A GOVERNMENT decision to increase Gurkha pensions is a great tribute to a South Tawton man who dedicated a large part of his life to the regiment — but he died before he got to hear the good news, West Devon and Torridge MP, John Burnett, said this week.

Mr Burnett, who promised Colonel Dominic Neill during his election campaign in 1997 he would raise the issue of Gurkha pensions if he got into Parliament, said he was pleased there had been an increase, but would continue to fight to bring Gurkha pensions more in line with British soldiers.

Former Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles, Colonel Neill, 78, was taken ill the same day as the MP received a letter from the Minister of State for Armed Forces, John Spellar, saying the pensions would double. He died before he knew this particular battle had been won.

Mr Burnett, a former Royal Marine who met Colonel Neill 30 years ago during service in Borneo, said the country owed a debt of gratitude to the Gurkhas that it could never repay.

'We have to keep going on this one to continue to improve the terms and conditions of Gurkhas,' he said.

'It is not only about the debt of honour we owe, but the money will help the conditions and economy in Nepal which is one of the poorest countries in the world.'

The MP said there was huge support for the Gurkhas in the House of Commons and the British troops had great respect for them.

'I have raised this issue time and time again since I made that promise to Colonel Neill and it is a great tribute to him that something has now been done.'

The level of pension Gurkhas with 15 years service will receive from April 1 is between £750 per year for ranks below corporal and £3,700 for a major. A British soldier below the rank of corporal receives £15,192 per year.

The increases are related to the terms and conditions within a tri-partite agreement between the Indian, British and Nepalese Governments.

Colonel Neill's wife, Margaret, whose father and two brothers were also in the Gurkhas, said her husband was tremendously proud of his regiment which he served in for 32 years.

Because the pensions were 'so pitiful' the couple had been supporting pensions for two Gurkha soldiers for the past two years, she said.

'Nick would have been delighted with this decision and I am very grateful to Mr Burnett for taking up the case,' she said.

She said such was the desire to join the Gurkhas that thousands of people came down from the hills in Nepal to be accepted into the British Gurkha regiment — but only 230 were taken this year.

'The Gurkhas are immensely loyal and have enormous courage and bravery,' she said.

Their motto, translated from Nepalese, is 'Better to die than be a coward,' added Mrs Neill.

In an obituary in a national newspaper recently Colonel Neill, recipient of the Military Cross and OBE, was noted for his skill and daring and dedication to the soldiers of the 2nd Gurkha, a title synonymous with courage.

Colonel Neill led successful operations against Indonesian forces in the 1960s and was expected to receive the DSO but it was not to be.

It was widely believed this resulted from his decision to place the life of a seriously wounded NCO above political expediency.