This document was retyped from the original dated 16 April 1970 obtained from the Australian War Memorial - AWM224 MSS594. Nothing has been changed, added or altered from the original.

(The unit disbands as a three nation unit in January 1970)

by

Major J.M. Symington, RAA PRO

"Unless a man knows what has been accomplished in the past, he has no measure on which to judge what is possible in the future." (Brigadier Jackson)

"A unique and outstanding unit, a fine example of Commonwealth integration," said the General. And we all know Generals speak only the truth!

But let us start at the beginning. Although 28th Infantry Brigade took part in the Korean War from 1951 to 1954, Provost were of course part of 1 Commonwealth Division Provost Company. So it was not until September 1955, that 28 Indep Inf Brigade Gp Provost Unit was born as an intergrated and lusty child in Penang. With Capt (now Major) R.K. Gorman, RAA PRO as OC, "father and mother" to use an old Indian Army expression.

The establishment of this unit has always been to a large extent bastard; in that like Topsy it just grew and grew.

The Australian component consisting of the OC, Capt R.K. Gorman, RAA PRO, one Sergeant, 15 Corporals and one private driver, was raised in Melbourne, trained and fostered by S Comd Pro Coy.

On 24th August, 1955, the then PM of the Australian Army, Lt Col J.F. McWilliam, accompanied by the DAPM S Comd, Major E.A.C. Seaton, inspected the component. The significance of the occasion was stressed on all. This was the first Australian Provost component to serve in Malaya in peace time.

It is interesting to note that CPL H.Haines (now WO1 Haines) is the only other rank still serving in the Australian Regular Army who was in at the beginning, although our present CQMS, SSGT Peter Hewitt, RMP, was a LCPL in the unit when it formed.

After an uneventful voyage the PRO disembarked on 19th October, 1955, at Swettenham Pier, Penang, to be greeted by the DAPM Malay Command, Major "Tiny" Littleboy, and the Staff Captain (Provost) 1 Federal Division, Capt John Babbage, accompanied by the CSM 28 Comwel Inf Bde Gp Pro Unit, WO2 "Duke" Poore, RMP.

Proceeding direct to the BAC School at Northam Road, the Australian and British components met for the first time. "They eyed each other for a few seconds, and then became firm friends" (Quote Gorman.)

The RMP element had in the main been transferred from Malaya Command Provost Unit, and they brought with them all unit equipment and stores, except for jeeps and trailers and the six Harley Davidson motor cycles which had come from Australia. The total strength of the unit was now one officer (Capt) and 40 other ranks, with two civilian cooks. There were no RNZ PRO at this stage.

The Emergency in Malaya was of course in full swing in those days, and the main duties of the new unit were traffic control, and policing of the large Out of Bounds areas. Detachments were put out with Brigade HQ at Butterworth, and HQ 2 Federal Brigade at Ipoh. A Flight Sgt and thre Cpls of RAF Police were attached to the unit, and joint patrolling was the order of the day.

Accommodation at the BAC School, Penang, was now becoming cramped and eventually the unit settled in a hiring at 3 Lim Mah Chye Road. A trap be it known of evil repute, from which visitors could seldom escape unscathed!. If one were musical it would be easy to write a score to the old theme - "finances were tight, so unit help was in vogue." And right nobly did the unit set to work. CSM Poore built a most pleasant club on the verandah, and - well, see my earlier remarks!

In the middle of 1957 there was a change of CSMs and we welcomed WO2 Crowther, whilst WO2 Poore went on RHE. Other RMP NCOs at this time included Sgts Pat Beckley, Bob Attar, Cpls Bob Sacco, GE Smith, and SGT Shilcock replaced Sgt Keith Rowe from Australia.

About this time also (mid 1957) HQ 28 Bde moved to Taiping and again a detachment was required. The unit was now spread thin on the ground, as to top it all so to speak, one NCO was required at the change of air station in Cameron Highlands.

An outstanding event on 31st August, 1957, was the granting of Independance to Malaya. Merdeka Day involved the Military Police in many extra duties and parades, and with their wide deployment it was difficult to make ends meet.

