Rambahadur Limbu, 74, travelled from his home in Nepal to visit the town on Friday, where he was joined by other Gurkha veterans at the Broad Street Mall bus stop to hop aboard the purple 17 service.

Among the visitors waving him off was Reading East MP Rob Wilson, who said: “It was clear from the sheer number of people who came to see him how revered he is amongst both Gurkha veterans and the general public.

“His story is one of genuine gallantry and I’m incredibly grateful to have been invited to be a part of his special day.”

Mr Limbu was a Lance Corporal in the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles, during the Indonesian Confrontation in 1965.

On November 21, he was in an advance party of 16 Gurkhas when they encountered about 30 Indonesians holding a position on the top of a jungle-covered hill.

Mr Limbu went forward with two men, but when they were only 10 yards from the enemy machine-gun position, the sentry opened fire on them.

The Lance Corporal rushed forward and killed men with a grenade but the remaining enemy combatants then opened fire on the small party, wounding the two men with Mr Limbu.

Under heavy fire, the brave Gurkha made three journeys, two to drag his comrades to safety and one to retrieve their Bren gun, which he used to kill more of the enemy.

Reading Buses has given free travel to Gurkha veterans for the past five years and chief executive officer James Freeman said: “It has been an honour to support the Gurkha veterans who have done so much for this country.”

The visit was organised by Reading Buses driver Gyanraj Rai, who went on hunger strike for two weeks in November as part of the united Gurkha Satyagraha campaign, which is demanding equal pensions, compensation for years of neglect, equal pensions for Gurkha widows, the right to stay in Britain for adult children, and access to free medical treatment for Gurkhas who have retired in Nepal.

The hunger strike ended when the Government agreed to launch an inquiry into Gurkha rights.

Labour’s Reading East parliamentary candidate, Matt Rodda, said: “At present 81 Gurkha veterans and their partners are able to benefit from free bus travel as part of the council-owned company’s support for the Gurkha community.”