Police
Commissioners
Col.W.N.Gray.............1948-52
Col.A.E.Young ...........1952-53
W.L.R.Carbonell.........1953 -58
C.H.Fenner..................1958-
At the start of the
Emergency the Police were suddenly required,in addition
to normal duties,to provide static defense for terrorist
targets and anti-terrorist patrols in urban and jungle
areas,intelligence gathering and radio communications had
to be greatly increased . To cope with this a recruiting
campaign was started in both Malaya and Britain resulting
in,at it's peak,a force of 75,281 all ranks including
Special Constables. In order to provide protection and
Government services to the aboriginal population,
fortified camps,designated'Forts' were established in the
main tribal areas with a permanent Police garrison(on
rotation) and a Police Lieutenant as 'Commander'(on
rotation). Apart from the Police quarters and airstrip
each Fort had a shop and medical dispensary staffed and
run by the Dept.of Aboriginal Affairs. Ground approach to
these Forts was difficult so most movement in and out was
by air;stores airdrop by Dakotas/Valettas and personnel
movement by light aircraft (Pioneer/Auster or
helicopter). Memorials to Police who died during the
Emergency can be seen by clicking HERE
Details of European Police Officers who died during
the Emergency, including date and place of death and
place of burial can be seen HERE
European
Sgts.and Police Lieutenants 1948 to
1959
With
the start of the Malayan Emergency in 1948 there was an
immediate need for European owned and managed Rubber and
Palm Oil Estates and Tin Mines to be protected by armed
guards. To meet this demand the rank of Special Police
Constable was created with recruits coming mainly from
the indigenous Malay population.Few if any of these
recruits had military training and as the regular Police
Force had neither the time or personnel to provide
training and leadership a new rank of European Police
Sergeant was established,prior to this the lowest
European rank was Cadet Asst.Superintendent of
Police.Initially these Sergeants were ex British Army
N.C.O.s and some serving N.C.O.s who were given special
permission to transfer by the British Army in Malaya plus
ex members of the Palestine Police Force,the total number
of these Sergeants never,I believe, exceeded approx.500
and were recruited between the start of the Emergency in
June 1948 until the end of 1949 when the rank was
replaced by that of Police Lieutenant. . Initially their
main task was to train the Special Constables in small
Arms use,supervise the building of fortifications,lines
of fire etc and general administration of SC detachments
guarding Estates and to provide leadership for the newly
forming Jungle Squads. On large Estates a Sergeant might
be permanently stationed there but it was more normal for
the Sergeant to be in charge of the defences of a
number,responsible for the day to day adminstration and
ongoing training of the Special Constable
garrisons.Wherever he was based he usually had a small
force of Special Constables with him for base
defence,escort and rapid response duties. By late 1949
there was general discontent amongst the Sergeants,low
pay,poor conditions and a high mortality rate (14 were
killed in action during 1948/49) were having their effect
on recruiting so it was decided to scrap the rank of
European Sergeant and to replace it with the unique
rank,for the Malayan Police,of Police Lieutenant, with
improved pay and conditions. The strength of this new
rank was to be about 650 and of the European Sergeants
already serving some 240 opted to accept the new rank,the
rest left as their contracts expired. A recruiting drive
was now started through the British Army and British
Newspapers but it was not altogether succesful in
bringing numbers up to strength and,subsequently,some
recruiting was done in Australia. However numbers did
increase enough to allow for the establishment of
offensive Jungle Squads operating in Police Districts
which eventually amalgamated into the Police Field Force
which operated throughout the country. The Briggs
Plan (the resettlement of urban and rural Chinese into
fortified villages) was,by 1953,having a severe effect on
the Communist Terrorists and they were finding it
extremely difficult to obtain food and intelligence, thus
their ability to operate in the rural/urban areas was
becoming impossible. From this time on the number of
serving Police Lieutenants gradually decreased as the
need for their services and the strength of the Special
Constables was run down. During this period (1948-53)
the the total number of Police(all ranks) KIA was 1252*
of which 56 were European Sgts.and Police Lts.Decorations
awarded to these two ranks were George Medal 5,Colonial
Police Medal for Gallantry 4. In addition the various
Malay States made their own awards but I have no record
for these.These two ranks were recruited specifically for
the Malayan Emergency on three year contracts with a
small gratuity upon contract completion. They were not
members of the Colonial Police Service and thus they and
their dependants did not qualify for pensions of any
sort, efforts were made to get the British Colonial
Office to agree to grant disability and widows pensions
but without success*. The high mortality rate amongst
these two ranks during this period (1948-59)can be
attributed to a number of factors,ignoring the Communist
opposition.Firstly,the Crown Agents in London made very
little effort to select people with the right
qualifications i.e.combat,infantry,weapons or Far East
experience.Secondly,the Malayan Police offered no
introductory course on anything and it was not unusual
for a new arrival to find himself leading a squad of men
he couldn't talk to,armed with weapons he wasn't familiar
with and operating in terrain he did not understand.
Finally,although most of these Officers were stationed in
rural areas where roads were few and left little choice
in which route to take for day to day duties,the usual
transport supplied was Landrover, Austin A40 or Chevrolet
troop carrier;all soft skinned vehicles quite unable to
withstand a road ambush which,at this time, accounted for
many of the casualties incurred.From 1951 onwards
Armoured Personnel Carriers started arriving in ever
increasing numbers with a resulting drop in succesful
road ambushes. Police Lts.continued to serve,in
diminishing numbers,until the early '60s.The last P/Lt.
to be killed in action was E.F.Southey in Selangor in
December 1957,bringing the total of European Sgts.and
Police Lieutenants killed in action since 1948 to
sixtysix with a further twentytwo dying from
wounds,disease and accidents, no figures are
available for those who were wounded and discharged.
*"Conflict & Violence in Singapore &
Malaysia 1945-83" by Richard Clutterbuck
*
I have since learned that the
dependent of a P/Lt.killed in 1952 was,in 1954,granted a
Pension (backdated to 1952). It appears therefore that
efforts to obtain this benefit were eventually
succesful;six years after the Emergency started.
Royal Malaysia
Police Former Officers Assn.of the U.K. are seeking new
members from former serving officers including the
Singapore and Borneo Forces, wives,widows,sons and
daughters over 18. Further details from the Secretary:
P.W.Giles,1,Lake Rd.,Tunbridge Wells,Kent TN4 8XT,U.K
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