In October 1957 Capt Gorman handed over command to Major E.A.C. Seaton and so ended the first two years of the life of 28 Commonwealth Independant Brigade Group Provost Unit.

The unit HQ was still located at 3 Lim Mah Chye Road, in Georgetown, but this was not to be for much longer. A local court case ensued over the hiring, and the legal pundits argued at length. But the Divisional Commander was briefer, the unit moved into "basher" acommodation at Minden Barracks!

1958 opened with a change of Brigade Commanders; Brigadier H.J. Mogg, DSO (now Lieut-General Sir John Mogg, KCB, CBE, DSO) relieved Brigadier P.M. Moore, DSO, MC and at unit level WO2 P.Duke replaced WO2 Crowther, and SGT F.Light, RMP, took over from SGT R.Attar, RMP.

A visit by the Australian CGS during the year highlighted the need for additional personnel to cover our wide deployment. A prompt amendment to the unit establishment authorised an additional Australian Sergeant and sic Corporals. CPL W.A. Eade (now WO1) was promoted to fill the vacancy, and shortly afterwards approval was obtained to fill the 2IC vacancy. RMP were unable to supply a suitable officer at that time, and Lt J.K. Stephens, RAA PRO, arrived to fill it.

Brigade Commanders have a way of getting their wish. So it was, that Unit HQ moved once more, this time to Taiping, and yet more "bashers." The move to Taiping saw a detachment under Lt Stephens left Minden Barracks to police Penang Island and Butterworth.

A change of PMs at HQ FARELF took place at this time. The celebrated Colonel "Alf" Ritchie, MBE, was replaced by Colonel "Gentleman Jim" Astley-Rushton, and we had a visit from Brigadier P.H. Richardson, DSO, OBE, PM War Office. Hereby hangs a tale!

During a sultry afternoon,s car journey from Taiping to Penang with the OC the two PMs in the rear seat had dropped off to sleep. (Food and wine was good at Brigade HQ mess.) The car came upon a lorry laden with coconuts. They were excellent specimens, green and shiny and piled high on the lorry. On walking one PM was heard to say, "What the hell are those things, Jim?" Reply, "I don,t really know, seems like a load of green balls." It was obvious that neither PM had seen a green nut as it took the rest of the journey for the OC to convince them that coconuts did not grow as hairy brown objects on the palm like those seen in barrows in Covent Garden or Darlinghurst. At a dinner party that night in the OCs house the AOC Butterworth, Air Comdre Keith Parsons, RAAF, presented Brigadier Richardson with the largest green coconut that the Ocs Indian cook could find in the vicinity; much to the delight of the ladies, and of course the two British Provost Marshals.

It was during this period 1958, that operations in North Malaya began to reduce, owing to the clean up of Communist Terrorists, and roads that had been declared "black" for many years, became "grey", and then as they became safer, they were declared "white". Operations withdrew further to the Thai Malay border, and from that time Provost detachments were required for duty in the small border towns to the north.

Events brought a visit from General Thanom Kitakchoen, the Thai Defence Minister and his entourage. (He is now the Thai Prime Minister.) Strong security was the call, and Provost together with the armoured cars of the Cavalry Regiment were out in strength. It was a first class performance throughout with "bags of escorts and heaps of bull".

Now a new name began to appear on staff officers desks. "Terendak Cantonment" - and the OC had his first glimpse of the plans for the great garrison. Terendak has come a long way since then!

1958 was now drawing to its close. SGT Shilcock was replaced by SGT Frank Cornell from Australia, and SGT Light, RMP, was replaced by SGT Cameron, a dour Scot of few words.

Major A.W. Johnston, RAA PRO, arrived in 1959 to take over command. He served a full two years in the Brigade during the period of the major move of the unit from North Malay to Malacca. Major "Lex" Johnston as he was fondly known, died in Sydney in 1966 after a long illness. Major units in the Briagade during 1959-1961 included the KDG (later to become the QDG), the 1st Loyals, 1 NZ Regt, 2 NZ Regt, 3 RAR, 1 RAR, and 26 FD REGT RA.

Between 1961 and 1963 the epoch of Terendak began. The camp as it now stands, shortly to be handed over to the Malayan Army, is a noble and far flung cantonment deserving an article to itself, or at least a piece of verse!

