Penang Reoccupied after WW2, 1945

The fall of Penang(彼南島) - Japanese Occupation日本統治時代のペナン州

The Battle of Malaya began when the 25th Army of Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya on 8 December 1941. Japanese troops launched an amphibious assault on the northern coast of Malaya at Kota Bharu and started advancing down the eastern coast of Malaya. This was made in conjunction with landings at Pattani and Songkhla in Thailand, The 5th Infantry Division(a "motorized" square division), landed on the east coast of Thailand at Singora and Patani on December 8, 1941. They then proceeded south overland across the Thailand-Malayan border to attack the western portion of Malaya. The Japanese also used bicycle infantry and light tanks, which allowed swift movement of their forces overland through the terrain that was covered with thick tropical rainforest, albeit criss-crossed by native paths. The defeat of Allied troops( Indian 11th Infantry Division)at Jitra by Japanese forces supported by tanks moving south from Thailand on 11 December 1941.

The island of Penang was known by the British as Fortress Penang but in reality it was an island garrison, had four anti-aircraft guns and a garrison of 500 untrained troops. The civilians took to the streets to watch not knowing what was to come. After flying over the town the planes turned and bombed in groups of three. The bombs dropped included heavy demolition, light anti-personal and incendiary, nearly all the bombs were dropped on the densely crowded native quarters in Georgetown.

Air attack on Penang island

1941 Dec 10th - 70 Japanese aircraft raid Penang
1941 Dec 11th - 37 Japanese aircraft raid Penang
1941 Dec 12th - 85 Japanese aircraft raid Penang
1941 Dec 13th - air raids continue as British evacuate

The first attack on the island by the Japanese was as early as 11 Dec, in the form of air raids(some reported on 8th, or 10th). During one of the raids, a bomb was dropped on a fire station, which resulted in no firefighting capability from the civilians. The emergency services were mainly run by untrained Chinese and although they tried their best, they were under increasing pressure as many of the local population who had decided to take to the hills got in the way. Some RAF resistance was present, but was largely unsuccessful. The city fell under a state of lawlessness within days, with uncontrollable looting while corpses were left rotting on the streets.

The British started evacuating on the 13th but the orders included only British born personnel and civilians, this caused a feeling of despair among the Asiatic population, and anger towards the British for leaving them to fend for themselves at a time when they wanted leadership. Not all the British left Penang, Dr. Evens of the General Hospital stayed to look after his patients and was later allowed to the Japanese to continue his work. The Straits Echo’s was one of the few offices that remained open under the leadership of the editor M. Saravanamuttu, Sara set up the Penang Service Committee comprising elected members from Penang’s different communities to run the town on Dec 16, 1941(?).

Even after the British had evacuated by Dec 13, the bombings continued and the committee that met twice daily at No. 10, Scott Road, decided that the Union Jack at Fort Cornwallis had to be taken down and replaced with a white flag of surrender.
As there were no volunteers, M. Saravanamuttu and R.S Gopal, his sub-editor, carried out this mission.

On 17 Dec 1941, Japanese troops of Kobayashi Battalion of the IJA 5th Division(歩兵第五師団, Hohei daigo shidan) landed on the island of Penang. There was no resistance, as the British had evacuated the island on 13 Dec 1941. However, the British failed to destroy resources that could be used by the invaders, including a fully functional radio station. The Japanese troops used the radio station to broadcast the cruel message "Hello, Singapore, this is Penang calling. How do you like our bombing?" and proceeded to massacre the Penang residents during a large-scale looting. Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita (山下奉文, November 8, 1885 – February 23, 1946),the Commanding Officers of The Imperial Japanese Army's 25th Army (第25軍 Dai-nijyūgo-gun)called a stop to the atrocities, and executed three soldiers as punishment. Lt. Col. Kobayashi(小林中佐) was also placed under thirty days close arrest as punishment. However, the image of the Japanese as brutal conquerors would forever be carved in the minds of the natives.

Arms, boats, supplies and a working radio station were left in haste to the Japanese. The evacuation of Europeans from Penang, with local inhabitants being left to the mercy of the Japanese, caused much embarrassment for the British and alienated them from the local population. Historians judge that "the moral collapse of British rule in Southeast Asia came not at Singapore, but at Penang". The British withdrawal left the defenseless island in the hands of a State Committee which had to subdue a three-day civil unrest.

A young Penangite by the name of Ivan Allan who bravely went to Sungai Petani on Dec 18 with a Japanese named Izumi to convey the news that the British had evacuated Penang

Sara broadcast an appeal on Dec 19(?) from the Penang Wireless Station, urging the Japanese air force to stop bombing the island because the British had left Penang.

Two companies of Japanese troops arrived in sampans at the Church Street Pier at 4pm on Dec 19, Sara, as the committee chairman, appealed to the Commander not to molest the local population. The next day, the Japanese Civil Administrator, Hiroyasu, arrived and formed four different committees comprising Malays, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians. These committees were known as the Peace Preservation Committee

Penang was captured on 19 December 1941, three and a half years of rule of terror followed(to be exact 3 years 8 months). Many of the local populace fled to the interior and plantations to escape from Japanese atrocities, of which many were reported and documented.

Sara’s committee was disbanded on Dec 23 when the Japanese-elected Penang Preservation Committee began functioning.

During this occupation, Penang was governed by four successive Japanese governors, starting with Shotaro Katayama.

Japanese Governors of Penang第25軍。ペナン州知事(日本占領時代ペナン州知事)

•1942–1943: Lt-Gen. Shotaro Katayama Governor of Penang from(1942–1943)
•1943–1944: Maj-Gen. Masakichi Itami Governor of Penang from(1943–1944)
•1944: Lt-Gen. Shinohara Seiichiro Governor of Penang from(1944–1944)
•1944: S.Ikagawa五十川 Deputy Governor of Penang from (1944) only.
•1944–1945: Lt-Gen. Shinohara Seiichiro was Governor of Penang from 1944 to 1945

Air raid by Allies

1944 August - USAF B-29 bombing raid on supported by HMS Ceylon
1945 Jan 11th - USAF B-29 bombing raid on Penang (mission 27)
1945 Feb 1st - USAF B-29 bombing raid on Penang (mission 33)

Japan surrendered on Aug 15 1945日本の降伏

Japan
On the morning of August 6 1945, the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped an atomic bomb (code-named Little Boy by the Americans) on the city of Hiroshima in southwest Honshū, Japan.

On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki was the target of the United State's second atomic bomb attack (and second detonation of a plutonium bomb; the first was tested in central New Mexico, USA) at 11:02 a.m., when the north of the city was destroyed and an estimated 70,000 people were killed by the bomb codenamed "Fat Man".

At 12:00 noon Japan standard time on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito made a radio announcement to his people announcing the decision to accept the Potsdam Proclamation and surrender to the Allies.

25 Aug 1945 - Emperor Hirohito issued a decree ordering all Japanese forces to demobilize and cease operation.

On August 28 1945, the occupation of Japan by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers began.

The surrender ceremony was held on September 2 1945 aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri, at which officials from the Japanese government signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, ending World War II.

Malaya
The Allied Plan to capture Malaya - Operation Zipper
During the Second World War, "Operation Zipper" was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it was never fully executed. Some of the proposed landings on Penang went ahead as planned to probe Japanese intentions, encountering no resistance. The planned deception for this attack was called Operation Slippery, whilst a small Special Operations Executive team led by Tun Ibrahim Ismail which landed in October 1944 managed convince the Japanese that the landings were to be on the Isthmus of Kra, 650 miles to the north.

Operation Tiderace - Operation to capture Singapore
Operation Tiderace was planned soon after the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Emergency planning was put in preparation for the rapid occupation of Singapore at an early date should Japan agree to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration of 26 July.

While Operation Zipper was executed ahead of schedule, it did so on a much smaller scale, having quickly transferred a proportion of its original strength to Operation Tiderace. The convoy consisted of about 90 ships, which included two battleships, HMS Nelson and the French battleship Richelieu. The heavy cruiser HMS Sussex served as the flagship. HMAS Hawkesbury was the sole Australian warship during the Japanese surrender, escorting the repatriation transport Duntroon.

There were a total of seven escort carriers: HMS Ameer, HMS Attacker, HMS Emperor, HMS Empress, HMS Hunter, HMS Khedive and HMS Stalker

HMS Volage, Destroyer(1944-1972)

In August, prior to the Japanese surrender, HMS Volage prepared to support the planned landings in Malaya (Operation Zipper). She was part of the screen for capital ships of the East Indies Fleet sailing to Penang and later (31 August), she sailed from Trincomalee to join the naval forces for the re-occupation of Penang. The Captain then was Cdr. Reginald Trevor Paul,CBE, RN(later Captain).

31st August 1945 - Sailed from Trincomalee to join ships deployed for re-occupation of Penang.

1st September 1945 - At Penang for re-occupation. Volage stayed at Penang into September as radio ship until shore facilities had been established and then supported the landings at Port Dickson. (Operation ZIPPER)
(Note: For details of ZIPPER and the earlier delays until after VJ Day see THE FORGOTTEN FLEET, WAR WITH JAPAN and Final Report of Supreme Commander SEAC (HMSO).

When the day for the surrender arrived, accompanied by the battleship “Nelson”, HMS Volage arrived off Penang. The “Nelson” was too big to enter Penang harbor, so Admiral Hooky Walker transferred to the HMS Volage from the HMS Nelson and met the Japanese officials on board the “Volage”? and signed the articles of surrender. HMS Volage with Admiral Walker on board was the first Allied ship into Penang and the local Japanese surrender was made on the dockside nearby.

That done the Admiral went back to his ship and accompanied the rest of the fleet down the coast to Singapore and the “Volage” was ordered to tie up at Penang to act as the radio communications ship for the occupation forces when they were landed.

10th Sept - When Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Commander-in-Chief, South East Asia Command, and General Bill Slim, C in C of 14th Army, passed through Penang on 10th Sept 1945,en route to Singapore for the Japanese surrender in the East Indies, they spent a brief period on HMS Volage and Mountbatten addressed the ship's crew.

After four weeks at Penang, HMS VOLAGE returned to Trincomalee and deployed with Flotilla for local duties.

17-8-1945 HMS Nelson sailed from Trincomalee, Ceylon in company with HM Cruisers LONDON, CEYLON and NIGERIA, HM Escort Carriers ATTACKER, HUNTER, SHAH and STALKER, HM LSI PRINCESS BEATRIX and QUEEN EMMA escorted by destroyers. Their mission was to implement Operation ZIPPER (Operation ZIPPER was the landing of troops in Malaya), then proceed to Penang to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in the area.(Operation delayed until after the Japanese surrender ceremonies in Tokyo on 2-9-1945 had taken place at the insistence of the US Government and delay in London due to demobilisation arrangements for Service personnel in the Far East.)

20th August 1945 - Whilst the politics was finalized, the Force anchored off the Nicobar Islands and provided cover for minesweeping operations in Nicobar islands. HMS Nelson moved to Rangoon to await start of ZIPPER.

Following Japanese emperor announced surrender on 15-8-1945, only on 21 August 1945 the Penang Shimbun published the statement of capitulation issued by the Emperor.

"Operation Tiderace" was instead put into action following the surrender of Japan. Mountbatten ordered British troops to set sail from Trincomalee and Rangoon (Yangon) on Aug 21 for Singapore. The Allied fleet departed Rangoon on August 27, 1945, as part of Vice Admiral Harold Walker's force (HMS Nelson, HMS Attacker, HMS Hunter, HMS Ceylon, three destroyers and three Landing Ship, Infantry).

