The Perak Triumph Owners’ Club – a Self Adhesive Badge
Does anyone know anything about this club please. The badge is small (4cm diameter) and self adhesive. It is made from metal.
April 2009
An Ambush Story From Kuala Selangor in 1951
British Police Lieutenants Street and Allmond were posted to Kuala Selangor within days of their first arrival in Malaya. They reached that town without incident and spent the night there. The following morning they were issued with weapons and were informed that they were to be stationed at one of the local Rubber Estates.
A land Rover and escort of four Special Constables arrived from the estate, which was to be their destination and they were sent on their way. All went well until shortly after the vehicle had turned onto the gravel road leading into the estate when the vehicle was ambushed by a skilfully-led group of Chinese and Tamil terrorists. There was no escape.
Allmond and the driver of the Land Rover together with one or more of the escort were killed during the first burst of gunfire. Street, who had been sitting alongside Allmond, was uninjured but covered in blood from his dead companion, leapt out of the vehicle and made a dash for cover. As he did so a bullet shattered his left kneecap and he collapsed on the road. The shooting eventually stopped and the terrorists emerged from concealment and began stripping the dead of their weapons. At this stage Street realised that he was the only survivor and that his only chance for survival was to play dead. Hardly daring to breathe he shut his eyes and hoped for the best.
Street’s predicament was compounded by the fact that he had fallen face down and could not therefore see what was happening. Having been in the country for less than a week he spoke not a single word of Malay, Chinese, or Tamil and had no idea of what the terrorists were talking about as they went about their business of stripping the dead. A group of them then approached, talking among themselves as they did so, and one, putting his foot under Street’s body, turned him over so that he was facing upwards.
Obviously deciding that his shirt was too bloodstained to warrant removal, one of the terrorists proceeded to cut off his buttons and badges of rank whilst administering the odd kick or two. A considerable amount of discussion was going on between the terrorists and, although he could not understand what they were saying, Street guessed that they entertained some doubt as to whether he was dead. Terrified at the prospect of what would follow if they decided that he was alive’ he breathed a silent prayer and concentrated on proving that, if not exactly dead, he was very close to being so.
He heard the sound of a match being struck and a few seconds later felt an excruciating pain as one of the terrorists stubbed a lighted cigarette on the bridge of his nose. Somehow or other he managed not to flinch or cry out with pain. This seemed to convince the terrorists that he was beyond recovery and he was picked up and deposited with the bodies of Allmond and four dead Special Constables on the back of the Land-Rover which the terrorists set on fire before departing.
Street managed to extricate himself from the bodies on the vehicle and fell onto the road unable to move because if his shattered kneecap.
About three hours later a police party, which had been sent out from Kuala Selangor to investigate why his group had not reported at their destination, found him. He was subsequently taken to Bangsa Hospital in Kuala Lumpur where, after a number of unsuccessful attempts to repair his knee, doctors finally had to amputate his lower left leg.
Such was the life for the more than 500 British Police Officers that served in the Police Force during the Malayan Emergency, many of them not as lucky as Police Lieutenant Street.
The Gambling Farms of the Federated Malay States
No doubt you have heard of dairy farms, vegetable farms and the like, but what about “Gambling Farms”?
The term Gambling Farms (so-called because they were run by representatives of syndicates termed farmers) seems to have originated from the Federated Malay States (FMS), for although gambling was prohibited in other British territories, in the FMS, “farmers” were given exclusive rights to set up gambling houses in return for a payment to the government.
By law, only Chinese were allowed onto the premises of these gambling farms. The British justified the legalizing of gambling by claiming that the Chinese were hardened gamblers (a claim which was later refuted by the ‘Protector of Chinese’ – how could he?) and that if they did not do so the Chinese would gamble in their mining kongsis anyway. The licensed gambling farms, which enticed coolies by hiring prostitutes as bankers, staging shows and offering sumptuous delicacies, brought in more than $3 million in revenue to the FMS government every year. However it was said that the moral tone of the Chinese community was deteriorating because of the Farms and in 1905, an Anti-Gambling Petition was sent by the rich and influential Towkays of the Chinese community to the High Commissioner. Not much was done to improve the situation however (after all the government were making big bucks) and it was only in 1913 that the ‘Common Gaming Houses Enactment’ took effect, outlawing most forms of gambling in the FMS.
“The Richest Chinaman in the World.”
At the start of the 20th century, the above title certainly belonged to Foo Choo Choon. Prior to him the mantle of the Richest Man in the FMS changed hands several times between the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, from the renowned Capitan China, Chung Keng Kwee, to the entrepreneur Loke Yew. But within the 1st decade of the 20th century, Foo Choo Choon had overtaken Loke Yew in terms of wealth. Foo Choo Choon came to Malaysia as a 13 year-old Chinese immigrant in 1873 and worked for Chung Keng Kwee in his Lahat mining concession. The bulk of his initial wealth was amassed in 1897; from his extraordinarily rich mine in Tronoh which became the richest mine in Kinta at the time. Foo Choo Choon then formed a syndicate and proceeded to obtain further mining concessions, turning himself into a mining magnate. At the turn of the century he sold his Tronoh mine to British interests who floated the mine, and made Foo Choo Choon the first Chinese director of a British listed company. After the sale of a second concession, he went on an acquisition trail that was to turn him into the Tin King of Malaya. In 1905, Tronoh Mines Ltd, of which Foo was the majority shareholder, and Foo’s own mines, topped the list of most productive mines in Perak, prompting the Ballarat Courier to refer to him as “the richest Chinaman in the world”.
