A Signalman Remembers

A Signalman Remembers

R.Cole

In 1947 I was a National Serviceman serving in the Royal Signals in Seremban ,Malaya.My actual job was NCO i/c Squadron Transport which comprised two jeeps and one 15cwt.Dodge truck and a motorbike! ,like the majority of British Army units in Malaya at that time we were short of equipment and personnel. Our Squadron had the usual breakdown of R/T,Cypher and Line but these were little more than token units.We ran the communications of the Seremban Army Camp but due to lack of personnel most of the telephone switchboards were staffed by local civilian employees,mainly Chinese and Eurasians,who also filled many of the clerical positions. Our actual ration strength was 75 but we were 30% below this which allowed our cook to produce very good food for us by bartering the surplus with the locals for things like poultry and fruit.

Being a Signals unit,our approach to soldiering was somewhat casual and apart from one Sgt.who fancied himself as a budding Guards RSM,discipline was easy,not slack just easy. Providing our various duties were performed properly and our barracks and ourselves kept neat and orderly we were allowed to do pretty much as we wished within camp. Leaving camp for a night in town could be a bit tricky depending on which of the various infantry units resident were doing guard duty but as our CO allowed us to wear civilian clothes into town,haircuts were about the only thing a zealous guard commander could stop us for. As I recall,each infantry unit did gate duty for a week turn and turn about,us Signals,of course,were too highly trained to have our talents wasted in this way. Nice for us but not too popular with the rest of the camp population. The R/T and Cypher units were manned by us 24hrs. a day with a despatch rider always on duty so I suppose this made up for us not doing guard duty.

The only fly in the ointment of our,for the Army,idyllic existence was the 26th Field Regiment,Royal Artillery stationed at Tampin,a small town about 25 miles south of Seremban. The CO was a martinet in every sense of the word and the discipline in this camp was unbelievable,within camp the CO rode a white horse everywhere he went followed by his pet dog which was also white. Rumour had it that should the dog be wandering around on it’s own it had to be saluted by any Gunner that crossed it’s path,we never had courage enough to enquire the truth of this. Due to the very strict discipline it was difficult for the men to get passes for a night in Seremban so when they did they went wild,usually ending with a brawl in the dancehall. We always walked very carefully when the Gunners were in town. Our chaps had to visit Tampin Camp quite often on R/T and Line maintainance duties,such visits being viewed with trepidation for they were often picked on by the Gunner NCOs for minor matters of dress or saluting,our CO tried to protect us as best he could but he was not always succesful. One item of our clothing that seemed to annoy all the Artillery ranks was our webbing (belt and gaiters) which was black a la 14th.Army. As far as we were concerned not only did it have a certain glamour about it but it was very easy to maintain a good appearance,a weekly once over with boot polish and a daily brush up was all that was needed. The Gunners,poor bastards, wore white webbing which required major attention daily and could easily become marked. One of our DRs delivering a despatch there was detained for several hours polishing his boots until the Duty Officer was satisfied with the degree of shine on his toecaps and permitted him to leave.

In June 1948 we heard over the radio that several rubber planters had been killed up North and almost immediately thereafter the Emergeny was declared and our lotus eating days were over. As I previously mentioned most of our telephone switchboards were manned by local civilians so these lines of communication were immediately declared insecure and there was a mad scramble to recruit and train British civilians (primarily Service and planters wives) to take over switchboard and clerical duties. In those first few weeks after the Emergency declaration there appeared to be a degree of panic in that no one appeared to be quite sure of the size of the problem or where the danger was coming from. Many of us couldn’t tell the difference between Malays and Chinese and it was all very confusing. The traffic in hand delivered despatches increased enormously and my unit was completely swamped, I didn’t have the vehicles and I didn’t have the drivers,two days into the Emergency both vehicles were out and there was a call for urgent delivery to Kuala Lumpur. The only vehicle available was the COs jeep and the only driver me,so off I went with an infantry type as escort,on arriving at HQ Kuala Lumpur I delivered the despatch and was told to wait further orders. Half an hour later I was ordered to deliver a package to Ipoh,after pointing out to the Duty Officer that I was using my COs jeep and that he had no other transport,I was told that it would all be sorted out and ordered to be on my way. During the next three days we travelled up and down Malaya shunted from HQ to HQ with despatches and sleeping in the jeep when we could. We never seemed to arrive anywhere at meal times so lived off corned beef sandwiches and cocoa scrounged from guard rooms,to make it worse my escort couldn’t drive. Three days later we arrived back in Seremban to a rather irate CO who didn’t really believe that I hadn’t volunteered to drive his jeep all over the countryside. I went to bed at 7pm and did’nt wake up until exactly 7pm the following day,the only time in my life I have slept around the clock. Things eventually settled into some sort of routine but I will never forget those first few weeks.