27th August 1945 - Early hours, sailed from Rangoon flying the flag of Vice Admiral Walker in company with HM Cruiser CEYLON, HM Escort Carriers ATTACKER and HUNTER, HM LSI PRINCESS BEATRIX and QUEEN EMMA escorted by 3 destroyers.

28th August 1945 - The battleship HMS Nelson anchored off Penang to take the Japanese surrender in Malaya. The Allies arrived with a small portion of the fleet sent to Penang as part of Operation Zipper. Late in the day the the force arrived off Penang. The first emissaries of the Japanese forces were made to board the flagship by rope ladder.(Note: This was also the day of the occupation of Japan by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers began in Japan).

2nd Sept, 1945 - At Penang lying off Georgetown, for the official surrender of Japanese forces. The Japanese commander Rear Admiral Uozomi was met by Capt. Clifford Caslon, RN(who later retired as Vice Admiral) and the Chief of staff, Captain Abbott, and led below to the Vice Admiral Walker’s cabin were the articles of surrender where signed

Yet even before the Singapore event, the Japanese had already surrendered at Penang in a ceremony on September 2 1945 aboard the battleship HMS Nelson. (In fact, the British had landed in Penang in late August but had held back on the surrender formalities until the American General MacArthur had finalized the official surrender negotiations in Tokyo.). HMS Nelson was the flagship of the fleet, and "the articles of surrender" were signed aboard the battleship on September 2, 1945.

Japanese surrender party signed off the war aboard HMS Nelson lying off Georgetown. Rear Admiral Jisaku Uozumi signs the surrender document aboard the HMS Nelson on September 2, 1945. He fainted shortly afterwards and was rushed to hospital. Note the Distinguished Service Cross ribbon on Uozumi's uniform, which he had earned as Britain's ally in World War I

On board the Royal Navy Nelson-class battleship HMS Nelson Japanese officers surrender the port and city of Penang, Malaya (Malaysia) to the Allies.

Naval vessels of Task Force 11 of the Eastern Fleet underway en route for Penang. Anchored in the Andaman Sea off the Nicobar Islands the force awaits the arrival of Japanese envoys. A Japanese launch draws alongside HMS Nelson. Japanese officers come aboard. In a state room British and Japanese officers take seats at a long table. Admiral Walker stepped ashore from Volage accompanied by Captain Commander Durlachar, leading Naval and Royal Marine delegation to the table. The surrender is signed by Vice-Admiral Walker and IJN Commander Submarine Squadron Eight, Rear Admiral Uozumi Jisaku and the Governor of Penang,Lt-Gen. Shinohara Seiichiro(篠原誠一郎)

Japanese officers named on the dope sheet include Commander Sakai, Lieutenant-Commander Yamaguchi and Captain Aidaki.

Notes: Other vessels in Task Force 11 included the Ceylon-class cruiser HMS Ceylon, the escort carriers HMS Hunter and HMS Attacker, the Paladin-class destroyers HMS Paladin and HMS Petard and two LSIs (Landing Ship Infantry).

3-9-1945 - Royal Marines land at Penang on 3-9-1945, after the Japanese have surrendered. Japanese officers lined up on the quayside. Captain Hilton DSO (naval officer in charge) coming ashore. Flag hoisting ceremony - Union Jack flag is raised, military band plays. Liberated Malayan population rejoicing. Sailors and Marines drive through streets in Japanese military vehicles - lots of waving and flags in carnival atmosphere. Japanese prisoners of war are marched through the street. British officers also inspected the captured Japanese seaplane base.

Lt. J. BLEASE, RN, of Johnshaven, Montrose, Scotland, and SLt. (A) I. MACGREGOR, RNVR, of South Queensberry, Scotland, examine plans of Japanese seaplane at Penang seaplane base, Glugor. He is escorted by surrender liaison officer Lt. Cdr. NAGAKI

PENANG REOCCUPIED

(Please click the picture for the movie.)

The official British party reached Penang on 1 September, and after a meeting between the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Fleet and Rear-Admiral Uzumi on 2 September, a detachment of the 480 Royal Marines landed on 0800 hours at Weld Quay ,and occupied and takeover the island on 3 September 1945.

Japanese forces were evacuated to concentration center at Glugor, and later to the mainland. The Offier in charge at Penang was Capt TJN Hilken(who later become British military governors 1945-1946, Thomas John Norman Hilken)

Rear Admiral Bazudi, Commander of Japanese forces, Penang, signs the surrender document watched by Lt-Gen. Shinohara Seiichiro, the Japanese Lieutenant Governor of Penang (right) and the Admiral's chief of staff, Captain Hidaka.(photo dated 4-9-1945)

A formal ceremony to signify British repossession of Penang took place on Swettenham Pier on 5 September 1945

Japanese forces in Penang finally surrendered to British forces on 6 September 1945

Victory March In Penang , Sept. 8. 1945, Enthusiastic crowds lined the streets to watch the victory march of 600 officers and men from British cruisers and destroyers , the Royal Indian Navy sloop "istna. Vice- Admiral H. C. T. Walker took the salute from the nuance gate of the... (The Straits Times, 11 September 1945, pg 2)

His Majesty's Ships - H.M.S. Nelson(1921-1950)



HMS Nelson- Nelson-class 16in gun Battleship


The Nelson class was a class of two battleships (Nelson and Rodney) of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. They were the only British battleships built between the Revenge class (ordered in 1913) and the King George V class, ordered in 1936. HMS Nelson was named after British admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson of the Battles of the Nile and Trafalgar.

Motto: “Let him bear the palm who has deserved it.”

At the outbreak of war in 1939 H.M.S. Nelson was one of British Royal Navy two most modern battleships, though it is now over 19 years since she was completed. A ship of 33,950 tons, she mounts nine of the heaviest guns in the Royal Navy, of 16-in. calibre.

In December 1939 she was mined in a Scottish loch, and with great difficulty and hazard was brought south to Portsmouth for dry docking and refit. During the first half of 1941 she was engaged in escorting convoys bound for the Cape. In the summer she joined Admiral Sir James Somerville's Force H in the Western Mediterranean, and in September was hit forward by a torpedo from an enemy aircraft while escorting a convoy to Malta. She went to Gibraltar for temporary repairs, and in December sailed for Rosyth with survivors of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Back in the Mediterranean, she was again engaged in a fierce convoy action there in August 1942. She was one of the fleet supporting the landings in North Africa in Nov. 1942, and in July 1943 helped to cover the invasion of Sicily. The conference between General Eisenhower and Marshal Badoglio, resulting in the Italian surrender, took place on board her in September 1943.

On 29 Sep 1943, Marshal Pietro Badoglio (Italy) and General Dwight D Eisenhower (USA) signed the Italian instrument of surrender on board Nelson in Valletta Harbour, Malta.

She received damage from a mine during the Normandy landings in June 1944, and was sent to Philadelphia for modernization and repairs.

In November 1944 Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Power became Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station(1944-1952) which had been formed from the former Eastern Fleet. (Note: Power was present at the final surrender of the Japanese in Singapore on 12th September 1945 in HMS Sussex).

Returning in January 1945 she proceeded to the East Indies, where she wore the flag of Vice-Admiral H.T.C. Walker(later Sir Admiral Harold Thomas Coulthard Walker,CB,KCB,RN). On 12th, July 1945, HMS Nelson joined Eastern Fleet(1941-1944) at Trincomalee, Ceylon.

The Japanese forces in Penang formally surrendered aboard HMS Nelson at George Town, Penang, on 2 September 1945.

She is now flagship of the Training Battleship Squadron, Home Fleet.

Admiral Walker left to board his flagship H.M.S. Nelson on 8-9-1945 , to lead the way to Singapore with his fleet cruiser London and assault ships to Port Sweettenham.

HMS Nelson
8th Took passage to Singapore, calling at Port Swettenham en route.

10th Arrived at Singapore.

12th At Singapore when the Japanese Forces in South East Asia officially surrendered.

Singapore or Syonan-to(昭南島)

(JAPANESE SURRENDER AND LOCAL SHOTS)

Three days after the emperor's announcement on 15-8-1945, General Seishiro Itagaki, commander of the Japanese 7th Area Army, flew to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to meet Field Marshal Count Terauchi, Commander of the Japanese Southern Army and forces in South-east Asia. But on Aug 20, Itagaki signalled Mountbatten that he would abide by his emperor's decision and was ready to receive instructions for the Japanese surrender of Singapore

With the Japanese surrender and Allied troops deployed in Malaya, Walker's fleet then sailed to Singapore to join up with the main convoy. When Penang surrendered without resistance, the fleet sailed for Singapore on 2 September, passing the Raffles Lighthouse at the Southern entrance to the Straits of Malacca. The fleet arrived in Singapore on 4 September 1945, meeting no opposition. However, the French battleship Richelieu struck a magnetic mine at 0744 on 9 September while passing down the Straits of Malacca. She eventually limped into Singapore at 1200 on 11 September.

The actual surrender was on 4-9-1945, Lieutenant-General Alexander Christison, Mountbatten's representative, and Major-General Robert Mansergh met General Seishiro Itagaki aboard HMS Sussex, in Keppel Harbour to discuss the surrender. The surrender by Lt-Gen Itagaki and Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukudone(Commanders of the IJN 10th Area Fleet,1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet and the 13th Air Fleet) was accepted on board. By 1800, the Japanese had surrendered their forces on the island. An estimated 77,000 Japanese troops from Singapore were captured, plus another 26,000 from Malaya

On Wednesday, 5 September, 1945 at 1130am., HMS Sussex entered Singapore Harbour carrying the Flag of the Rear-Admiral Cedric Holland. General Seishirō Itagaki, the commander of the garrison at Singapore was brought on board, where he signed the formal surrender of the army, thus completing Operation Tiderace, the allied plan to recapture Singapore. It was captained by Capt. Antony Fane de Salis, DSO, RN.

On Friday, Sept 7, the British Military Administration declared that apart from
$1,000 and $10,000 notes, which had to be handed in and accounted for, all prewar Malayan and Straits Settlements currency notes and coins would be legal tender. Overnight, the Japanese military's 'banana' money became worthless.

The first post war issue of The Strait Time was on 7 September 1945. The last edition prior to Singapore surrender to Japanese was 15-2-1942.

General Itagaki's First Refusal - General Sesishiro Itagaki(板垣征四郎), Japanese commander of Singapore, refused to surrender, reports Router, until his superior officer, Field-Maivhal Count Hisaichi Terauchi(寺内寿一), Commander of the Japanese Forces m the South East Asia area, ordered him to lay down his arms "for the honour of his country and the Japanese forces(The Straits Times, 7 September 1945, Page 1)

The formal surrender was finalized on 12 September 1945 at Municipal Building of Singapore (now known as City Hall). Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia Command, came to Singapore to receive the formal surrender of Japanese forces in South East Asia from General Itagaki Seishiro on behalf of Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Japanese Southern Army Group who had suffered a stroke earlier in the year.

Accompanied by the Deputy Supreme Commander Wheeler, Lord Louis Mountbatten was driven to the ceremony by a released prisoner of war. As the car drove by the streets, sailors and marines from the East Indies Fleet who had lined up the streets greeted them. At the Municipal Building, Mountbatten was received by his Commanders-in Chief and all high-ranking Allied Officers in Singapore. Also gathered in front of the Municipal Building were four guards of honour, from the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, Australian paratroopers, and the Indian army. Lord Mountbatten led an inspection of the officers before proceeding to the chamber where the ceremony was to be held. During the inspection, a fleet of band was playing the song 'Rule Britannia!'concurrently with the firing of seventeen-gun salute by the Royal Artillery.

