Namaste

His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester KG

Welcome to the website of The Britain-Nepal Society.

As President of the society, I welcome the launch of the Society’s new website. I am sure that the informative text and stunning photographs will help to spread the word about Nepal – a country for which we all care deeply. I hope too that it will help to attract new members to The Society and continue to instil a deeper understanding and friendship between our two countries.

– His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester KG, GCVO
President

Dear Friend of Nepal,

The Britain-Nepal Society fosters friendly relations between the two countries and organises a mainly London-based programme of lectures, meetings and other events relating to Nepal.

Please explore the website and feel free to contact us on secretary@britainnepalsociety.org if you would like more information on our activities.

– Andrew Sparkes CMG
Chairman

Special Mention

BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY COVID-RELIEF APPEAL

Most Nepalis live in relative poverty. But in 2020 the knock-on effects of COVID-19 have put the most disadvantaged in danger of starvation.

Dear members and friends

As you will know or can well imagine, hardship in Nepal has » Continue Reading.

FIELD MARSHAL SIR JOHN CHAPPLE GCB CBE DL – 1931 to 2022

With much regret his family has announced that Field Marshal Sir John Chapple died peacefully at home on 25 th March 2022 after a short illness. Sir John had a most distinguished military career culminating in his appointment in 1988 as Chief of the General Staff. The Field Marshal was 90.

Educated at Haileybury and Trinity College Cambridge, John Chapple was commissioned into the 2 nd KEO Gurkha Rifles in 1954. He commanded the First Battalion of his Regiment in the early 70’s and went on to fulfil a number of important command and staff appointments including Commander British Forces Hong Kong coupled with that of Major General Brigade of Gurkhas, Director of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence and Commander-in- Chief United Kingdom Land Forces.

Following his retirement from the Army in 1992 Sir John was promoted Field Marshal and served as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar between 1993 and 1995. He was a Vice Lord Lieutenant of Greater London between 1997 and 2005. Among a wide range of other appointments, he was a Commissioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and President of the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation and the Combined Services Polo Association.

The Field Marshal was a committed regimental officer and a strong supporter of the Gurkha soldier, his welfare and heritage and his homeland of Nepal. He was Colonel of his Regiment 1986-1994. The Field Marshal is survived by his wife, Annabel and their four children, David, Rachel, Kate and Sasha.

Sir John Chapple was a lifelong conservationist and took an active role in many associated organisations including Presidency of the Zoological Society, Trustee of WWF and Chairman of the UK Trust for Nature Conservation in Nepal. He also served on the Council of the National Army Museum and was a Vice Patron of the Gurkha Museum at Winchester. He was an avid collector of military memorabilia and a very keen birdwatcher. His keen scholarship and varied interests and leadership in a remarkable range of broader endeavours were widely recognised and deeply appreciated.

Details of the Field Marshal’s Family funeral and Memorial Service will be announced in due course. Messages of condolences may be sent to:

Lady Chapple
The Bridges
Bishopstone
Salisbury SP5 4BS

David Chapple (Son)
Ferngrove House
Bishopstone,
Salisbury SP5 4BU
(dclchapple@gmail.com.com)

Lobbying for UK Assistance to Help Nepal Tackle its Devastating Second Wave of COVID-19

Dear members and friends of BNS

As you will know, Nepal has been hit grievously by a second wave of COVID-19. It has spread out from Kathmandu- where already all hospital beds are full and oxygen is desperately short, to the villages where there is very little capacity to help victims at all. The country risks being overwhelmed. The Prime Minister, KP Oli, has appealed directly for British help- see this Guardian article: Nepal is being overwhelmed by Covid. We need help | KP Sharma Oli | The Guardian. Nepal’s Ambassador to the UK Lokdarshan Regmi has provided a detailed list of requirements and appealed to the UK for 2 million doses of vaccine.

Already the various other organisations representing friends of Nepal, Nepali expatriates, the British and Nepali Gurkha family are gearing up with petitions and calls for HMG to respond to this need. For our part, Nick Hinton as Chairman or BRANNGO and I have attended several online briefing meetings on the crisis and we have written to the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nepal, Virendra Sharma MP, who also monitors Uk aid spend in the Parliamentary International Development Committee, to ask him to mobilise Nepal’s friends in Parliament and remind HMG that our relationship with Nepal is special. Many developing countries are suffering with COVID. But only Nepal for 200 years has been supplying, and continues to supply, crack soldiers for our army. When Nepal, is in need, we should come to the rescue.

The text of the letter Nick and I have sent is attached. If you would like to make a difference, please write to your own MPs, drawing on this material and the KP Oli letter. Please do not just attach our letter to a one line covering letter to your MP. I know from experience in Whitehall that whilst that is better than nothing, it will not be as effective as a personal letter from you to the MP, with any points you personally wish to make. The MP will then forward the letter to the decision maker, the Rt Hon Dominic Raab the Foreign and Development Secretary, and Mr Raab’s department the FCDO will draft a reply to the MP for signature by Mr Raab or one of his Ministers. A personalised letter will make much more of an impact and is more likely to get a bespoke rather than a standard reply.

In addition, please do add your names to the various petitions now underway.

With your help we were able in a modest way to help with food aid and equipment for Nepal in its (relatively limited) first wave, through our COVID Relief Appeal which disbursed £30,000. That was a great effort for a Society of our size and we will consider what more we can do. But given the scale of this second wave what we can do financially is just a drop in the ocean. Where we can make most difference is in lobbying HMG. Please lend your voice to the cause.

With best wishes

Andy

Andy Sparkes
CMG Chairman

Letter to MP Vivendra Sharma (PDF)

The
Britain-Nepal
Society

Namaste

Special Mention

BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY COVID-RELIEF APPEAL

Follow Us

The
Britain-Nepal
Society

Promoting friendship between the peoples of the United Kingdom and Nepal

Namaste

Special Mention

BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY COVID-RELIEF APPEAL

Follow Us

TheBritain-NepalSociety

Promoting friendship between the peoples of the United Kingdom and Nepal

The
Britain-Nepal
Society