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Old 18th Jul 2014, 01:12
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DHfan
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Totally off topic but a possibly mildly interesting aside - until fairly recently my family were the nervous owners of a kukri.

My maternal grandfather returned from India after WWI armed with one. Apparently he was given it by a Ghurka in admiration or friendship although I didn't hear that directly, sadly by the time I would have been old enough to understand Parkinson's disease had made him pretty much incoherent. Grandma was terrified about having it - with six children in a two up, two down it's hardly surprising as she didn't want one of them to find it.

I didn't know until relatively recently that had been handed over to my parents at the earliest opportunity - which made my mum equally terrified if not more so. Mum's world record class at worrying...

Six or seven years ago Mum asked how she/we were going to get rid of it - I'd completely forgotten about it. I hadn't a clue but suggested the Ghurka museum. With our family's usual lightning reactions, a couple of years later I asked the museum in Winchester if they'd like it. After initially suggesting granddad bought it from a bazaar as a souvenir and a couple of other rebuffs I sent them some photos.

It turns out they've got issued military kukris a-plenty but this was a genuine Nepalese made hill kukri used by soldiers for their private use and they hadn't got one. They have now.

I'd love to know the story of granddad being given it but of course I never will.
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