The Instrument of Surrender was signed by General S. Itagaki, who signed on behalf of Aisarchi Terauchi, Field Marshall Count, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Japanese Forces, Southern Region. Terauchi was not able to attend the surrender ceremony as he had fallen ill due to a stroke. He surrendered personally to Mountbatten on 30 September 1945 in Saigon. He also surrendered his two swords; a short sword forged in the 16th century and a long sword forged in the 13th century. Mountbatten later presented the short sword to King George VI.

The Japanese signed a total of 11copies of the Instrument of Surrender; one each for the British, American, Chinese, French, Dutch, Australian, Indian and the Japanese governments; and one each for King George VI, the Supreme Commander and the South East Asia Command's records.

Japanese Representatives

General S. Itagaki (7th Area Army)
Lieutenant-General H. Kimura (Burma Area Army)
Lieutenant-General A. Nakamura (18th Area Army)
Vice-Admiral S. Fukudome (1st Southern Expeditionary Fleet)
Vice-Admiral Shibata (2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet)
Lieutenant-General T. Numata (Chief of Staff to Field-Marshall Count H. Terauchi, Commander-in-Chief, Southern Army)

Allied Representatives

Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten (Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia)
Lieutenant-General R.A Wheeler (Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia, representing U.S.A.)
General Sir William Slim (Commander-in-Chief, Allied Air Forces, South East Asia Command)
Admiral Sir Arthur Power (Commander-in Chief, East Indies Fleet)
Major-General W.R.C Penney (Director of Intelligence, South East Asia Command)
Brigadier K.S. Thimayya (representing the Indian Army)
General P. Leclerc (representing France)
Major-General Feng Yee (Head of the Chinese military mission to South East Asia Command)
Air Vice-Marshall A.T. Cole (representing Australia)
Colonel D.C. Boorman van Vreedon (representing the Netherlands)

The surrender officially ended the Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia.

The surrender ceremony finally ended with the hoisting of the Union Jack flag and the playing of the national anthems of all the Allied nations. This was the same flag used by General Percival when he surrendered to the Japanese and had been kept concealed in the Changi prison during the occupation.

It was reported that the Union Jack which was hoisted on the Padang yesterday(12th Sept) morning was one which had been hidden in the Changi prisoner of war camp from the Japanese in 1942(The Straits Times, 13 September 1945, Page 1)

A British Military Administration was formed to govern the island until March 1946.

General Itagaki departed for Japan shortly afterwards to face his trial and execution as a war criminal. Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi died of another stroke while in a prisoner of war camp in Malaya after the end of the war on 12-6-1946. His cemetery was however in Japanese Cemetery Park, Singapore.

British Military Administration(BMA)

Japanese forces in southeast Asia officially surrendered on September 12, 1945, and a British Military Administration(BMA) was established.

R.A.F Take Charge In Penang - The Royal Air Force took over charge of Penang from the Royal Marines last Thursday(14th Sept)at a public parade held on Victoria Green. Penang’s new garrison commander is Wing Commander Alan Yates. (The Straits Times, 17 September 1945, Page 2)

By Proclamation No. 1 (1945), the Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia established the British Military Administration which assumed full judicial, legislative, executive and administrative powers and responsibilities and conclusive jurisdiction over all persons and property throughout such areas of Malaya. Major-General Ralph Hone was given the post of Chief Civil Affairs Officer responsible for the Peninsula.

For the purpose of streamlining the administration, postwar Malaya was divided into 9 regions with Perlis-Kedah, Negeri Sembilan-Melaka, and the other states as regions in their own right. The regions were controlled by a Senior Civil Affairs Officer (ranked either Colonel or Lieutenant-Colonel). The official power of some of the pre-war civilian governments' entities were suspended, including the rights of the Malay rulers.

BMA was an interim government from September 1945 to March 1946. The Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States as well as the Straits Settlement including Singapore were placed under temporary British military rule.

The BMA ended when all the Malay States and the Settlements of Penang and Malacca joined Malayan Union. Singapore became a Crown Colony. On April 1, 1946 the Malayan Union officially came into existence with Sir Edward Gent as its governor. Straits Settlements, comprised of Penang, Melaka and Singapore, were officially dissolved.

Reference:

1. Red Star over Malaya: resistance and social conflict during and after the Japanese occupation of Malaya, 1941-1946,by Boon Kheng Cheah, NUS Press, 2003
2. HMS Volage - destroyer,http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-61V-Volage.htm
3. HMS Nelson - Nelson-class 16in gun Battleship
, http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-01BB-Nelson.htm
4. HMS Sussex - British heavy cruiser, WW2 http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CA-Sussex.htm
5. Japanese surrender, by Heirwin Mohd Nasir, written on 29-Sep-1997, National Library Board Singapore
6. East Indies Fleet War Diary 1945, http://naval-history.net/xDKWD-EF1945.htm
7. http://relivethewar2005.blogspot.com/2005/05/fan-of-hero.html
8. The Japanese occupation of Malaya: a social and economic history
, by Paul H. Kratoska, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1998
9. Japanese Imperial War Propaganda in the Penang Daily News, http://library.mcmaster.ca/news/5176
10. How Strong is Japan, LIFE Magazine dated 16 Aug 1943
11. The end of the war:Singapore's liberation and the aftermath of the Second World War, by Romen Bose, Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2005

HMS Malaya

During the world war 1, there were many people of Malaya, FMS, UFS or SS(Strait Settlement) donated for the colonial British government to fight the war in Europe. Some went as soldiers, others contribute their monies. Some donated war planes, some donated war ship. One of the war ship donated was under the name of HMS Malaya, named after Malaya, donated by FMS or Federated Malay States....HMS Malaya fight bravely in WW1, and continued fighting in the WW2...

In 1921, HMS Malaya visited Penang.

HMS Malaya
HMS Malaya was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the British Royal Navy, built by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Company at High Walker and launched in March 1915. She was named in honour of the Federated Malay States in British Malaya, whose government paid for her construction.


1912

In 1912, the sultan of Perak Sir Idris Mersid-el Aazam Shah suggested that the Council of the FMS should give to His Majesty Government, a gift of first class armored ship.

HMS Malaya, was built as a gift to the British Government by the Government and people of the Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang, on a motion proposed in the Federal Council by His late Highness the Sultan of Perak in 1913, supported by His late Highness the Sultan of Selangor, and approved by all people in the Federated Malay States.

The motion was passed and the contract for building such vessel placed in the shipyard on the River Tyne Sterling pound 2,945,709 in 1913. The builder was Armstrong Whitworth. The ship was launched on 18-3-1915, and commissioned on 1-2-1916. It was under Captain Algernon D E H Boyle, who later become Admiral Sir Algernon Douglas Edward Harry Boyle ,K.C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O., the Fourth Sea Lord of Royal Navy from 1920 to 1924).


Name: HMS Malaya
Ordered: 1913
Builder: Armstrong Ship Builder, Whitworth
Laid down: 20 October 1913
Launched: 18 March 1915
Commissioned: 1 February 1916
Decommissioned: 1944
Struck: 12 April 1948
Fate: Scrapped

Battles

1916 - Jutland ( WW1)
1940 - Taranto ( WW2)
1940 - Calabria ( WW2)
1940 - Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945( WW2)
1942 - Malta Convoys ( WW2)
1944 - English Channel ( WW2)
1944 - Operation Overlord (D-Day) ( WW2)


1916

In World War I she served in Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas's 5th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. She took part in the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, where she was hit eight times and took major damage and heavy crew casualties. A total of 65 men died, in the battle or later, of their injuries. Among the wounded was Able Seaman Willie Vicarage, notable as one of the first men to receive facial reconstruction using plastic surgery and the first to receive radical reconstruction via the "tubed pedicule" technique pioneered by Sir Harold Gillies. Uniquely among the ships at the battle, HMS Malaya flew the red-white-black-yellow ensign of the Federated Malay States.

Jürgen Oesten speaking about his attack on HMS Malaya, that took place about 250 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands in position 20º02'N, 25º50'W. The battleship was part of the convoy SL-68.



1921

1921- HMS Malaya under Capt HT Buller visited Malaya in the first months of 1921, calling at Port Swettenham, Singapore, Malacca, Port Dickson and Penang. Capt HT Buller(who later become Admiral Sir HT Buller) is the son of Admiral Sir Alexander Buller. Admiral Sir Alexander Buller, who as a captain of HMS Modeste, was involved in an expedition against the murderers of Mr James Birch, the British Resident in Perak in 1875. He was also in Penang on January 8, 1876 on board HMS Modeste. What a coincident....

1922
In 1922 Malaya carried the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Mohammed VI into exile. A new era in Turkish history began. Sultan Mohammed VI left on 18 November 1922 in the battleship HMS Malaya bound for Malta with his foreign advisers

1938

In August-September 1938 she served in the port of Haifa during the Arab Uprising.

1940

In World War II she served in the Mediterranean in 1940, escorting convoys and operating against the Italian fleet. On one occasion her presence in a convoy was sufficiently discouraging to the German commerce raiders Scharnhorst and Gneisenau that they withdrew rather than risk damage in an attack.

June 18, 1940. Giornale Italie No. 049. The island of Malta, claimed by Italy. Shown are ships of the Royal Navy (probably HMS Warspite, HMS Malaya, and the escort carrier HMS Eagle). An unveiling of a bust in honour of Fortunato Mizzi, founder of the pro-Italian movement on Malta.



1941

She shelled Genoa in February 1941 as part of Operation Grog but due to a crew error, fired a 15" armour piercing shell into the south east corner of the Cathedral nave. The fuse failed to detonate

Convoy SL 67 was saved by the presence of the WW1 battleship HMS Malaya.

Under Sir Arthur Francis Eric Palliser. She was damaged by a torpedo from U-106 at on 20 March 1941 about 250 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. After temporary repairs were made she continued to the New York Navy Yard, where she was docked for four months.

On 9 July, under the command of Captain Cuthbert Coppinger R.N., the battleship left New York on trials and steamed to Halifax, Nova Scotia to provide protection for an urgent fast convoy. On this Atlantic crossing no ships were lost and Malaya arrived on 28 July in Rosyth

1941- 1943

Malaya escorted convoys from the UK to Malta and Cape Town until summer 1943.

1944

Malaya was withdrawn from service at the end of 1944 and placed in reserve and served as an accommodation ship for a torpedo school.

1948

Sold on 20 February 1948 to Metal Industries, she arrived at Faslane on 12 April 1948 for scrapping. The ship's bell can be seen in the East India Club, St James's Square, London.

Legacies of HMS Malaya

On 24 August, 1916 HMS Malaya was presented with a silver bell from the Federated Malay States, in a ceremony attended by the High Commissioner for the Straits Settlements, Sir Ernest Beach, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan Thomas. Four smaller bells were made for the Captain, the Wardroom, the Gunroom and the Warrant Officers' Mess. Admiral Jellicoe rang the bell into service by sounding off eight bells.

The deactivated Battleship HMS Malaya ship's bells were allocated as follows:

The first watch bell was presented to the Perak (Malaysia) Council after a refit and was hung in the Council Chamber.

The second watch bell was presented to the Victoria Institute Kuala Lumpur on Malayan Victory Day, 12 September 1947 - the 2nd anniversary of the signing of the Japanese surrender - and remained there for 60 years until presented to the Royal Malaysian Navy in 2007.

In May 1950, a ship’s bell was presented by the The Royal Navy to the Malayan Naval Force as a mark of honour and appreciation for their service.

A further bell can be seen in the The East India Club at 16 St. James’s Square, London.