Four churches, four swimming pools, 900 married quarters, clubs, messes, shopping arcades, schools, kindergartens, such is Terendak. It cost 10 million pounds to build and has been used for only seven years! Such are the whims of our political masters. (But don,t you be 6d (10 cents for Aussies) out on your Imprest account or look out!)

But to return, the Unit was still known as 28 Comwel Indep Inf Bde Gp Pro Unit, however, early in 1961 this was changed to 28 Comwel Inf Bde Gp Pro Unit. (The Brigade had come under command of HQ 17 Gurkha Division.)

The deployment of the unit at this time was:

HQ and 2 Sections at Taiping

1 Section at Ipoh

Detachment at Penang and Detachment at Malacca

The latter was housed in the Happy Lands Hotel, and it was not till March 1961 that the Military Police compound in Terendak was completed. Sleeping accommodation was still within the Australian Battalion Lines.

The various units comprising 28 BDE then spread throughout North Malaya now started to occupy Terendak as their accommodation became available.

In May 1961 the MP Annex at the NAAFI Club was built for use as a CPLs Club. Again in November of that year, a change of command took place with the arrival of Major "Mick" Gray, RAA PRO, who was the first OC to live in Terendak Camp.

The unit now concentrated in Terendak, with the exception of one NCO in the Cameron Highlands. At this stage also the unit was supplemented by the arrival of 3 RNZ PRO NCOs, SGT Cyril Anderson and two CPLs, who were immediately used to implement the patrolling of Married Quarters areas, both inside and outside camp, which had become a major task.

1962 opened and continued with a series of Brigade exercises designed to train units in the air mobile concept. At the insistence of Brigadier Hassett, the PRO unit became the Brigade experts in this concept. Members attended courses, and later provided instructors to indoctrinate others.

In September the Malacca detachment took up a rather lengthy residence in the Grand Hotel. This terminated abruptly in 1967, when a house of ill repute was allegedly operating on the floor below. The Division Commander Major General A.G. Patterson, DSO, OBE, MC, said "Out". And it was so.!

The Garrison Military Police too, were created at this stage, and have functioned as a section ever since, under Provost control. The men coming from major units within the Brigade, and being trained for simple police duties within the confines of Terendak Camp.

In early 1963 CSM Brian Gater took over from WO2 Duke. The Brigade Commander, Brigadier Hassett, had handed over to Brigadier Dawson, NZ Army, in December 1962.

During July 1963 some RMP personnel were detached for duties in connection with the initial phase of Indonesian confrontation.

Confrontation started in earnest in December 1963.

There was a large number of armed incursions by Indonesian Regular and Irregular troops of Sarawak and Sabah in Borneo and of the Malay Peninsula and Singapore.

28 Comwel Inf Bde Gp Pro Unit provided detachments in support of operations in the West Malaysia and Thailand areas, during which time the unit became very proficient in air-portability techniques.

Escorts and security duties were provided for important dignitaries visiting Terendak Garrison. These included HRH Field Marshal Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Thier Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, HE The Governor of Malacca and the High Commissioners for United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Major units which served in the Brigade during the period under review included, 2nd Bn Scots Guards, 1st Bn Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 3rd Bn The Royal Australian Regiment, 4th Bn The Royal Australian Regiment, 1st Bn Royal New Zealand Regiment, 45 Light Regt RA and 6 Light Regt RA. The CO of 1 RNZIR was Lt Col R.Gurr who is at present the Brigade Commander.

Unit personalities at this time included, 2ICs Capt K.G. Petersen and Capt D.J. Whiting, RAA PRO; CSMs Gater and Ferguson, RMP; and CQMS J. Burton, BEM, MM, RMP. Section Sergeants were: Sgts Drury and Patterson, RMP; Sgts D.J. Todd, N.A. Pullen, R.M. Woodrow and A.J. Schatz, RAA PRO. The RNZ Pro Section Sergeants were Sgts. McKerrow and Mitchell.