In July ‘48 our Squadron was given the task of surveying all the rural Police Stations in the States of Negri Sembilan and Pahang and preparing a report on the best site at each Station for radio transmitting and receiving aerials.This was to be an all Signals show with us not only providing the technical expertise but transort and escorts also,our party comprised the RSM plus eight others and I was able to convince the powers that be to allow me to be included in the party as driver/mechanic,we carried all our own rations plus petrol in jerricans and the test equipment and radios needed for the job which made a very tight fit for the jeep and 15cwt truck we used.In retrospect,to send such a small lightly armed group around the roads of Negri Sembilan and Pahang,was exceedingly dangerous but equipment and men were in such short supply at that time so I suppose there was no alternative.Significantly,our request for a Bren was not approved,probably because our small party was not considered able to protect it.

The Negri Sembilan survey was soon done without incident and we moved on to Pahang. None of us in our time in Malaya had left the west coast and many not even Seremban so our first encounter with the jungle bordered narrow roads of Pahang with their hairpin bends and blind corners came as quite a shock,for the first time I came to think that my volunteering had not been such a good idea. Road ambushes had already started to occur and,in Negri Sembilan we had adopted a policy of driving at top speed in the belief,mistaken or otherwise, that this would make it more difficult for a roadside ambush to be succesful,this tactic was obviously not practical on the roads of Pahang. Our RSM,a regular soldier and a great chap,stopped us as soon as we arrived at an open area with padi fields on both sides and after a short discussion it was decided that our best method of travel whilst in Pahang was at a slow speed with a longer interval between vehicles. The slower speed would give us more chance to get out of the vehicle quickly whilst the increased distance between vehicles might mean that one of them was outside the ambush area and could come to the assistance of the other. Written down it all sounds calm and reasonable but when you realise that the only regular solder was the RSM,the rest of us being National Servicemen in a Corps not particularly noted for it’s prowess in arms and with less than eighteen months service each,it wasn’t quite like that. However,all in all,I think we coped quite well,mainly due to the RSM who instead of adopting a ‘bash on regardless’ policy took steps to make us feel that we had regained the initiative. The survey proceeded with us camping within the grounds of whatever Police Station we happened to be at,much to the interest of the ladies of the Police married quarters who,though modest and shy,couldn’t stop giggling as they peeped at us through their fingers. We never did encounter any trouble on the Pahang roads but the tension was always there and it was a great feeling to arrive back at dear old,jungleless Rasah Camp, Seremban. Shortly afterwards my time as a National Serviceman was coming to an end and I left for Singapore and a boat back home.

