Royal Military Police Journal, Third Quarter 1960, Courtesy RACMP Museum 2001

On 13 June 1960, the first Commonwealth Military Police SIB Course was opened at Penang, Malaya, sponsored by DAPM, HQ 17 Gurkha Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces - Major J.A. Gibb, RMP.

Of two weeks duration, the hosts were Penang Detachment, 28 Commonwealth Infantry Brigade Group Provost Unit, under the charge of Lt. J.K. Stephens, RAA Provost, who also organised a BBQ. Judges' rules being temporarily forgotten, it was noted with interest by the Australian members present, the manner in which their UK counterparts smartly arrested and grilled the available fillet steaks!

Under the guiding hand of Captain S.G. Evans, RMP, Officer Commanding SIB Malaya, assisted by RSM R.A.J. Tyler, MBE, CSM A.K.T. Hewitt, and Sgts B.Johnstone and T.N. Suckling, intensive instruction covered a wide field of learning, and much was learned from the teaching and instructions's experienced. Major R.W. Payne, RMP, DAPM (SIB) FARELF also honoured the course with a visit. Many were the predicaments in which various syndicates found themselves involved, as they endeavoured to discover "who done it" while trampling valuable evidence underfoot in their thirst for knowledge.

These brief notes would be incomplete without mention of the patience of Sgt Frank Thomas, RMP, who, as the corpse on several occasions was prodded, searched and generally left for dead! Sgt Suckling's practiced ease as a cineprojectionist will leave nothing to be desired when the time comes to retire.

In conclusion, the knowledge gained by the eighteen British, Australian, New Zealand and Malay NCOs will ultimately assist SIB in the near future, when their numbers are drastically reduced and it will not be possible, as in the past, to pick up a telephone and have the experts on the job in a short space of time. We sincerely hope that this type of instruction will not remain "the first and only" even if it means a refresher course about every six months.