HMS Malaya & Malaysian Sports

When the Battleship HMS Malaya visited Malaya in 1920 the officers and men presented a "HMS Malaya Cup" for competition. It was decided to hold an annual tournament between teams representing the different States and Settlements in Malaya, ...( Tunku: a pictorial biography, 1957-1987, by Mubin Sheppard (Tan Sri Datuk), 1987) HMS Malaya Cup for football is later known as the Malaysia Cup, but HMS Malaya Cup for Rugby still remained until today.

Progress was slow up to the days of the 1st World War but the game in Malaya received a tremendous fillip from the visit of the battleship "HMS Malaya" and the presentation of the "HMS Malaya Cup". This trophy which was meant so much for the game in this country was presented by Captain H. T. butler and the officers of the battleship in 1921 on the occasion of the vessel's first visit to the land whose money built her during the war in 1914 - 1918.

During their stay, the ship's officers and crews engaged in a carnival programme of sport all over the country and it was rugby that they proved keenest and most proficient. They played five games during their stay. They were beaten by Selangor 05 - 03 and Ipoh District 03 - 00 but they beat Singapore 11 - 00, Malacca 20 - 04 and Negeri Sembilan 05 - 03. So the honours were with the visitors. After the ship departed, the officers sent to the Chief Secretary, FMS, and the two trophies which are known as the "Malaya Cup". One for rugby and the other for football. They were given perpetuity for annual competitions.(Malaysia Rugby Union official website)

Colonel Maurice Lam Shye Choon

One of the recipients of PGB Medal on 5-6-1963, was Colonel Maurice Lam Shye Choon, from Penang.

The Panglima Gagah Berani (sometimes referred to as the Pingat Gagah Berani or Pahlawan Gagah Berani) is a medal given by the government of Malaysia. The name translates to "General of Bravery and Valor". It can be conferred posthumously. The award was created on the 29th of July 1960. It was formally gazatted by an act of parliament on the 11th of August 1960. The medal takes the form of a five pointed silver star. Two kris lie under the Malaysian royal Crown on the star. The star is held by a ribbon with 45° stripes which slant right. The stripes alternative in red, white, blue and yellow. Living recipients receive an allowance of RM 300 a month. The next of kin of posthumous recipients receive RM 15,000. A person may receive this award more than once.

Captain Maurice Lam Shye Choon

Captain Maurice was from Jalan Kelawai in Penang, derived his early education at the Wellesley Primary School, Hutchings School and Penang Free School and ended his Secondary Education at Stephen’s College in Hong Kong. After which he was sent by his father, Lam Kin Sang, a lawyer in Penang, to further his studies to become a Dentist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He stayed there for two years after which he quit university. He very much wanted a career in the Military. Whilst in Melbourne for the two years, he joined the “Citizen Military Forces”. He wrote to General Sir Gerald Templar, learning, that the General was looking for youngsters to become Officers to join the Malayan Armed Forces. He was overjoyed when he received the letter from the General himself.


The call of the nation made him sacrifice the University in Melbourne and a career as a Dentist. He returned to Kuala Lumpur to attend the selection tests and interview in Port Dickson. He was one of the few Chinese out of 24 selected to join Intake 3 of the Federation Military College (FMC) in Port Dickson. After a month he was sent to the Federation Armored Car Regiment, then to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from March 55 to July 56 in England until he was commissioned.

1956-1961 2nd Federation Armored Car Regiment/2nd Reconnaissance Regiment

He returned as a 2Lt to join the 2nd Federation Armored Car Regiment, which was commanded by Major John Terry in Kluang, along with 3 other Officers, who were 2Lt Baharudin bin Diah, 2Lt Ghani bin Maludin and 2Lt Mokhtar bin Yunus. 2nd FACR was enlarged and renamed 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment in 1960, whose CO was Lt Col Keit Robinson. As an Officer in 2nd Recce, 2Lt Lam at that time was involved in patrol and escort duties all over the country during the First Emergency.

1961-1962 Malayan Special Force in Congo
Captain Maurice Lam was 2nd in Command of A Squadron, 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment in the Congo under Malayan Special Forces. The Squadron was commanded by Major Lakhbir Singh Gill, and the Regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Roger Nixon. The Regiment was part of the Malayan Special Force, under the United Nations banner. They were tasked as peacekeepers from April 1961 until January 1962. It was the action in Congo, that he gained a PGB medal. For the event in Congo, please refer to website http://renjervalour.blogspot.com/ for detail.

4th Battalion Malaysian Ranger
He served with the Reconnaissance Regiment for 15 years before taking up the post of Second in Command of the 4th Battalion Malaysian Rangers.

“Psyops” in Mindef
He went for a Psychological Operations course in the United States of America after which he attended Staff College. He took up duties in “Psyops” in Mindef and in the Prime Minister’s Department. He was promoted to Lt Col and took command of 7th Rangers , whilst 7th Rangers was still on Operations in Kanowit, Sibu, Sarawak.

1977-1979 7th Battalion Royal Rangers (Mech)
Lt Col Maurice Lam Shye Choon PGB,was Commanding Officers 7th Battalion Royal Rangers (Mech), from 19th May 1977 - 15 Sep 1979

Ops Hentam Galas
a. Area : Batu Melintang, Kelantan
b. Start/End : 29th Jan 1979 - 21 Dec 1979
c. Involvement : Whole Bn plus attachments
d. CO : Lt Col Maurice Lam Shye Choon PGB
e. Success : 3 Enemy KIA

Lt Col Maurice Lam retired from service after serving for 33 years. He related that he had passion for the Military. He enjoyed every moment of his 33 year career. He considered himself fortunate, as he was sent for courses locally and overseas and given an opportunity to serve in various appointments. He married Liew Ying Choo and blessed with 3 children, all girls. He was fortunate that his children were educated fully whilst he was still in service. All his 3 children are professionals in Hong Kong. He also said that if he was born again, he would take the same line in his life, without any regrets.

Murice Lam ended his career as a full colonel and was attached to Mindef before retiring in the early 90s.

(extract from article 2Lt N.H. Siebel PGB and Captain Maurice Lam PGB in the Congo, by Major (Rtd) D.Swami)

References:

1. 2Lt N.H. Siebel PGB and Captain Maurice Lam PGB in the Congo, http://renjervalour.blogspot.com/2006/03/2lt-nh-siebel-pgb-and-captain-maurice.html

Glugor Seaplane Base/Marine Craft Unit(MCU)

Penang Pre War British Seaplane Base - Glugor

While research on the history of Japanese Occupation in Penang, it was revealed that there was a British Seaplane Base in Glugor, Penang Island before the WW2.
Early Gelugor was a rural area in the south of Georgetown, a farming area. But it was also the hub of military bases. There were army camps, marine base, and seaplane base. It was also the marine aviation hub, where commercial and military plane landed or floated there.

What is Seaplane?
A sea plane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft. Seaplanes and amphibians are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristics: floatplanes and flying boats; the latter are generally far larger and can carry far more. These aircraft were sometimes called hydroplanes

1.A floatplane has slender pontoons, or floats, mounted under the fuselage. Two floats are common, but other configurations are possible. Only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water. The fuselage remains above water. Some small land aircraft can be modified to become float planes, and in general floatplanes are small aircraft. Floatplanes are limited by their inability to handle wave heights typically greater than 12 inches (0.31 m). These floats add to the empty weight of the airplane, and to the drag coefficient, resulting in reduced payload capacity, slower rate-of-climb, and slower cruise speed.

2.In a flying boat, the main source of buoyancy is the fuselage, which acts like a ship's hull in the water. Most flying boats have small floats mounted on their wings to keep them stable. Not all small seaplanes have been floatplanes, but most large seaplanes have been flying boats, their great weight supported by their hulls.

The first in history combat missions of a seaplane was probably those of a Greek "Astra Hydravion" between December 1912 and January 1913, during the Balkan Wars. In one of them, on January 24, 1913, the seaplane with two Greek pilots flew at 1200 meters over the Dardanelles from the European to the Asian coast, did a reconnaissance of the Turkish fleet, dropped 4 bombs and after 2 hours flight landed at sea near the island of Imbros. The plane was targeted by canons and rifles unsuccessfully

During World War II, most navies used seaplanes for reconnaissance, search and rescue, and anti-submarine warfare. Possibly the most commonly known was the Consolidated PBY Catalina which was flown by the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and Canada, among many others. Similar aircraft were used by Japan, Germany, Italy.

A seaplane tender (or seaplane carrier) is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War. Seaplane tenders became obsolete at the end of the Second World War.

A seaplane base may be anything from a stretch of water where seaplanes were based to a full installation, either floating (powered or unpowered) or shore based, where seaplanes were serviced. In the UK these are presumed to be coastal.

Examples of Seaplane used in WW2

Arado 196(Germany)
Short Sunderland
Consolidated Catalina
# Kawanishi H8K "Emily"(Imperial Japanese Navy)
# Mitsubishi F1M(Imperial Japanese Navy)



When did Gelugor Seaplane Base start?


View Larger Map

I am more interested in the military seaplane base. After the war, it was clear that RAF operated the seaplane base. During the Japanese occupation, Japan Imperial Army/Navy took over the seaplane base. How about the base before the war? Is it operated by Royal Navy as Royal Naval Air Station or RNAS?. RNAS means "Royal Naval Air Station" and, in common with the Royal Air Force, is always followed by a geographical place in which the air station is located. (Historically RNAS is the "Royal Naval Air Service"). Royal Navy shore bases and naval air stations have traditionally been named in the same manner as seagoing ships. HMS means Her Majesty's Ship (or His Majesty's Ship if before February 1952). So it seems that it was not Royal Naval Air Service, and then it must be RAF Seaplane base.

In 1918, RAF Marine Branch inaugurated as the Marine Craft Section just eleven days after the Royal Air Force itself was founded, it initially provided back-up for the flying boats.

1928 - The Flight took off again at 09.00 in 50 sees, and left for Penang Victoria Point was passed at 11.00, and after circling Penang, the Flight landed in formation at 15.25, and secured to buoys which had been laid off the Harbour Master s Pier at Glugor, about three miles south of George Town, Penang(Source: AUGUST 9, 1928, Flight)

1930- Introduction of commercial aviation in Malaya when Imperial Airways started its "flying boat" operations at Penang's Glugor Marine Station.

1935- 29 Sep 1935 Opening of Penang civil aerodrome – a 950 yard macadamised strip and 800 yard grass strip (Bayan lepas, land aerodrome)

1937 - Marine Aerodrome: - Marine Aerodrome at Glugor, Penang was listed as completed marine aerodrome in 1937 Malayan Civil Aviation Report 1937 pg 3. (source: Malaya Civil Aviation Annual Report 1936-1938)

1940- Air Sea Rescue (ASR) Service: it developed a rescue service which during and after the second world war became the largest in the world. During the war years alone over 8,000 lives were saved by the crews of the high speed rescue launches who faced enemy action and all weathers to uphold their pledge of "The Sea Shall Not Have Them".. In UK, Directorate of Air Sea Rescue was formed. The Directorate took up it’s duties at HQ Coastal Command on 6th February 1941. Every RAF station had an Air Sea Rescue (ASR) Officer appointed who was responsible for all aspects of rescue on his unit.

Now, it consists of Royal Air Force Air Sea Rescue & Marine Craft Section. Separate RAF Marine Craft Unit (MCU)? Air Sea Rescue Unit (ASRU)?

“During WWII as the RAF used flying boats, such as Sunderlands and Cattalinas, the MCS would ferry technicians and aircrews out to the aircraft.”The Glugor seaplane base may be started from 1928, and end after WW2, 1945, and the base become a marine craft unit.

