Description
Object description
British schoolchild in Biggleswade, GB, 1939-1945; private and NCO served with 1st Bn Suffolk Regt, Malaya Command in Federation of Malaya, 1951-1952
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as schoolchild in Biggleswade, GB, 1939-1945: contact between schoolchildren and troops in area; aiding war effort; community efforts to raise money for war equipment; story of fishing incendiary bomb out of River Ivel; attitude of schoolchildren towards war; contact with Italian prisoners of war; sight of German Air Force attacks on London; victory celebrations, 1945. Aspects of enlistment and training as private with Suffolk Regiment in GB, 1950-1951: attitude towards National Service; basic training at Colchester Garrison; reaction to posting to Federation of Malaya; jungle training in Colchester area.
REEL 2 Continues: distribution of different cap badges to new conscripts; objective of basic training; importance of physical training. Recollections of operations as private with 1st Bn Suffolk Regt, Malaya Command in Federation of Malaya, 1951-1952: voyage from GB to Federation of Malaya, 1/1951 including sea sickness on board; train journey to Kuala Lumpur; jungle training; counter-measures taken against road ambushes; allocation to 8 Platoon in C Coy; attitude towards presence of female insurgents.
REEL 3 Continues: nature of jungle warfare; preference for term 'bandit' for insurgents; danger of giving quarter in jungle; introduction to 8 Platoon; reaction to first jungle patrol; organisation of loads to be carried in jungle; separation of platoon into sections for patrols; use of Owen Gun; reaction to appointment as leading scout; need to clear camp after overnight stay; aiding section which had been ambushed; sight of dead Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents; reaction to death of comrade in ambush; success of his platoon in jungle.
REEL 4 Continues: quality of unit officers and NCOs; burial of comrade; use of a Surrendered Enemy Personnel (SEPs) to lead patrol to Malayan National Liberation Army insurgent camp; how Surrendered Enemy Personnel (SEP) led his section to Malayan National Liberation Army insurgent camp; hand signals used in jungle; anonymity of officers in jungle; handling Iban trackers; description of ambush on unit during raid on Malayan National Liberation Army insurgent jungle camp; reaction to wounding of friend during ambush on 9 Platoon.
REEL 5 Continues: rest and relaxation on Penang Island; background to promotion to lance-corporal; Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents' laying of mine on jungle track; description of planning and execution of ambush on five Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents in jungle; casualties during ambush and unusual injury sustained by comrade; superstitions within platoon; attitude to towards tour of duty drawing to the an end.
REEL 6 Continues: NCO's decision to bivouac in rubber plantation and effect on patrols nerves; story illustrating hazards of patrolling near villages with cesspit systems; sabotage of rubber trees by Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents in Sepang area; attempt to prevent Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents slashing rubber trees on plantation in Sepang; story of ambush in rubber plantations in Sepang; importance of identifying dead Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents.
REEL 7 Continues: identification of dead Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents at police station; presentation of bottle of champagne by Asian shopkeepers in Kuala Lumpur; punishment after drunken celebration by platoon; encounter with insurgent Lu; discovery of severed insurgent finger in jungle; practical jokes in platoon; return to Kajang; precautions against spread of disease in camp; punishment of soldiers who damaged civilian's garden crops; recites song about sergeant-major; attitude towards plantation managers in Kajang.
REEL 8 Continues: reiteration of story of Malayan National Liberation Army ambush in which unit personnel were wounded; difficulty of returning to jungle after period of leave; ambush of Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents on bicycles; attitude towards carrying out last patrol; how he decided to stand down from patrol work; difficulty of contacting Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents in jungle; start of medical problems.
REEL 9 Continues: hospitalisation in Military Hospital in Kuala Lumpur; voyage HMT Windrush from Federation of Malaya to GB marching battalion colours off ship at Southampton; negotiating Customs at Southampton; reaction of parents to his return; mother's fear of receiving telegram containing bad news; attitude towards Malayan National Liberation Army insurgents.