Hampshire Cultural Trust

Hampshire Cultural Trust was awarded £20,000 for the ‘100 Thank Yous’ project, by the Trust as part of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund: Local Grants programme in 2018.

As well as building an understanding of the role of Gurkha soldiers in World War I in its centenary year, the project aim was also to increase cultural understanding and integration between the Nepalese community and the local community in Aldershot and the surrounding areas.

The project worked with local young people from local secondary schools and a sixth form college, members of the Nepalese community from Maddhat Shamuha/Nepalese Help and serving members of 10 The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (10 QOGLR).

The young people met with both the Gurkhas and the Nepalese community, spent time with the community and interviewed them to gain greater knowledge and appreciation of their community, customs and tradition, and their pride in serving in the British Army.

The young people also spoke to serving Gurkhas about their predecessors in the regiment, and what it meant to be a soldier in World War I. One serving Gurkha told the young people “The legacy…we are trying our best to carry out that legacy that they left.” 

The young people then visited The Gurkha Museum in Winchester to further their understanding of the regiment, and the role that the Gurkhas played in conflict in the past, and in modern day warfare.

Project participants then took part in creative workshops, led by professional artists, musicians and poets to produce creative work based on their experiences of speaking with the Gurkhas and spending time with the Nepalese community. Some students created poetry and artwork; others composed pieces together with professional musicians. A series of ceramic rhododendrons, the national flower of Nepal, were also created. A group of other students made a film depicting the lives of the Gurkha soldiers and their families.

One of the staff at Cove School, near Farnborough in Hampshire, whose students took part in the project, commented: “The students have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and learnt so much! They have touched upon some aspects of the project during their history lessons but nowhere near the level of detail that is covered in this project. The students have such a positive work dynamic in how they are supportive and encouraging everyone to participate – it has been a joy to observe!”

After completion, the exhibition of creative works was then shown to a private audience to celebrate the culmination of the project, and then displayed at Aldershot Military Museum. The project was also shared online via YouTube, so a wider audience were able to view and enjoy the pieces of creative work.

As well as creating links between the local and the Nepalese community, and forging greater understanding and friendship between the two, the aim of the project was to inspire greater confidence and self-esteem in the young people who took part in the project.

18 students took part in a self-assessment questionnaire at the beginning and the end of the project, and at the end, 13 students scored themselves more highly on confidence, speaking in front of a group, working in a group, feeling part of a community, sharing ideas, knowing skills and strengths, sharing ideas, being creative and artistic, having history skills and having research/interviewing skills.

Following the culmination of the project, Hampshire Cultural Trust have now made a commitment to all the communities and individuals that took part in this project to continue the relationship and to ensure the connections between the communities remain and thrive.

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