1941-1945 Japanese Occupation – IJN Seaplane Base

During the war, Japanese used Penang as naval base, the harbor was used as the base for submarines and torpedo boats, and the naval air force used the Glugor seaplane base. Many Japanese seaplanes left at Glugor base after the WW2. It was also reported that Arado 196 also based in Germany U Boat base in Penang. The Ar 196 was a shipboard reconnaissance aircraft built by the German firm Arado starting in 1936. The next year it was selected as the winner of a design contest, and became the standard aircraft of the Kriegsmarine throughout World War II.





1945-1948 Post War RAF Seaplane base

After the war, the RAF took over the base, was under RAF Glugor Seaplane base.
In the post war period the availability of large paved runways and the greatly expanded performance of land-based planes meant that both commercial and military use of seaplanes was much reduced.

1945- In 1945, with peace secured, the RAF ASR fleet was drastically reduced with many wartime craft being sold off. The remaining launches were stripped of their armament and re-designated. The HSL became RTTL (Rescue Target Towing Launches) and the ST (Seaplane Tenders) later becoming RSL (Range Safety Launches). The ASRUs were closed down although some were replaced by regular Marine Craft Units (eg 1110 MCU replacing 22 ASRU at Immingham) as the RAF still had a Search and Rescue remit, along with other duties such as Target Towing for aerial bombing, range clearance and safety work, moorings inspections, and weapon recovery.

1947 RAF Glugor, Marine Craft Unit(MCU)

1947 – Marine Craft Unit becomes a full fledged branch of the RAF. In 1948 the RAF element of the combined service formed into the RAF Marine Branch and with the increase in commercial flying, fulfilled the UK’s obligations to provide a search and rescue (SAR) service.

Marine Craft Unit – a unit formed to operate RAF marine craft. Identified by a number (e.g. 1123 MCU)

"Marine Craft Units - Postwar"
• 1123,RAF Glugor Penang (1945 to 1955?)
• 1124,Seletar,Singapore
• MCRS,Seletar,Singapore
• Paula Brani:-Detachment from Seletar
• Bruni,Borneo,---------"------------
• 1125 Glugor,Malaya.Glugor had the No 1125 prior to Gan.(22 Oct 1955 - 1 Mar 1970)
• 1125,Gan,The,Maldives

Glugor seaplane base became RAF Glugor, home to 1123 Marine Craft Unit. Was also used by the Short Sunderland flying boats of RAF 230 Squadron and RAF 240 Squadron.
RAF Marine Craft were used exstensively in the 2nd World War. Apart from ASR, launches were used for servicing the needs of flying boats such as the Short Sunderland and the Catalina amphibian. Flarepaths laid,aircraft refuelled, bombs loaded and beaching of aircraft were some of the many and varied tasks carried out by the Marine Craft sections. At the end of the war there was a re-organisation of the M/C and in 1947 it became a fully fledged branch of the RAF.

RAF Marine Craft Units provided tremendous service to flying boat (seaplane) crews wherever RAF flying boats were based. They also acted as ‘targets’ for searching maritime patrol aircraft and towed floating targets for aircrews to practice their bombing and gunnery skills. In addition they fulfilled a valuable search and rescue role.

1958- RAF unit wins trophy again PENANG. Mon. The Deputy director of the marine craft section of the Air Ministry in London, Group Captain E. W. T. Hardie. today commended the Glugor unit for its "great achievement" in winning the Far East efficiency trophy for the second year running. He presented the trophy to the unit’s commanding officer , Squadron Leader P Wevill. (source: The Straits Times, 29 April 1958, Page 7)

1958 – RAF handed the Butterworth base over to the RAAF on 1st July, 1958 . RAF administration moved to the Marine Craft Unit base at Glugor, the name RAF Glugor would have immediately been changed to RAF Penang

As helicopter became more advanced they took over many of the A.S.R.,duties. ,the H.S.L were modified to enable them to tow targets and they became,Rescue Target Towing Launches[R.T.T.L's]. The Seaplane Tenders, were modified to Range Safety Launches,[R.S.L's. ]. A larger version of Westland helicopter, the Whirlwind, entered RAF service in Malaya in 1954. Powered by a 600 horse power Pratt ... Helicopters have now almost entirely replaced the RA F's marine craft for air-sea rescue work. There were still Sunderlands operating in the UK until 1956 and Singapore until 1959. (note: The RAF M/C Branch was disbanded in 1986).

1959- In May 1959, the Sunderland Mk V was withdrawn from service in the Royal Air Force. It marked the end of the RAF flying boat era – presumably for all time. The main flying boat base, RAF Seletar, Singapore, home to the three flying boat squadrons of the Far East Flying Boat Wing, Nos. 88, 205 and 209 Squadrons.
On 20th May 1959, Sunderland ‘P’ ML797 Captained by Flt. Lt. J. Poyser, 205 Detachment Commander (Sunderland Aircraft at Seletar) with Flt. Lt. A. Ford DFM, (205 Detachment Seletar) as co pilot and W. Cdr. R. A. N. McReady OBE, 205 Squadron Commander (RAF Changi) made the final flight of an RAF Sunderland. Also on board for the final R.A.F. Sunderland flight was Air Chief Marshal The Earl of Bandon, C. in C. F.E.A.F. After an overnight stop and refueling at RAF Glugor, preparing to take off on the long leg over the Indian Ocean to China Bay.

1963- SNR TECH M. J. WARNER, serving with No 1125 Marine Craft Unit at RAF Glugor, Penang Island, Malaysia, has been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct for remaining at his post as a W/T operator for 24 hours on a rescue launch which was returning to Singapore from Borneo when it was accidently holed and in danger of sinking.( FLIGHT International, 21 November 1963)

1971- In November 1971, the Far East Air Force was disbanded. Britain handed over the Glugor base in the Penang Island on 23 October 1971 to Malaysia.

When the RAF Marine Craft branch closed in 1986, at that time RAF Glugor had been handed over to Malaysian government in 1971. There was no longer any RAF Base in Glugor, Penang. The base was used as Malaysian Marine Police base.


Old seaplane base/marine craft unit at Glugor today

The ASR/MCU sections were an important element within the RAF, 'The Sailors in the RAF'. Most of the buildings still exist today and are used by the Marine branch of the Malaysian Police. It had formerly been a seaplane base and the Control Tower and a couple of small hangars can still be seen. When the Penang Bridge was built in 1984, the area on the seaward side was reclaimed and a six lane highway now runs past it. Tescos is 100 yards north of it.

Suggested website:
1. RAF Butterworth & Penang Association, http://www.raf-butterworth-penang-association.co.uk/The%20Gen/The%20gen.htm
2.Air Sea Rescue & Marine Craft Section Club, http://www.asrmcs-club.com/
3. RAF MarineCraft Homepage, http://rafmarinecraft.bravehost.com/index.html

Malaysian Chinese in Military

Somebody said sometime ago; one minister of defense said some community is not patriotic, because they are not in arm forces. As I read the colonial history of our arm forces prior to independence, the fact was there were many Chinese and Indian in the arm forces. This minister did not read our nation's military history.

Some one comment that there were many volunteers in arm forces during the pre war days, and there were many Chinese volunteers in the resistance movement , especially during the WW2....

Recently there was one remark, why there are more Chinese volunteers in voluntary fire fighting units, than the number in the government fire brigade....

As I go through the history of our uniform units; there were many Chinese in uniform, in colonial days; at least much more than today.....why?...some even lost their life for the sake of the nation.....and yet there were numbers, but not today....

But why the number is declining......

The list of Malaysian Chinese Generals in the arm forces sine its establishment

Air Force – Brigadier General

Brig Jen (Rtd) Huang Chew Siong TUDM (Bersara)
Brig Jen (Rtd) Datuk Toh Boon Fook TUDM (Bersara)- mendiang
Brig Jen (Rtd)Dato' Stephen Ngiau Tai Kong TUDM (Bersara)
Brig Jen (Rtd)Dato' Koh Kia Lim TUDM (Bersara)
Brig Jen(Rtd)  Dato' Loke Kok Yee TUDM (Bersara)
Brig Jen (Rtd) Dato' Soon Lian Cheng TUDM (Bersara)
Brig Jen (Rtd) Dato' Lau Kong Cheng TUDM (Bersara)
Brig Jen Dato' Lim Tiow Yew TUDM - Timbalan Komander, HQ IADS)
Brig Jen (Rtd) Goh Seng Toh

Army Major General

Mej Jen (Rtd) Dato Leong Siew Meng (RSD),Commandant, Armed Forces Defence College.
Mej Jen (Rtd) Dato Lai Chung Wah (KAD),Commandant, Armed Forces Defence College.
Mej Jen (Rtd) Dato' Johan Hew Deng Onn bin Abdullah (RAD)-General Officer Commanding, 3rd Malaysian Infantry Brigade.
Brig Jen (Rtd) Chong Thean Bok – Commander, 1st Malaysian Infantry Brigade.
Brig Jen (Rtd) Hon Mun Loong – Commander, 9th Malaysian Infantry Brigade.
Brig Jen (Rtd) Philip Lee.
Beig Jen (Rtd) Goh Ah Bah – Commander, 9th Malaysian Infantry Brigade.

Navy (FIRST ADMIRALs)
Laksma Pertama(Rtd) Dato Albert Thong Hon Sin (B)
Laksma Pertama (Rtd) Lim Say Kiang (B)
Laksma Pertama(Rtd) Dato Ir Fong Soo Hoi (B)
Laksma Pertama (Rtd)Dato Tan See Ming (B)
Laksma Pertama Dato Tan Eng Seng - Komandan MPAT,Commandant Armed Forces Defence College.

It seems that there are more generals in TUDM(Royal Malaysian Air Force) than Army or Navy....

List of Chinese recipients of PGB

Kolonel (B) Maurice Lam Shye Choon
Mejar (B) Lee Ah Pow
Leftenan Muda (B) David Fu Chee Ming
Sarjan (B) Choo Wah Soon
Sarjan (B) Cheng Eng Chin @ Chong Yong Chin

It was also reported that Ranger Mat Isa bin Hassan PGB, despite the name Mat Isa, he was a Chinese.

I still remember during my school days, many were expired to be student of RMC(Royal Military College), one of the prestigious choice for people who wish to be in uniform. I wonder what happen now?.......

The new recruits for the uniform units in old days, were mainly from Boy Scout Movement, Boy's Brigade, Army Cadets; what happen to these youth movement now?.....

Is the appointment of Brigadier-General Ravinder Singh, a Sikh, as the chief of the Singapore Army, giving any clue to Malaysia?. Sikh, as a community, is having a long tradition of serving in uniform, both as policemen and in the armed forces, not only in Singapore but also Malaysia. But what happen to Sikh community in armed forces and police force in Malaysia, their number are also declining. Now they preferred to be lawyer or doctor in Malaysia, where they can excel in their occupation. Are they facing the same dilemma as the Chinese community? ......

Recommended reading:

1. In the military, the non-Malay is ridden like a horse, by Major (Rtd) D.Swami, http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2077:in-the-military-the-non-malay-is-ridden-like-a-horse&catid=130:Bloggers%20Buzz&Itemid=160(This is a touching article from a retired major, read on the article about Lt Lee Ah Poh,a PGB recipient and how he was treated)
2. 2Lt N.H. Siebel PGB and Captain Maurice Lam PGB in the Congo, http://www.thebluehelmets.ca/documents/Congo%20Kindu%20Airport.pdf
3. LACK OF NON-BUMI PARTICIPATION IN THE ARMY, http://mindnoevil.blogspot.com/2010/06/lack-of-non-bumi-participation-in-army.html( I like this blog, a fair view from a Malay retired army officer)

Battle of Malaya

First RMN(Royal Malaysian Navy) at Penang in 1938

RMN(Royal Malaysian Navy or TLDM)
Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) (Malay: Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia (TLDM)) is the naval arm of Malaysia's armed forces. In terms of personnel the RMN is one of the largest fleet in South East Asia and is also considered as one of the more technologically advanced navy in South East Asia.The role of the Royal Malaysian Navy is to safeguarding the Malaysia's coastline, her Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), her territorial waters and as well as defending Malaysia against all seaborne threats.