During this time the unit establishment provided for 24 RAA PRO including OC and 2IC, 20 RMP including CSM and CQMS, 1 REME artificer, 1 ACC Cook and 6 RNZ Pro NCOs. For training and operational purposes the unit was organised as follows:

HQ - 2 Officers, 5 Ors, 2 attached

Three Provost Sections each 13 NCOs - 39 ORs

Rear party including Provost NCOs attached to Terendak Garrison Military Police section - 4 ORs

Throughout the period, the unit suffered from a lack of radio communications for traffic control and defence purposes and from inadequate weapons with which to defend the allocated unit area in the field, vehicles on the move, TPs and Check Points. Pistols and SMGs are totally inadequate in a guerilla-type situation.

During 1964 and early 1965, 28 Bde was an independant brigade group and the Pro Unit,s title reflected that status accordingly. Subsequently the brigade was placed under command HQ17 Dic/Malaya Area. It was at this time that it ceased to be a brigade group. The DAPMs at Malaya Area (subsequently combined with HQ 17 Div) were Major R.J. Sherville, MM, RMP, and Major D. ST J.Newman, RMP. Provost Marshals FARELF at the time were Colonel R.Davenport, OBE, and Colonel A. Rawlings, MBE.

In early 1966 Major R.H. Bell, RAA PRO, handed over command to Major H.L. Slater, MBE, and shortly afterwards CSM Ferguson, RMP, was replaced by WO2 Brown, RMP.

Confrontation was now drawing to a close and the Brigade settled back into its normal routine of training exercises, puncuated by visits of VIPs and many and sundry ceremonial parades.

Brigadier Dawson changed over with Brigadier T.D.H. McMeekin in 1964, and he in turn was replaced by Brigadier P. Tancred, OBE, in January 1967.

By this time Colonel A.G. Joslin, MBE, was PM FARELF. In January 1968 Major Slater handed over to Major J.M. Symington, RAA PRO, and shortly afterwards Colonel Joslin was instrumental in obtaining a grant to start off the Military Police Club.

The accounts were ably handled by CAPT Harry Andrew our gallant 2IC. Also about this time the unit took to the golf course. Many and weird were events that Bukit Terendak Club witnessed. Golf clubs on the roof, strange guttural curses from the ditches, and wild exaggerations and claims, over Tiger, at the 19th.

But already the great days of Terendak were running out. The Gurkha Battalion went from Sunge Udang in November 1968. And with the arrival of 1969 the seeming unending streams of VIPs grew more dense. We often did three or four escorts a week, and sometimes several in one day. Everyone it seemed from the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand downwards descended upon our unprotected flanks.

Between times exercises continued unabated. In April 1969, 3 LI departed for UK. They were not replaced.

Some unit personalities in these more recent times included CSM Fred Ford who left us to go to Hong Kong as RSM, and is now CAPT Ford in Scottish Command Pro Coy. CSM Lawrence, SSGT Hewitt (back for a 2nd or is it 3rd tour?), SSGT Sedgewick, SGTs Foster, McGrath, Smith, Burton, all RMP. SGTs Lean, Woodrow, Thompson and Harris, RAA PRO. And of course SGT Sutherland, RNZ PRO.

The present PM FARELF, Col J.B. Buckmaster, OBE, took over from Col. Joslin in June 1968; mention must be made of Major "Bob" Payne, Major Les Mason, and Major "Chick" Henwood in the PMs office. Whilst at HQ 17 DIV we recall with pleasure, memories of Major Mike Sheppard and the present DAPM Major Bill Stannard.

But the "old order changeth", and the Brigade inits present form as a tri-national formation is to disband, due to the British pull out from the Far East.

We are sad. Because here at last was one area, in which the Commonwealth concept shone brightly, where integration and co-operation were 100 percent. Shortly the RMP are to leave us, and Australia and New Zealand are to go it alone. Perhaps in the future, some ray of sunshine will blind us, and amidst the clashing of cymbals, and the playing of "The Watch Tower", they will return. Be assured the seat will still be warm, and the Tiger cold.

The new 28 Comwel Bde Pro Unit consisting of RAA PRO and RNZ PRO personnel is to be located at Nee Soon, Singapore, under the command of Major Fred Gernhoefer, RAA PRO, who took over in October 1969. We wish you well, it has been a long trot since Penang 1955.