Photograph: Subedar Kishen Singh, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1944 (c).

A Subedar is the equivalent of a Captain in the British Army. Subedars generally commanded platoons. During the Second World War over 100,000 Gurkhas served in 40 battalions in battles in the Western Desert, Italy, Greece, Malaya, Singapore, India and Burma.

From a collection of photographs relating to World War Two (1939-1945).