Malayan Emergency 1948 - 1960

[Arthur 257]

Hi

I am a new member with an interest in the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960, and would like any information from fellow members on RN Ships that were patrolling the area during this period, and the duration in the area (dates).

[hucks216]

Due to the time frame I would expect the list of ships involved in the Malayan Emergency to be quite long. My father served onboard one ship during the Emergency, both at sea and also as a member of an IS Platoon in the area of Ipoh (I believe). You may well get the information you seek at the following forum...

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/index.php

[peter monahan]

I've been holding off on this one, as it's a bit but, a fine yarn anyway.

I met a chap decades ago who had done his National Service in the Navy, as he 'hated walking' in his own words and the Navy was offering green stamps or something the day he reported to the recruit center. He had 2 marvelous anecdotes.

First, he shipped out to Malaya on an Army ship - yes, they did have them. His rank was "Leading Coder", abreviated "LCdr" and the pongos mistook him for a Lieutenant Commander, so he lived the high life enroute!

He was attached to a a capital ship - one of the big battleships, [sorry, name's gone]. As he was an educated bloke, he was put to work teaching the Chinese 'dhobi wallahs' [laundry boys] to read and write and, again, lived a high old life until the day his ship was called upon to shell a rubber plantation suspected to be full of guerrillas/terrorists.

He sat that one out in the mess, trying to read a paper over the noise and concussion. Imagine his surprise when the CPO called him on deck and told him he was leading the landing party sent ashore to 'count the bodies' [not just an American idea, apparently]. He insists that he was terrified and probably left fingerprints in the grip of the SMG he carried! However, luckily, no live 'terrs' remained. Nor did any bodies.

For what it's worth! And he did say he felt very lucky not to have been slogging through the greenery fighting the leeches and the bugs,