A prominent figure who joined the 4th Gurkha Rifles as a regular officer during the thirties, was the author John Masters, who participated in operations on the North West Frontier, in Iraq (where he served as battalion adjutant), the Second Chindit Operation, the capture of Mandalay and at one point commanded the 3rd Battalion of the regiment. His autobiographical books "Bugles and a Tiger", "The Road past Mandalay", and "Pilgrim's Son" portray life in the Indian Army and the 4th Gurkha Rifles during this period. Masters won a Military Cross (MC), and Distinguished Service Order (DSO), in Burma, and after the war become a celebrated writer.