Security firm Octavian Security has taken on the Himalayan task of finding quality staff by hiring 20 ex-British Gurkha Brigade servicemen.

The workers, picked from a training camp in Nepal, will be appointed to manned security positions across the UK, as part of industrial on-site security teams and rapid response industrial and construction site teams.

The Gurkha regiment stems from military disputes between Britain and the city-state of Gorkha, in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the war, a deep feeling of mutual respect and admiration developed between the British and their adversaries.

As a result of the Peace Treaty of Sugauli in 1816, large numbers of Gurkhas were able to volunteer for service in the East India Company’s Army, before it came under the jurisdiction of the Crown in the mid-19th century. The first regiments of The Gurkha Brigade were formed from these initial volunteers.

Octavian Security managing director Sukhi Ghuman praised his new recruits. “The role of a security officer is changing all the time,” he said. “This may also involve learning to use technical equipment and adopting a professional and flexible approach to operations.

“Ex-Gurkhas have all of these qualities in bundles,” he added.