- Distinguished service in Malaya recognised
12 August 2008
By Judith Martin
Thousands of New Zealanders fought in the Malayan Emergency and Borneo Confrontation.
Overshadowed by the impending Vietnam War, the conflicts are often referred to as the “forgotten wars”.
The counter insurgency campaign took place mainly in dense jungle as the Commonwealth fought the communist terrorists, and then went on to fight with Malaya in a military confrontation with Indonesia.
The efforts of most were officially acknowledged, but a 17-strong group, each of whom had been nominated for distinguished service, returned home and were never awarded formal recognition of their actions long ago.
More than 50 years later that situation is being put right this month as the Chief of Army, MAJGEN Lou Gardiner presents fifteen Mentioned in Despatches certificates and two Commander in Chief commendations to the surviving men or their next of kin.
Kiwi soldier Private Harvey Boylan was on a troop ship from Malaya and bound for home when he heard he had been Mentioned in Despatches.
He didn’t think much of it; the 24-year-old didn’t even know exactly what he had done to deserve the award. “I know I had enjoyed myself. I loved the soldiering in the jungle – it was second nature to me.”
Several months later, a Burnham Camp officer, Captain Ken Gordon, himself a Malaya veteran, noticed Private Boylan wasn’t wearing his distinctive bronze oak leaf which signified his MID.
“Captain Gordon asked me where it was, and I didn’t even know I was supposed to have one.”
The officer, who was later to become MAJGEN Gordon, and had also been Mentioned in Despatches in Malaya, found a spare bronze oak leaf in his drawer and pinned it to the private’s uniform.
Many years later the men met again and they realised neither of them had received the official certificate which recorded the award in the London Gazette.
MAJGEN (Rtd) Gordon takes up the story.
“Everybody knew I had been mentioned in Despatches (MID) and not having a certificate didn’t worry me. I was a regular long service soldier, and it didn’t seem important. But guys like Private Boylan, they were on short service. Their three year engagements, mostly in Malaya, were often their only service experience and it was a very important time for them. I was very keen that he receive a certificate, as I knew that he’d love to have his children and grandchildren have something which recorded his operational experience.”
MAJGEN Gordon began researching which of those eligible in 1 NZ Regiment (1957-59) had or hadn’t received recognition. He spent hours going through archives, and speaking to both the 1 NZ Regiment Association secretary and individuals, in an effort to locate the veterans in question.
He worked closely with Dr Aaron Fox of HQ NZDF, who had considerable involvement in the project, and also with Mary Slatter of HQ NZDF library, who researched London Gazettes of the period.
‘It was just a bit of a hobby at first but when we discovered that 12 individuals were involved, the Patron of the Association asked me to formally take on the project.”
No one knew exactly why the men missed out on their certificates. It was most probably an oversight caused by the move from Malaya. The battalion personnel largely dispersed on arrival back in New Zealand with many of their number either going to different units, or even leaving the Army.
“In 1960 the rump battalion in Burnham had a new command group, so there was no corporate memory. Maybe it just slipped through the cracks. The important thing is that this oversight is now being redressed.”
Harvey Boylan, who wanted to remain in the Army after his Malayan deployment but had to leave for health reasons, says he is delighted that his actions are being recognised. “It’s all up to the General (Gordon) though. He’s great – he always looked after his men.”
A similar circumstance existed from the Borneo Confrontation era, where five 1RNZIR veterans had been overlooked for MID certificates. Colonel (Rtd) Brian Marshall, a veteran of the Confrontation, together with the NZ Malayan Veterans’ Association, took up the cause. COL Marshall wanted a certificate to show his grandchildren. He also knew some of his men had not received their awards, so decided to formally pursue the issue.
“Some of them like (Corporal) Windy McGee really deserved more. That man was a legend in his time. His skills were absolutely fantastic in the jungle – he could smell the enemy out. He was an amazing soldier.”
COL Marshall says he loved his time in Borneo. “I was lucky. My platoon had been in country for nearly a year when I arrived. We spent the next two years in the jungle, and it was intensive patrolling, two to three weeks at a time, looking for trouble. My platoon got more than half of the action that happened. I didn’t lose anyone, brought them all home, which was great.”
He earned his MID after a contact that lasted more than 12 hours. “A single gun from the Malayan artillery was supporting us and fired 186 rounds. My company commander gave me hell for that.”
Framed certificates of the official London Gazette record of “Mentioned in Despatches” are to be awarded to the following veterans or their next of kin:
- PTE H Boylan
- SGT B Hill
- CPL N Sinclair
- LT K Gordon
- CPL N Kawha
- LT B Marshall
- MAJ RI Thorpe
- MAJ RWK Ainge (deceased)
- MAJ B Boyd (deceased)
- WO 2 GE Butler (deceased)
- WO 2 PRK Carrington (deceased)
- CPL RH Cassidy (deceased)
- LTCOL WRK Morrison (deceased)
- CPL WA McGee (deceased)
- CAPT D McLeod (deceased)
The certificates are identical to contemporary awards.
Commander in Chief, Far East Land Forces Commendations are to be awarded to PTE WTP Nathan, and the next of kin of the late SGT L Hepi.
Mr Ian Moray-Smith of Army General Staff has co-ordinated the presentation ceremonies which will be held in several cities throughout New Zealand.
A Malayan campaign veteran who will receive his Mentioned in Despatches certificates this month has vivid memories of his first operational experience.
Major (Rtd) Bruce Hill served as a platoon sergeant of 6 Platoon, B Company 1 NZ Regt after he was posted to the unit in 1957.
“I had a particularly good platoon, and the men had exceptionally high standards. The CTs (communist terrorists) had been in the jungle for many years and were very skilled at moving unseen. They were also on the run as they had been defeated in urban areas and were using the jungle to hide. For us to find and eliminate them we had to be very disciplined and quiet. The platoon whispered and used hand signals, and we achieved the success we did by being quiet as we moved through. Even when the men were on leave for the first couple of days they would just sit on the beach and look out to sea, hardly saying anything.”
He often acted as platoon commander during his officer’s absence on leave or sickness and was commanding his platoon when the battalion made its first communist terrorist elimination in May 1958. Later that year he commanded his platoon again when it was engaged in deep jungle operations south of Fort le Gap, during which time he accepted the surrender of five terrorists. Major Hill went on to serve in the Ist (NZ) SAS Group, and retired in 1981.