The above is a summary of one of many heritage articles written by Dr Ho Tak Ming and published in the Ipoh Echo. If you don’t get the Ipoh Echo you are losing out on your heritage facts. Of course you will also be missing out on the Echo’s ‘from the shoulder’ articles.
A British Police Officer Gave His Life for Us to Live in Peace
POLICE LIEUTENANT M R LIVINGSTONE
KILLED IN AMBUSH IN TEMENGGOR
25 DECEMBER, 1950
At approx 10.00 a.m. on the 25th December, 1950, a party of seven police constables of the Police Frontier Force under the command of Police Lieutenant. M R Livingstone proceeded from Kampong Temenggor to the Temenggor Tin Mine in the Grik area of Perak to investigate a report that the mine had been destroyed by fire.
About 1½ miles from the tin mine the police party was ambushed by an armed gang of bandits estimated at fifty to seventy strong. During the subsequent engagement Livingstone was shot in the head and killed instantaneously. Two police constables were also killed and the remaining four others wounded. A follow-up party of Police and Royal Marines were unable to locate and recover the body of Livingstone until 27th December, 1950.
The funeral of Livingstone took place at a jungle patch near Kampong Temenggor one and a half day’s walk from Grik at 5.15 p.m. on 27th December, 1950. The funeral service was conducted by ASP P J D. Guest of District Police, Grik. The Form of the Service had been sent to ASP Guest, by wireless, by the Church of England padre of the Royal Marines.
The simple but impressive service was attended by members of the Police and the Royal Marines stationed in the vicinity for operations. A salute was fired at the graveside by a Royal Marines guard of honour.
Livingstone had served with the Police Force for only three and a half months but during that short time he had won for himself the respect and confidence of his subordinates and superiors alike. His devotion to duty was of a high order and would have assured him a very successful career in the Police Service.
With the aid of the Military Authorities, the remains of the late Police Lieutenant Livingstone were recovered from his jungle grave and re-interred in the Christian cemetery in Taiping on 8th December, 1954.
The recommittal ceremony was conducted by the Rev. Lewis, Chaplain to the Forces and Vicar of All Saints Church, Taiping. Present were OCPD Taiping and Mrs. Turner, Police Lieutenant J W Wells and a contingent of rank and file. Wreaths were laid by the OCPD on behalf of the Perak Contingent, Federation of Malaya Police, and by Mr. Wells on behalf of Mrs Livingstone, the mother of the deceased, now Mrs E Wharton of Upton, Wirral, Cheshire.
Ford Car Registered AA 3
Does anyone recognise this family and their car, registration AA3. The photo came with some others from the albums of the Lau Ek Ching family of Ipoh and Pasir Pinji.
A Wickham Armoured Railcar c1950
These Malayan Railway railcars designed by the Brtish and named the Wickham Armoured Railcar, were used during the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960 to carry bullion and other valuables to protect them from the Communist terrorists (CTs). Subsequently they were used as Public Works Department Inspection Trolleys. One example is on show at the Royal Malaysian Police Museum in Kuala Lumpur. It’s a place well worth a visit.
Images 1909 to 2009 – The Centennial Anniversary Anderson School
Just published, this book includes a history of the school, recollections of years gone by and some thoughts on the way ahead for the next century. It is available from the Old Andersonians Association who can be contacted via the Old Andersonians Club, Ipoh. It is priced at RM130. The scan does not do justice to the cover which is actually much nicer than shown with the lettering blocked in gold. My scanner apologises for the poor result.
Should you need any contact details etc please ask via this blog.
Happy reading!
Faces of Courage – The Story of Sybil Kathigasu GM
Published by Media Masters, Singapore and Authored by Sybil Kathigasu, Chin Peng and Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor, Faces of Courage stands as the first in-depth study of Malaya’s legendary war-time heroine, Sybil Kathigasu, and the impact her dauntless decisions and actions had on the members of her immediate family.
An essential aspect of this book is the personalized historical background and insight on the Japanese occupation era provided by former Secretary General of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), Chin Peng. It was Sybil’s association with the Perak People’s Anti-Japanese Army (PPAJA) – the communist-controlled guerilla organization in which Chin Peng played such a leading role – that provided the very foundation on which the Kathigasu legend eventually emerged and flourished.
Faces of Courage throws fresh light on a quite extraordinary story that became caught in a politically-induced, post-World War II time warp.
Sybil’s book, No Dram of Mercy, in which she recounts her horrific experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese Kempeitai, was completed several months before her death in June, 1948. But the manuscript was withheld from publication until 1954. British colonial interests deemed nothing good should be said about the communists in Malaya while Commonwealth forces still struggled to gain supremacy in the bitter jungle war known as the Malayan Emergency.
So often the cursory re-telling of legendary tales creates ill-conceived myths. The Sybil Kathigasu story is a case in point. And here the effect has only been compounded by Britain’s original propaganda ploy.
Faces of Courage is a book within a book. Sybil’s personal record, No Dram of Mercy, constitutes the opening section of this three-part volume. As such it provides a ready reference point for the revealing research, observations and reflections that follow.