Ronald Cardew Duncan was born in 1886 and commissioned on 5 Aug 1905. He joined the 2nd Battalion 5th Goorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) as a 2nd Lieutenant on 4 Dec 1906, and was promoted to Lieutenant on 5 Nov 1907. He served on the NW Frontier in 1908, in operations in the Zakka Khel country. Lieutenant Duncan was appointed adjutant of the battalion from 17 Dec 1913. The 2nd Battalion 5th Goorkha Rifles fought to relieve Kut in Mesopotamia while the 1st Battalion lost more than 130 killed and wounded in Gallipoli. Duncan was promoted to captain in the 2nd Battalion on 5 Aug 1914. He was mentioned in despatches twice: London Gazette 27 Aug 1918 and 19 Jan 1920. The 2nd/5th Gurkhas achieved fame for their action in Waziristan when they suffered heavy casualties at Ahnai Tangi on 14 Jan 1920. Captain Duncan was awarded a brevet of Major 13 May 1919. In 1929 Major R C Duncan was the officer in charge of the King’s Indian Orderlies sent to London for the court season.
Lt-Colonel Duncan MVO OBE was appointed Brigadier and Commandant Jodhpur State Forces. In 1946 he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE). He was the author of History of the Jodhpur State Forces in the War 1939–45 by Major-General R C Duncan (Jodhpur Government Press 1946). He died in 1963.
