In the Gurkhas and Sikhs of India it found the men that made winning armies.
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But it is, perhaps, no odder than the position of the Gurkhas in their own country.
Former Gurkhas and their families in Reading are to get help in accessing health and social care.
"The Gurkhas and their families are held in very high regard by the community in Brecon, " he said.
The Home Office says it has tried to be as fair as possible to all ex-servicemen, including Gurkhas.
The Brigade of Gurkhas is based at Shorncliffe, near Folkestone, Kent, although one infantry battalion has its barracks in Brunei.
Mr Brown has argued that, under the current system, about 10, 000 Gurkhas and their families will be entitled to settle.
Nepalese have looked beyond their borders for work ever since the British started recruiting Gurkhas early in the last century.
Ms Lumley, whose father was a Gurkha officer, fronted a successful campaign for UK settlement rights for the Gurkhas in 2009.
Veteran Gurkhas have been in the news lately because of Joanna Lumley's efforts to get them the right to settle in Britain.
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The Gurkha Company (Mandalay) is stationed at Dering Lines, Brecon, and the Gurkhas were made honorary citizens of the town in 1985.
Brecon mayor Paul Ashton said it would be a "very sad day" if some of the Gurkhas had to leave the town.
Then I spent some time with the Gurkhas who are based here.
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Nina Gurung, who carried out the University of Kent study, says it is a "relatively stable and comfortable" job for former Gurkhas.
Actress Joanna Lumley has received an award from a county with a special association with the Gurkhas for her work with their veterans.
Britain gets by in part thanks to foreigners: Commonwealth citizens (who made up more than 6% of soldiers in 2007), Irish recruits and Gurkhas.
About 1, 000 veterans and their family members currently live in Reading and have been based there since 2007, according to the Forgotten British Gurkhas organisation.
He said he wants to do more for the Gurkhas but that any further promises must be affordable and not undermine the government's wider immigration policies.
In addition to it being familiar territory, there are practical reasons why so many Gurkhas are attracted to security jobs, which are often low-paid and involve antisocial hours.
Beyond the camp, at each point of the compass, Nepalese Gurkhas hired by DynCorp maintained sentry positions in foxholes and in sandbagged machine-gun nests on the roofs of trucks.
Meanwhile, the former head of the Army, Sir Mike Jackson, said the Gurkhas were being hit by defence cuts because of their success in boosting their pay and conditions.
The government has said it would process all current applications by Gurkhas for residency by the end of May and review the criteria for residency before MPs' summer recess.
The Gurkhas' solicitor, Martin Howe, says the case has dragged on for so long that seven or eight Gurkhas who applied for entry into the UK have already died.
The judge told a courtroom packed with Gurkhas and their families that "an authoritative decision of this court as to whether or not the policy is unlawful" will be made by the end of September 2008.
The Gurkha Veteran Centre, in Queens' Walk, is supported by the charity The Forgotten British Gurkhas and staffed by seven volunteer veterans who provide help and advice in a range of areas, including housing, benefits and form-filling.
Her reception was a thank you for heading a campaign that persuaded the British government to change its mind and allow United Kingdom residency to Nepali Gurkhas who had served in the British army but had retired before 1997.
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