History of RMN

Before independence there was no independent navy in Malaya. But the Indian Navy and Royal Navy from Britain were managing the marine defense in the Strait Settlement and later Malay states. The Strait Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve were formed in Singapore(1934) and Penang(1938). Since now Singapore (was under Strait Settlement) no longer in Malaysia, Penang was now the only state left with the history linked with founder of Malaysian Navy - The Strait Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve.

Can we said the founding of Malaysian Navy is Malayan Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR), the Penang Branch of Strait Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve,in 1938 at Penang?........

The names of the early marine defenses establishment in Malaya
1786- British East Indian Company
1826 –Strait Settlement
1830-British Indian Navy- Her Majesty Indian Navy(1830) Bombay Marine(1863)/ Royal Indian Marine(1892)/ Royal Indian Navy (1934). The development of Indian Navy.
British Royal Navy, RN.
1934 - Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve
1936- Royal Navy Malay Section
1941- British Royal Navy Eastern Fleet(based at Singapore)
1942-1945 Imperial Japanese Navy
1945- British Royal Navy Eastern Fleet (from Singapore base)
1949- Malayan Naval Force (MNF)
1952- British Royal Malayan Navy, mainly for coastal petrol
1952- Malayan RNVR(Malayan Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve)
1957- Royal Malayan Navy
1963- Royal Malaysian Navy

1934- Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Malaysian Navy can trace its roots to the formation of the Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve (SSNVR) in Singapore on 27 April 1934 by the British colonial government in Singapore. The first Commanding Officer was Commander LW Johnson,MVO,RN. He was assisted by personnel from RN and Sergeant-Major Adnan Raji from SSVC(Strait Settlement Volunteer Corp)as drill instructor,at HMS PEIANDOK, Singapore in 1941. The SSNVR was formed to assist the Royal Navy in the defense of Singapore, upon which the defense of the Malay Peninsula was based. Another reason behind its formation were political developments in Asia, particularly a Japan that was increasingly assertive in Asia.

In 1938, the SSNVR was expanded with a branch in Penang. Initially known as SSNVR Penang, it was later designated as the Malayan Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR) and received HMS Panji, transferred from Singapore, for training purposes. However by 1940 MRNVR had acquired two additional patrol boats, HMS Trang and HMS Jerong and five minesweepers.

MALAYAN ROYAL NAVY VOLUNTEER RESERVE Operated in Malayan and Straits Settlements waters, with a flotilla of local shipping vessels, some engaged in mine laying and mine-sweeping, utilising adapted civilian vessels of the Straits Steamship Co., and other commercial European and Chinese trading vessels; also launches, with RN, RNVR and MRNVR officers and crews. (Volunteers mixed races: Malaya 433: Singapore 150 officers, 500 ratings)

On 18 January 1935, the British Admiralty presented Singapore with an Acacia class sloop, HMS Laburnum, to serve as the Reserve's Headquarters and drill ship. It was berthed at the Telok Ayer Basin.

HMS Laburnum
HMS Laburnum (Pennant no. T49 in 1/18, later T48)(1915-1942),was a Royal Navy Acacia class sloop built by Charles Connell & Company, Scotstoun. She was laid down February 1915, launched 10 June 1915 and completed in August 1915. The Acacia class Fleet Sweeping Sloops were adapted for escort work, minesweeping and as decoy warships. She was in the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy from 11 March 1922 to 11 February 1935, where she exercised with cruisers, toured New Zealand ports, took part in ceremonial occasions, and went on annual Pacific Island cruises. This was in conjunction with her sister ship Veronica which was similar, but with small differences as they came from different commercial shipyards. She left Auckland on 1 February 1935 for Singapore, where she was paid off to become a drill and training ship for the Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve, commissioned on 18 Feb 1935. HMS Laburnum was sunk in February 1942, prior to the capitulation of Singapore at the beginning of the Pacific Second World War. She was Scuttled, 15 February 1942.

The smaller HMS Penyengat, a HDML(Harbour Defence Motor Launch) was brought in for seamanship and navigational training. By 1937, two motor launches HMS Panglima and HMS Pahlawan, equipped with Lewis guns, were commissioned for coastal patrols. These were built in by Thornycroft in Singapore specifically for the Straits Settlement RNVR(the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy (RN) in the United Kingdom). were outside the normal Royal Navy numbering system for HDMLs. Their names were HMS Penyengat,HMS Pahlawan, HMS Panglima, HMS Penghambat, HMS Pengail and HMS Panji(to Penang).

HMS Panglima
The first Panglima was a 23 metre motor launch built in Singapore in 1937. It was used for the training of naval officers and ratings in the Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (MRNVR). During World War II, the ship was involved in the evacuation of British and Australian troops from Johore, escort duties and patrol duties. However, in February 1942, while evacuating troops from Singapore, it was bombed and sunk. PANGLIMA - Left Singapore 12/2 unfinished launches. Scuttled Palembang River 15th Feb. LT Riches, M.R.N.V.R., HMS PANGLIMA was commanded by Lt H G G G Riches, also from SSRNVR.

HMS Pahlawan
Sub Lt Philip Dorian Cork(1909-1995) from SSRNVR,was the Commanding officer from 14.10.1941 to 12.1941; 08.1942 to 04.1946. PAHLAWAN - Sighted by TENGARROH 0315/14th Feb off No. 5 Buoy, Singapore S.C. No further information. See TENGARROH’s report

HMS Simbang (an ex-RAF torpedo recovery launch) was one of the MRNVR ships together with HMS Panglima and HMS Pelandok. It was transfer to MRNVR in 1948 for a replacement for a Malayan ship lost during the WW2, as announced by Admiralty on 15-7-1948(source: Malaya Bulletin dated 25th August 1948).

Note:
HMS Penghambat(Lost or destroyed to prevent falling into enemy hands at Singapore), PENGHAMBAT - scuttled in Telok Ayer Basin, Singapore, 15th Feb by order of Captain, A.V. Report of LT F.O.S. Man, M.R.N.V.R.

HMS PANJI - Sunk at Singapore by Japanese shellfire p.m. 13/2.

HMS Penyengat(Lost or destroyed to prevent falling into enemy hands at Singapore), and HMS Panglima were Scuttled during WW2. while the other three supposedly managed to escape to Burma to join the Burmese RNVR and survived the war.

The following were under SSRNVR, EASTERN FLEET(under the command of Flag C-in-C Eastern Fleet Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton KCB, DSO, ashore at Singapore)as at Jan 1942:-

Motor Launches - CHENGTEH (Lt P R S O Spicer SSRNVR), MADRAS (no CO listed), O K (no CO listed), PAHLAWAN (Sub Lt P D Cork SSRNVR), PANGLIMA (Lt H G G G Riches SSRNVR), PENGAIL (Lt R J Draycott SSRNVR), PENGAWAL (Sub Lt L C Jago SSRNVR), PENGHAMBAT (Lt F D S Man SSRNVR), PENINGAT (no CO listed), ROHDA (Ty/Lt G D Inns RNVR), SYLVIA (Lt R J D Draycott SSRNVR), locations not known

Auxiliary Anti-Submarine Vessels - BAN HONG LIONG (Ty/Lt G M Christie RNR), BULAN (Ty/Lt W A Busby RNR), GIANG BEE (Act/Lt S K Rayner SSNVR), KEDAH (Cdr A W Sprott Rtd), KELANA (Ty/Lt C J Windsor RNVR), KUALA (Lt F H George, SSNVR), MATA HARI (Ty/Lt G A Brignall RNR), PING WO (Ty/Lt J Fant RNR), all at Singapore, SHU KWANG (Cdr A D Thomson DSC Rtd) at Trengganu, SHUN AN (Lt O R T Henman SSRNVR), SIANG WO (Ty/Lt Cdr A Woodley RNR), both at Singapore, TIEN KWANG (Act/Lt R W Heale SSRNVR) at Trengganu

Auxiliary minesweepers - CHANGTEH (Act/Lt P R S O Spicer SSRNVR), CIRCE (Ty/Lt A Brown RNR), GEMAS (Acting Sub Lt W E Quirke SSRNVR), all at Singapore, HUA TONG (Ty/Lt O G Jones RNR) at Penang, JERAK (Lt H C Butcher SSRNVR), JERANTUT (Ty/Lt J P Upton RNVR), both at Singapore, JERAM (Lt J H Evans RNVR) at Penang, KLIAS (Lt H N Smyth SSRNVR) at Singapore, MALACCA (Lt J W Morphett SSRNVR) at Penang, MEDUSA (Ty/P B Bruce RNR), RAHMAN (Act/Sub Lt D G Freeman SSRNVR), SCOTT HARLEY (Ty/Lt J Rennie RNR), all at Singapore, SIN AIK LEE (Lt J M Brander SSRNVR) at Penang, TAPAH (Cdr G E W W Bayly SSRNVR) at Singapore, TRANG (Lt H T Rigden RNVR) at Penang, WO KWANG (Ty/Lt J Robinson RNR) at Singapore

At Penang
Skid Towing Vessels - PRINCE, VULTURE, both at Penang (no COs listed),
Auxiliary minesweepers - HUA TONG (Ty/Lt O G Jones RNR) at Penang, JERAM (Lt J H Evans RNVR) at Penang,MALACCA (Lt J W Morphett SSRNVR) at Penang,SIN AIK LEE (Lt J M Brander SSRNVR) at Penang,TRANG (Lt H T Rigden RNVR) at Penang

(source: ROYAL NAVY SHIPS, January 1942 Part 4 of 4,OVERSEAS and COMMONWEALTH NAVIES, Part 4, http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm)

With the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, the SSNVR increased the recruitment of mainly indigenous personnel into the force, to beef up local defenses as Royal Navy resources were required in Europe.

1936-1947 Royal Navy- Malay Section
Members of the SSNVR were called up to active duty, and the force was augmented by members of the Royal Navy Malay Section. This formed the basis of the navy in Malaya, called the Malay Navy, manned by indigenous Malay personnel (similarly, the Malays were recruited into the fledgling Malay Regiment formed in 1936). The Malay Navy had a strength of 400 men who received their training at HMS Pelandok from 1940-1942, the Royal Navy training establishment in Malaya(note: this training centre was destroyed during a Japanese air raid). Recruitment was increased and in 1941 at the outbreak of the war in Asia, the Malay Navy had a strength of 1450 men. Under the command of first commanding officer, Commander H. Vickers(or Lt Cdr Horace Vickers), the recruits were trained as telegraphists, seamen and signal visualizes before serving on board RN ships, mostly merchantmen hastily converted and armed for combat. These ships were part of 80 warships the RN had for the defense of Malaya against the Japanese, with the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battle cruiser HMS Repulse leading the fleet.
(Note: Battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battle cruiser HMS Repulse were sunk in South China Sea, off Kuantan. HMS Hwang Ho with Lt.-Commander H Vickers was sunk off Lingga and he and his crew were taken as prisoner of wars (POW's) to Pulau Bangka where he later died, and another report that VICKERS, Horace, Lieutenant Commander, Siang Wo, 13 February 1942, ship loss, killed, source: http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1942-02FEB.htm)

HMMS Sri Melaka Ex HMS Malaya, HMS Pelandok Ex LCT 341
Originally named as HMS Pelandok but renamed two months later as HMS Malaya, she was one of two remaining LCT Mk 3 remaining in the Royal Navy service in 1947. The vessel was brought to Singapore during World War II and was then refurbished after the war for duties in Malayan waters. She initially served as a maintenance repair craft for the Royal Navy but was later converted to a training and accommodation ship before entering service into the Malayan Naval Force on 18 April 1949, to serve as a training ship like her namesake. As of January 1957, she was still listed as the maintenance repair craft HMMS Sri Melaka in the RMN vessels list.





