during World War II.
Aged just 21, he single-handedly stormed two Japanese armed positions with his Bren Gun blazing from his hip after his comrades were wiped out in Burma.
Now the ageing hero — who lives in poverty in Nepal — has begged his old Army regiment’s museum to send him his medal so he can wear it with pride before he dies.
But museum bosses have refused, saying the VC no longer belongs to him.
Tulbahadur — one of only 12 winners of the VC still alive — is too unwell to travel to the UK.
He said he handed over the medal to the Gurkha Museum in Winchester, Hants, for safekeeping in the ’70s on officers’ advice.
He told The Sun: “Until 1995, I used to go to the UK and wear my Victoria Cross. Now I would like to wear it again before I leave the Earth — I can’t understand why they won’t let me.”
The grandfather of 15 is forced to spend all his VC pension on medicines for his heart problems.
London barrister Rebekah Wilson, who is representing him, said: “The medal is something he cherishes. Time is not on his side and I think it would be shameful if he did not get to see his medal again.”
But Gurkha Museum curator Gerald Davies said: “Tulbahadur Pun’s medal has been donated to the museum by his regimental association.
“We have a duty of care to ensure this medal is available to the public to see and it is secure.”
The citation for Tulbahadur’s VC praises his “outstanding courage and superb gallantry” in capturing the Japanese machine-gun posts and killing three enemies.