There's a Nepali face on one of a series of six British Post stamps released to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross. The VC, awarded without regard to rank, is the highest British decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy. The Royal Mail stamp, issued in September, features Rifleman (Acting Naik) Agansingh Rai from the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force), who was awarded the VC for his "brave act of leadership in Burma on 26 June, 1944".

The stamps were chosen to represent various segments of the British Army, explains Didy Graham, Secretary of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. "From the Gurkha Regiment, it was tough to decide whose face should go on the stamps," she says. "Everyone had an amazing tale of bravery, but we decided on Agansingh Rai as a representative of the whole Regiment." Selection is only made from among the deceased, as, with the exception of the British Queen, Royal Mail does not issue stamps featuring people who are still alive.

The choice was made from a total of 1,351 VC awardees, of which 26 are from the Gurkha Regiment. There are 13 Gurkha VC holders from Nepal, four of whom are still alive. Historians of the GR such as Major Gerald Lawrence Davies, Curator of Winchester's Gurkha Museum, point out Nepalis were only thus recognised from 1912 on. "Before 1911, the list contains only the British officers who were serving in command of Gurkhas. Before 1900, the VC was not awarded posthumously.

We] do not know how long the list would have been had these two conditions not applied,"' writes John Chapple in The Story of Gurkha VCs Gurkhas have been serving the British Crown since 1815, and in 1957, their numbers reached 15,000. Today the number of Gurkhas serving in the British Army is limited to 3,200.

The stamp was issued as ex-Gurkhas, taking advantage of a change in regulations, are migrating in large numbers to the UK to take up work as security guards and bus drivers, among others. British Nepalis will doubtless pay more attention to the stamps they use to mail their greeting cards, bills, and other correspondence this winter.

Deepa Rai in London