Sembawang was home to a major British naval base, its construction of which began in 1928 and was completed in 1938. The base included dockyards, wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas.

The WW2
The RN was however shocked on 2 December 1941 when these ships were sunk by Japanese warplanes, exposing the RN's fleet weakness against air attacks since there was no effective air cover available. Eleven days after the sinking of the capital ships,

1. HMS Lipis was sunk in Sarawak waters.
2. HMS Kudat sunk in Klang harbour,
3. HMS Surveyor was sunk in Pulau Besar and
4. HMS Kampar was sunk in the South China Sea.
5. HMS Matahari & (6) HMS Larut, were sunk by Japanese aircraft near Pulau Sabang while withdrawing from Malaya, on 13 January 1942.The survivors who swam to the island were later rescued by HMS Kedah, which was heading towards Java Island after evacuating Borneo waters.
7. HMS Pelandok - In Singapore, HMS Pelandok was initially bombed on 8 December 1941 but was later destroyed in January 1942 by Japanese air raids.
8. HMS Laburnum - All able-bodied survivors were then moved to HMS Laburnum to join members of the MRNVR there. However, HMS Laburnum herself was damaged by the Imperial Japanese Navy on 11 February 1942 and was scuttled four days later at the Fall of Singapore to avoid her capture by the Japanese.

One of the casualty was Ahmad Saidi(recorded as AHMAD, Bin S),Ordinary Seaman, SE/X 658 (Malayan RNVR), MPK(missing presumed killed in battle on 9 December 1941). He entered the navy in 1939. He was the younger brother of Lt Adnan Saidi. Lt Adnan bin Saidi, (1915 - 14 February 1942), was a Malayan soldier of the 1st Infantry Brigade which fought the Japanese in the Battle of Singapore. He is regarded by Malaysians and Singaporeans today as a hero for his actions on Bukit Chandu. His other brother Amarullah bin Saidi was also a member of the military, but survived the war.

Evacuation to Australia

By this time, all surviving ships were ordered to make a break from the harbour and sail for Australia via Indonesia, and for Colombo. Of the Malay seamen left behind in Singapore, 25 were killed by the Japanese in Tanjong Pagar after the surrender while the rest were sent as force labourers to Siam, Burma and Indonesia although some managed to escape to their kampongs.

Most of the ships escaping to Australia were sunk by the Japanese who were waiting in ambush in the south of Singapore.
1. HMS Vyner Brooke - was sunk by 9 Japanese Bombers on 14 February off Pulau Bangka with 20 Malay seamen dead.
2. HMS Hwang Ho - with Lt.-Commander Vickers was sunk off Lingga and he and his crew were taken as prisoner of wars (POW's) to Pulau Bangka where he later died.
3. HMS Siang Wo and 4. HMS Shu Kuang - were sunk on the same day but the survivors from the latter ship managed to reach Padang Sumatra where they were evacuated by the light cruiser HMS Dauntless to Chelicap Java. There, the Malay survivors joined those on board HMS Kedah that now headed towards Colombo as the way to Australia was no longer safe. Unfortunately after two days sailing. HMS Kedah had mechanical problems and was taken under tow by HMS Dauntless and arrived in Colombo in March 1942.

H.M.S. Kelantan, HMS Pangkor, HMS Pahang, HMS Perak, HMS Kepong, HMS Matang, and escort H.M.S. Medusa also safely arrived in Colombo in addition to H.M.S. Kedah. Of the 143 Malay Navy and MRNVR personnel now in Colombo, some were sent to East Africa to serve as intelligence operatives and others to India to prepare troops for the liberation of Malaya. Those remaining in Colombo were mainly deployed as telegraphists or harbour securitymen, while a number of selected personnel served with the British Military Force 136 and the USA's clandestine military unit OSS 404. These men later returned to Malaya with the liberation forces on September 1945.

Throughout the Second World War, the Malay Navy served with the Allied Forces in the Indian and Pacific theater of operations.

1945 - The WW2 ended
When the war ended with the Japanese Surrender in 1945, only 600 personnel of the Malay Navy reported for muster. Post war economic constraints saw the disbandment of the Malay Navy in 1947. In 1946, Commander (later Captain) HEH Nicholls, from RN, who was born in Pahang state, led the force from the disbandment of the Malay navy, through the MNF days, into RMN until his retirement just before Malaya independence. It was he who began to promote senior Malay Navy veterans to officer post in 1953 and who recruit young men as cadet for officer training in the UK from 1954.

1949 – The Malayan Naval Force(1949-1952)
The need for a permanent regular naval force was raised by the Government of Malaya, and after much preparatory work, the Government of Singapore announced that it was prepared to raise and maintain a naval force known as Malayan Naval Force. Ordinance No 40 of 1948 which received the assent of His Excellency Governor on 24-12-1948, authorizing the raising of Malayan Naval Force by, and at the expense of the Government of Singapore.

The Malay Navy was reactivated on 24 December 1948 at the outbreak of the Malayan Emergency, the Communist-inspired insurgent war against the British Colonial government. The Malayan Naval Force regulation was officially gazetted on 4 March 1949 by the colonial authorities, and was based at an ex-Royal Air Force radio base station in Woodlands, Singapore. The base was initially called the 'MNF Barracks' but later renamed HMS Malaya. The new naval force was further implemented by Ordinance No 13 of 28th April 1949, which made the Force subject to the Naval Discipline Act and made provision for its service in time of emergency.

The Malayan RNVR was reconstituted as a joint force comprising the Singapore Division and the Federation Division, by an Ordinance passed in Singapore in 1952.

Two of the Malayan Navy Force personnel were honored with BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL (Military Division), Sergeant-Major Adnan Raji, Master-at-Arms & Syed Mohamad bin Syed Hussin, CSM, Singapore Vol. Corps. Adnan Raji was the first Malay promoted to Petty Officer.

The main mission of the Malayan Naval Force (MNF) was coastal patrol in order to stop the communist terrorists from receiving supplies from the sea. In addition, the Force was tasked with guarding the approaches to Singapore and other ports.

The MNF was firstly equipped with a River class frigate, HMS Test, which was used as a training ship.

At the end of 1949, MNF fleet had expanded to include the following:
1. Landing Craft Tank (LST) Malayan Ship HMS Pelandok
2. Landing Craft Gunnery
3. Habour Defence Motor Launches(HDML), now classified as Seaward Defence Motor Launches (SDML)
4. HMS Test, which was on loan from RN, to be returned to RN in Jan 1950

HDMLs(now reclassified as SDML) were later progressively transferred to the Malayan Naval Force from the RN's 200th Patrol Squadron in Singapore from 1949. These were RMN's first naval combatants, mainly for coastal patrol. The lists are as per the records below:-

Pennant Number (EX) Built Transferred Name Deactivated

SDML 3501 (ex HDML 1081) 8.10.41 1951 Sri Kedah 1959

SDML 3502 (ex HDML 1105) 3.43 1949 Sri Trengganu 1970

SDML 3505 (ex HDML 1333) 15.9.44 1958 Sri Pahang 1965

SDML 3506 (ex HDML 1334) 16.10.44 1950 Sri Negeri Sembilan 1966

SDML 3507 (ex HDML 1335) 2.1.1945 1950 Sri Perak 1966

SDML 3509 (ex HDML 1336) 30.9.44 1949 Sri Selangor 1961

SDML 3508 (ex HDML 1385) 8..43 1950 Sri Kelantan 1965

HMS Test Ex -HMIS Neza(1941-1955)
HMS Test was one of six River class frigates built by Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen. It was laid down on 15 Aug 1941, launched on 30 May 1942, and finally commissioned on 12 Oct 1942. The frigate was transferred in 1946 to the Royal Indian Navy as HMIS Neza (K239)for WW-II service, but was returned to the Royal Navy in Apr 1947. Being surplus to the Royal Navy's needs, she served as an accommodation ship in Singapore from 1948. However in 1949, she was loaned to the newly created Malayan Naval Force as a training frigate until hulked a year later. She finally scrapped on 25 Feb 1955.

1952- "Royal" Title - British Royal Malayan Navy 1952-1958
In August 1952, Queen Elizabeth II, bestowed the title "Royal Malayan Navy" to the Malayan Naval Force in recognition of the sterling service in action during the Malayan Emergency.

1955- The Pioneers
The Straits Times, 24 March 1954, Page 4, reported that RMN is sending 8 cadets to Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, UK, said Capt H. E. H. Nicholl. But 9 was sent.

They are the "golden boys" of 1955, the nine youngsters who were the pioneers of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Rear-Admiral (now Laksamana Muda)(R) Datuk Thanabalasingam Karalasingam, Laksamana Pertama (R) Pavithran Krishnan Nettur, Kept (R) Cheah Leong Voon, Kept (R) Phang Kok Keng and Kept (R) Khoo Tee Chuan, Laksamana Pertama (R) Malcolm William Alvisse, Laksamana Pertama (R) Abdul Aziz Wahab, Capt Chitharanjan Kuttan, Vice-Admiral (now Laksamana Madya) (R) Datuk Mohamad Zain Mohamad Salleh. Although they were officially the pioneers, two others had joined the navy as officers before them.
Chia Cheng Lock joined in 1953 but retired prematurely in June 1962 as a lieutenant after differences with the administration. Charles Tong joined in January 1954 and retired as a commander at the age of 52 on May 12, 1988. "However, both Chia and Tong were enlisted under a different service scheme," Chia, 71, now lives in London, and Tong, 69, is in Penang.

At that time, the navy was only 512-man strong with some pre- war ships which saw valiant service in naval gunfire support operations up Malayan rivers during the 1948-1960 Emergency period." Khoo was the first commanding officer of the naval college KD Pelanduk in Lumut.

The navy was initially based in Woodlands, Singapore when Malaya was under British rule, before moving to Malaysian shores after Independence. Upon graduating from the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in England in 1959, the nine officers were asked to set up the naval branch of the Defence Ministry.

Khoo supervised KD Hang Tuah's voyage from Britain to the main naval base in Woodlands in 1964. He later oversaw the construction of the country's main naval base in Lumut in 1982. This resulted in the shifting of the KD Pelanduk naval college at Sembawang and the main training base KD Malaya at Woodlands to Lumut. Khoo had the distinction of having participated in battle during his 18-month operational sea training on board the aircraft carrier HMS Alision in the Mediterranean Sea, after being commissioned as an officer in 1958. "The carrier was called upon to assist the other British forces in the area after the Cypriots and Turks waged civil war in Cyprus. "I was in action for four months from May 1958 before our Government sought my release."

Thanabalasingam, perhaps holds a world record in being navy chief at 31 and receiving four promotions within a span of six months. At one time, he was also appointed acting Armed Forces chief when Jen Tunku Osman Jiwa was away attending the regional border committee meeting in Bangkok. In 1967, he was serving as resident naval officer in Tawau with the rank of lieutenant-commander. A month later, he took command of KD Hang Tuah with the rank of commander before being promoted to captain to be groomed as the country's first navy chief. "I spent a couple of months in Australia on a familiarisation tour and attended specialised command and staff courses, tailor made to lead a navy. "When I returned on Dec 1, that year, I was promoted to commodore as RMN chief, something that usually takes 35 years," said Thanabalasingam, who was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1973. He retired at 40 in 1976 to make way for "younger blood".