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	A Signalman Remembers by R.Cole In 1947 I was a National Serviceman serving in the Royal Signals in Seremban ,Malaya.My actual job was NCO i/c Squadron Transport which comprised two jeeps and one 15cwt.Dodge truck and a motorbike! ,like the majority of British Army units in Malaya at that time we were short of equipment and personnel. Our Squadron had the usual breakdown of R/T,Cypher and Line but these were little more than token units.We ran the communications of the Seremban Army Camp but due to lack of personnel most of the telephone switchboards were staffed by local civilian employees,mainly Chinese and Eurasians,who also filled many of the clerical positions. Our actual ration strength was 75 but we were 30% below this which allowed our cook to produce very good food for us by bartering the surplus with the locals for things like poultry and fruit. Being a Signals unit,our approach to soldiering was somewhat casual and apart from one Sgt.who fancied himself as a budding Guards RSM,discipline was easy,not slack just easy. Providing our various duties were performed properly and our barracks and ourselves kept neat and orderly we were allowed to do pretty much as we wished within camp. Leaving camp for a night in town could be a bit tricky depending on which of the various infantry units resident were doing guard duty but as our CO allowed us to wear civilian clothes into town,haircuts were about the only thing a zealous guard commander could stop us for. As I recall,each infantry unit did gate duty for a week turn and turn about,us Signals,of course,were too highly trained to have our talents wasted in this way. Nice for us but not too popular with the rest of the camp population. The R/T and Cypher units were manned by us 24hrs. a day with a despatch rider always on duty so I suppose this made up for us not doing guard duty. The only fly in the ointment of our,for the Army,idyllic existence was the 26th Field Regiment,Royal Artillery stationed at Tampin,a small town about 25 miles south of Seremban. The CO was a martinet in every sense of the word and the discipline in this camp was unbelievable,within camp the CO rode a white horse everywhere he went followed by his pet dog which was also white. Rumour had it that should the dog be wandering around on it’s own it had to be saluted by any Gunner that crossed it’s path,we never had courage enough to enquire the truth of this. Due to the very strict discipline it was difficult for the men to get passes for a night in Seremban so when they did they went wild,usually ending with a brawl in the dancehall. We always walked very carefully when the Gunners were in town. Our chaps had to visit Tampin Camp quite often on R/T and Line maintainance duties,such visits being viewed with trepidation for they were often picked on by the Gunner NCOs for minor matters of dress or saluting,our CO tried to protect us as best he could but he was not always succesful. One item of our clothing that seemed to annoy all the Artillery ranks was our webbing (belt and gaiters) which was black a la 14th.Army. As far as we were concerned not only did it have a certain glamour about it but it was very easy to maintain a good appearance,a weekly once over with boot polish and a daily brush up was all that was needed. The Gunners,poor bastards, wore white webbing which required major attention daily and could easily become marked. One of our DRs delivering a despatch there was detained for several hours polishing his boots until the Duty Officer was satisfied with the degree of shine on his toecaps and permitted him to leave. In June 1948 we heard over the radio that several rubber planters had been killed up North and almost immediately thereafter the Emergeny was declared and our lotus eating days were over. As I previously mentioned most of our telephone switchboards were manned by local civilians so these lines of communication were immediately declared insecure and there was a mad scramble to recruit and train British civilians (primarily Service and planters wives) to take over switchboard and clerical duties. In those first few weeks after the Emergency declaration there appeared to be a degree of panic in that no one appeared to be quite sure of the size of the problem or where the danger was coming from. Many of us couldn’t tell the difference between Malays and Chinese and it was all very confusing. The traffic in hand delivered despatches increased enormously and my unit was completely swamped, I didn’t have the vehicles and I didn’t have the drivers,two days into the Emergency both vehicles were out and there was a call for urgent delivery to Kuala Lumpur. The only vehicle available was the COs jeep and the only driver me,so off I went with an infantry type as escort,on arriving at HQ Kuala Lumpur I delivered the despatch and was told to wait further orders. Half an hour later I was ordered to deliver a package to Ipoh,after pointing out to the Duty Officer that I was using my COs jeep and that he had no other transport,I was told that it would all be sorted out and ordered to be on my way. During the next three days we travelled up and down Malaya shunted from HQ to HQ with despatches and sleeping in the jeep when we could. We never seemed to arrive anywhere at meal times so lived off corned beef sandwiches and cocoa scrounged from guard rooms,to make it worse my escort couldn’t drive. Three days later we arrived back in Seremban to a rather irate CO who didn’t really believe that I hadn’t volunteered to drive his jeep all over the countryside. I went to bed at 7pm and did’nt wake up until exactly 7pm the following day,the only time in my life I have slept around the clock. Things eventually settled into some sort of routine but I will never forget those first few weeks. In July ‘48 our Squadron was given the task of surveying all the rural Police Stations in the States of Negri Sembilan and Pahang and preparing a report on the best site at each Station for radio transmitting and receiving aerials.This was to be an all Signals show with us not only providing the technical expertise but transort and escorts also,our party comprised the RSM plus eight others and I was able to convince the powers that be to allow me to be included in the party as driver/mechanic,we carried all our own rations plus petrol in jerricans and the test equipment and radios needed for the job which made a very tight fit for the jeep and 15cwt truck we used.In retrospect,to send such a small lightly armed group around the roads of Negri Sembilan and Pahang,was exceedingly dangerous but equipment and men were in such short supply at that time so I suppose there was no alternative.Significantly,our request for a Bren was not approved,probably because our small party was not considered able to protect it. The Negri Sembilan survey was soon done without incident and we moved on to Pahang. None of us in our time in Malaya had left the west coast and many not even Seremban so our first encounter with the jungle bordered narrow roads of Pahang with their hairpin bends and blind corners came as quite a shock,for the first time I came to think that my volunteering had not been such a good idea. Road ambushes had already started to occur and,in Negri Sembilan we had adopted a policy of driving at top speed in the belief,mistaken or otherwise, that this would make it more difficult for a roadside ambush to be succesful,this tactic was obviously not practical on the roads of Pahang. Our RSM,a regular soldier and a great chap,stopped us as soon as we arrived at an open area with padi fields on both sides and after a short discussion it was decided that our best method of travel whilst in Pahang was at a slow speed with a longer interval between vehicles. The slower speed would give us more chance to get out of the vehicle quickly whilst the increased distance between vehicles might mean that one of them was outside the ambush area and could come to the assistance of the other. Written down it all sounds calm and reasonable but when you realise that the only regular solder was the RSM,the rest of us being National Servicemen in a Corps not particularly noted for it’s prowess in arms and with less than eighteen months service each,it wasn’t quite like that. However,all in all,I think we coped quite well,mainly due to the RSM who instead of adopting a ‘bash on regardless’ policy took steps to make us feel that we had regained the initiative. The survey proceeded with us camping within the grounds of whatever Police Station we happened to be at,much to the interest of the ladies of the Police married quarters who,though modest and shy,couldn’t stop giggling as they peeped at us through their fingers. We never did encounter any trouble on the Pahang roads but the tension was always there and it was a great feeling to arrive back at dear old,jungleless Rasah Camp, Seremban. Shortly afterwards my time as a National Serviceman was coming to an end and I left for Singapore and a boat back home. BACK / HOME