The War In the Jungle
By James Robinson
ex Royal Marine 1947 to 1971

I was contacted by Ian Miller who had recognised a picture of his dad in the A Troop, 40 Cdo picture in Malaya from THE PATROL (40 Commando Malaya 1951) on this web site, which I had written last year. I knew his dad Bruce "Dusty" Miller having served with him in 40 Cdo. Ian kindly sent me pics of his dad taken whilst serving in Malaya with A Troop, 40 Cdo, RM. Since his dad has passed away, or in Marine parlance, "crossed over the bar", I thought it would be rather nice to remember him by dedicating the page to his dad. James Robinson  March 2002

On the jungle edge, life revolved around the villages, or kampongs, usually situated by a river or coastal inlet and rubber estates became little fortresses.

A-Troop  40 Cdo

Bayonet practice, "Bruce Miller"

Vehicle ambushed  and burnt

Vehicle  escort

Casualty  evacuation

Palms produced oil, roofing material and coconuts; paddy fields produced rice, the staple diet of the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Against this background was fought one of the most vicious and protracted wars in which the British Army has ever taken part. It was a war in which the Communist Chinese were led by the same capable and resolute men who had fought the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The targets of these guerrillas were kampong village police posts, rubber plantations, and vehicles traveling on the roads. An effective way to assist the police was to post infantry battalions in company- sized camps so that they were never to far away to respond to a call for help.
 

Ambushed Jeep  45 Cdo

Spotter plane taking off

Burning bandit camp

Another view  of burning

Chopper  coming in

The Chinese guerrillas relied on logistic support from the squatters on the fringes of the jungle and it was into these areas that military patrols operated, with excursions deep into the thick jungle after these guerrillas, often operating for weeks at a time. With A Troop, 40 Commando, operating from a small village called Lenggong on the main Grik, Lenggong, Kuala Kangsar road, the Troop worked hard to maintain pressure on the CTs often crossing the Perak River from time to time hard on the heels of the various terrorist gangs. Vehicle ambushes were frequent on the Grik road. A large resettlement program was in progress and a number of patrols from the Commando were involved in screening and checking squatter areas. Rigorous patrolling continued and many insurgent camps were found, some large enough to house 70 to 80 people. Local Army and Commando units made a valuable contribution by sending out teams to visit kampongs to train the special constables and prepare defensive positions. All this effort increased the confidence of the local population and there was a noticeable trickle of information and intelligence beginning to come through from the population of these villages.
 

Malay Saki  village

A classic  ambush Position

First of  the few

Watching  suspect rv

Watching and waiting

Searching ambush  position

Commando patrols would often penetrate deep into the jungle. If you were lucky the going was easy through the rubber plantations or lalang, but usually progress had to be made by the exhausting process of taking turns to hack your way through dense jungle with a parang or matchete. Getting wounded was not a pleasant prospect, as it took four men to carry a litter, and most patrols operated at section strength with about eight to ten men. Campaigning in Malaya was difficult enough even without the constant possibility of ambush and enemy fire, and these patrols spent up to three weeks patrolling in this sort of country hunting for CT groups. Most of the Marines had been stuck in troop locations for two years.

Convoy duties made a change from jungle patrols. To sit in the back of an open vehicle with guns at the ready, watching, looking at the edge of the jungle, which came right down to the edge of the road, for any sign of movement, expecting a burst of automatic fire at every bend in the road, and to travel up to sixty or seventy miles to reach your destination meant 3 or 4 hours of travel time. Perak was, at one stage of the emergency, described as the ‘most troubled state’. At the time the average length of tour in the Commando Brigade was two and half years, and each rank was allowed a fortnight's leave a year and a majority of personnel were able to get away to spend their R & R, either in Singapore, Ipoh or Penang. The bright city lights made a welcome break from the constant strain of patrolling and living in isolated locations. The men of 40 Commando were making the most of their second Christmas in troop locations. While catering facilities in these locations were not up to Cordon Bleu standards, the expertise of the Marine cooks made sure that the Christmas dinners were special.
 

Patrol section  waiting to move out

Crossing  river by boat

Ambush  remains

River  Patrol

Looking down from  ambush position

In February 1952, Gen. Sir Gerald Templar was appointed High Commissioner of Malaya and Director of Operations. He made his first visit to the 3rd Commando Brigade on 22 March and inspected some of 40 Commando positions and locations.
 

GOC District visiting  40 Cdo

40 Cdo Parading through Kuala Kangsar (Perak)

Rumours of the 3rd Commando Brigade's movement to Malta were confirmed in March and on the 17th April a memorial service was held in the church of St. John the Divine, Ipoh. The roll of honour contained the names of the 33 all ranks of 3rd Commando Brigade who lost their lives in Malaya was read out. Of this number, 14 had served with 40 Commando. 40 Commando paraded a Guard of Honour for the Sultan Of Perak who then took the salute at a march past. During their two-year stint in Malaya, the 3rd Commando Brigade killed or captured 221 terrorists at the cost of thirty-three Royal Marines killed.
 

Gods Little Acre

In May 1952, the Commando Brigade left Malaya bound for Malta, but the Royal Marine Commandos were to return to the jungle again, during the confrontation with Indonesia in the 1960s.

I can now well remember those hectic days, of the mates, the hard times, the fun and laughter, the three months loss of pay for negligence, (accidental discharge of rifle) never went short of anything, and there was always someone there to see you okay.

The down in the mouth days when you buried a pal, carried his coffin and lowered him into the ground and your thought was "another good Marine has crossed the bar". I made a promise that I would go back to pay my respects, to sit down at the graveside, have a chat, and maybe a bottle or two of Tiger beer for old times sake, just to let them know that they are not forgotten.
 

"PER MARE PER TERRAM"

"Dedicated to the Memory of a fine Royal Marine" RM8288 Marine Bruce Miller Joined the Corps 22nd November 1948 Discharged Time Served on the 2nd February 1957. Served with 40 Cdo RM in Malaya and Cyprus, Also HMS Devonshire.