(source: http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/new-straits-times/mi_8016/is_20050515/golden-boys-55/ai_n44295462/)

1957 - Formation of new country - Malaysia
1957 – The RMN comprised of 31 officers (all British except 3), 98 senior sailors(28 British), and 500 junior sailors, they were based at Woodlands, Singapore(HMS Malaya). In addition, there were two divisions of MRNVR , one in Singapore with 183 officers and 529 sailors, and another in Malaya(which split into Penang & Kuala Lumpur) with 44 officers and 144 sailors. They operate varieties of petrol boats.

1958 - Royal Malayan Navy 1958-1963
Malaya, soon after attaining independence on 31 August 1957, had successfully negotiated with the British Government and had the British Royal Malayan Navy transferred to the independent Federation of Malaya on 12 July 1958. With the hoisting of the Federation naval ensign - the White Ensign modified by the substitution of the Union Flag with the Federation flag in the canton - the RMN was thus made responsible for Malaya's maritime self defense.

1959-The trying years with RAN(Royal Australian Navy)
The Malayan Government initially showed some reluctance to take responsibility for the naval defense of the country, perceiving that it did not need a navy. The British withheld defence assistance to change this mindset, and the Royal Malayan Navy (RMN) was established in 1958. Unfortunately, the British, initially, did not supply the right kind of personnel to bring this new navy up to effective levels of organizational, technical or operational performance. In 1959, the Malayans invited Australia to assist, offering the RAN the position of chief of their navy, having previously agreed that Australia and New Zealand should be ‘attached’ to the agreement allowing British forces to be stationed in Malaya.

In 1958 a small Naval Branch was established at the Ministry of Defence under the first Commander of the Royal Malayan Navy, Commodore ED Norman, DSO, DSC, RN This Branch was expanded during 1960s.

It was not an opportune moment for the RAN to loan experienced officers to another navy, as the RAN had a major re-equipment programme beginning to deliver new ships and equipment and there was an associated need for significant retraining. Nevertheless, the new commander, Captain W. J. (Bill) Dovers and staff officers to support him were found and, within a few weeks of being told of their unusual new posting, by January 1960 the new officers were at the helm of the RMN, and many positions of importance and influence were occupied by Australian officers and sailors. During the term of the subsequent RAN ‘Adviser’ to the RMN Chief of Naval Staff, Malayan ties with the RAN continued to strengthen, with students accepted for training in RAN specialist schools. The RAN was not alone in supporting the RMN during its difficult first years. British interest and assistance remained strong, and countries like India and New Zealand were also involved in training and maintenance roles.

From then on it became Malayan owned and administered. The designation "Royal" in Royal Malayan Navy was now in reference to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who became the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces. All ships, facilities, and personnel serving in the Royal Malayan Navy were inherited by the Malayan government.
The new force shouldered the responsibility with only an operational and training base at HMMS Malaya and a small coastal fleet of one LCT, two Ham class minesweepers, one coastal minelayer, and seven MLs (the ex-RN 200th Patrol Squadron) on transfer from the Royal Navy.

KD Mutiara was the first ship officially awarded the title "Kapal Diraja' or KD on 20 May 1961. Amongst her other firsts were she was the first ship specifically built for the RMN and she was also the first locally built vessel, wholly built with local wood by local artisans.

1963 Royal Malaysian Navy(1963 until now)
On 16 September 1963 the naval force was renamed the Royal Malaysian Navy, following the formation of Malaysia. The RMN was gradually strengthened after the formation of Malaysia. 18 Keris class patrol boats were ordered from Vosper, and these formed the mainstay of the navy for years to come. These 103 ft (31 m) boats were driven by Maybach diesels and capable of 27 knots (50 km/h). The Keris patrol boats were confined to coastal patrols and had short endurance. An offensive capability was acquired with the purchase of four Vosper Brave class fast attack craft. The Perkasa class Fast Patrol Boats were built for the RMN by Vosper Thorneycroft in 1967, powered by three Rolls Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines as the main power plant with two diesel auxiliary engines for cruising and manoeuvring. These were armed with four 21-inch (53 cm) torpedoes, one Bofors 40 mm gun forward, and one 20 mm cannon aft. They had a maximum speed of 54 knots (100 km/h) and was driven by triple propellers.

HMS Loch Insh/KD Hang Tuah(K433)

The Royal Navy transferred the Loch class frigate HMS Loch Insh to the RMN in 1964 and renamed KD (Kapal di-Raja, "His Majesty's Ship") Hang Tuah. In 1965, during the Indonesian Confrontation, Hang Tuah took over guardship duties off Tawau from HMS Yarra. The ship served the RMN until decommissioned in the 1977 and scrapped.

HMAS Yarra (F07/DE 45)1957-1985, named for the Yarra River, was a River class destroyer escort of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Yarra was laid down by the Williamstown Naval Dockyard at Melbourne, Victoria on 9 April 1957,and commissioned into the RAN on 27 July 1961. Yarra operated during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation; during a three-week patrol in June 1965, the ship fired on an Indonesian incursion force near Sabah. The ship's service was later recognised with the battle honour "Malaysia 1964-66". She was sold for scrap on 22 November 1985.

KD Hang Tuah, ex HMS Loch Insh
HMS Loch Insh (K433/F433) 1944-1977 was a Loch-class frigate of the Royal Navy, named after Loch Insh in Scotland. She was built by Henry Robb of Leith yard, of Henry Robb Ltd. HMS Loch Insh was launched on 10 May 1944. During her service in WW2, she had sunk U286, and U307, both German Submarine, in the Barents Sea north of Murmansk, Russia. At the end of World War II she was decommissioned, but reactivated in 1950 and served, mostly in the Persian Gulf, until 1962. She was placed on the Disposal List, and sold to the Royal Malaysian Navy in 1963. After a very extensive refit at Portsmouth, which included changes to the superstructure and the provision of helicopter landing facilities, on 2 October 1964 the ship was commissioned into the Royal Malaysian Navy and renamed KD Hang Tuah (F433). She sailed for Malaysia on 12 November 1964, and served as the flagship of the Royal Malaysian Navy until 1971, when she was used as a training ship until withdrawn from service six years later. She was scrapped in 1977). Visitor and tourist can visit and explore this nostalgic ship at Bandar Hilir, Melaka or at the Lumut Navy base.

Malaysianisation of the Navy
Following the end of Indonesian Confrontation in 1966 Tunku Abdul Rahman and his colleagues decided to Malaysianise the top posts in the navy and air force. They initially offered these posts to two senior Malaysian army generals, who declined for two main reasons. First they felt that they were not professionally qualified and second because they did not want to jeopardise their own careers in the army.
Tunku and his colleagues then decided that they would select two officers, one from the navy and one from the air force, and appoint them chiefs of their respective services. They were fully aware of Rear Admiral Datuk K. Thanabalasingam's age but decided, nevertheless, to appoint him and take the risk. This exercise created history not only because Malaysians for the first time were appointed to these two top posts but also because of his age—he was 31 years old and a bachelor.
Under Thanabalasingam and with Tunku Abdul Rahman's foresight and will, they were responsible for initiating the gradual transformation of the navy from a coastal navy (brown water force) to an ocean-going navy (blue water navy).

The first three RMN chief were Australian from Royal Australian Navy(RAN), who had contributed to the strong foundation of RMN, and established relationship between RAN and RMN, where training were given by them. Rear Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri Dato' Seri K. Thanabalasingam(1967-1976) was the first Malaysian to be the Chief of young RMN,and holding the record of not only the first, but also the only one from Indian community.

List of the Chief of Royal Malaysian Navy

1. Commodore ED Norman, DSO, DSC, RN (1957-1960)
2. Captain W. J. (Bill) Dovers, (1960-1962)
2. Captain A. M. Synnot(1962-1965),
3. Commodore A.N. Dollard Ran(1965 - 1967)
4. Chief of Navy - Rear Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri Dato' Seri K. Thanabalasingam(1967-1976)
5. Vice Admiral Dato' Mohd Zain bin Mohd Salleh(1976 - 1986)

Rear Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri Dato' Seri K. Thanabalasingam - The first local Chief

Rear Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri Dato' Seri K. Thanabalasingam is the third chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy and the first Malaysian to be appointed to the post.
Born in 1936,December 0, 1936 (age 75). of Ceylonese or Sri Lankan Tamil descent, Thanabalasingam joined the British Royal Malayan Navy, which was then under British control, in May 1955. He was sent to the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) in Dartmouth, England, from which he graduated in early 1958.
He then decided to join the newly established Malayan Navy, which was fully Malayan owned and administered in late 1958. On his return to Malaya, he was appointed the first Naval Cadet Training Officer at the then Federation Military College at Port Dickson (currently the Royal Military College, Kuala Lumpur in Sungai Besi) from January 1, 1959.

By then, newly independent Malaya under Tunku Abdul Rahman's leadership had successfully negotiated with the British Government to transfer the British Royal Malayan Navy to the Malayan Government on July 1, 1958.

The British Royal Malayan Navy and all its assets (the ships, the bases and jetties and personnel) were merged with the existing Malayan Navy and from then on it became Malayan owned and administered. This new entity was named Royal Malayan Navy, and the designation “Royal” was a reference to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

After the trials and tribulations of the Indonesian Confrontation settled down, especially after the signing of the agreement between newly formed Malaysia and Indonesia in 1966, Tunku Abdul Rahman and his colleagues decided to Malaysianize the top posts in the navy and air force. They initially offered these posts to two senior Malaysian army generals, who declined for two main reasons. Firstly they felt that they were not professionally qualified and secondly because they did not want to jeopardise their own careers in the army.

Tunku and his cabinet then decided that they would select two officers, one from the navy and one from the air force, and appoint them chiefs of the respective services. They were fully aware of Thanabalasingam's age but decided, nevertheless, to appoint him and take the risk. This exercise created history not only because Malaysians for the first time were appointed to these two top posts but also because of his age—he was 31 years old and a bachelor. Tan Sri Dato Sulaiman Sujak was the first Malaysian in RMAF, who was the Chief of RMAF from 1 Nov 1967 - 31 Dec 1976.

Under Thanabalasingam and with Tunku Abdul Rahman's foresight, the Royal Malaysian Navy was gradually transformed from a coastal navy (brown water force) to an ocean-going navy (blue water navy).

At the end of 1976, he retired from the naval service as Rear Admiral at the age of 40. He ventured subsequently into private business. He currently lives in Kuala Lumpur.

Recommended articles/book/websites:

1.The Royal Australian Navy in Malaya, Malaysia and Singapore, 1948-1971, by Dr Ian Pfennigwerth
2.Loyal leader earned respect, http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/loyal-leader-earned-respect/2007/10/23/1192941061269.html
3. THE MALAY NAVY IN WORLD WAR II , http://securemalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/01/malay-navy-in-world-war-ii.html
4. RAAF Official website
5. HMS LOCH INSH (K 433) - Loch-class Frigate; http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-15Fr-Loch-LochInsh.htm
6. H.M.S. LOCH INSH , http://leithbuiltships.blogspot.com/2010/06/hms-loch-insh.html
7. What happened to the HMS Laburnum? ,http://singaporeevacuation1942.blogspot.com/2007/02/did-hms-laburnum-actually-exist.html(picture of HMS Laburnum)
8. Straits Settlements Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (SSRNVR) Officers, 1939-1945; http://www.unithistories.com/officers/SSRNVR_officers.html
9.Harbour Defence Motor Launch,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbour_Defence_Motor_Launch