Malayan Scouts/22 SAS


by  Allan Glass

It was some fifty years ago that the letter came. I had spent the first two years of my police service in the same job - commanding a jungle squad in Kampar. It was an all Malay squad and they were the finest and bravest of men.That was how I learned their language and,though I did not know it at the time,that was why the letter from Police Headquarters arrived. It told me,(without saying why),that I and three other police officers were to be posted to the SAS Malayan Scouts. My first thought was what have I done wrong? The first thoughts of two of the four police officers selected,subject to interview by the Commander of the new unit,were different. They did not want to get involved in a new untested project which would be both dangerous and might not succeed and asked to be excused. They were right about the dangers involved and I suppose showed more common sense than John Ford and myself who duly reported to a temporary camp in Kuala Lumpur which was little more than a muddy quagmire and a really dreadful place to be. Here we were interviewed by the Commanding Officer of the new unit - Lieutenant Colonel Mike Calvert,B.A.Cantab.,DSO and Bar,otherwise known from his wartime exploits in Burma as Mad Mike. The basic requirements that he had laid down were knowledge of the Malay language,experience of operations and of acquiring the sort of intelligence that his small new unit would require on its operations. He now wanted to establish just what our background and experience was and if it was up to the standard he required. We passed muster. 22 SAS was Colonel Calvert's and he set the rules irrespective of what other military commanders in Malaya wanted. Both John Ford and I thought he was streets ahead,in intelligence and operational expertise,of those he had to deal with in the Army. This in fact was his main problem and it did not endear him to higher authority. A simple illustration of this was his refusal to accept the military ruling that compasses should be issued on a scale of one per nine man section. He demanded and got one for each three man unit,which was how we operated. In this and many other ways he won the argument but this did nothing to increase his popularity with those who lost it. The unit moved to a new base at Dusun Tua,a great improvement on the KL camp.Dusun Tua's main attraction was the hot thermal baths in which we wallowed in luxurious enjoyment after training or return from operations. What did we actually do in the Malayan Scouts? The SAS is a secret organisation so I will confine my remarks on operational successes and failures to a bare statement of our role. It was to undertake deep penetration operations in order to locate and destroy terrorists no matter where they tried to conceal themselves. This we did,with little fuss and less credit than appears to be the form today. I can however say something about our life on operations and our difficulties. My first operation was as the nominal second-in-command to a Troop Commander, Sinclair-Hill (known inevitably as Bukit-Sinclair),a charming officer who led the troop most effectively. We were on operations for one hundred and four days,which was at that time the longest operation carried out by any unit in Malaya. We completed detailed patrolling of a vast area of Pahang. We were supplied by air following the air drop routine which I had already learned during my time with the jungle squad. I remember that our kit new when dropped would virtually drop off our backs within a week. We often wondered how the men in General Slim's Army managed to cope in Burma. One of the things that has remained with me since those days so long ago is a hatred of vegetable salad by Heinz. However much one hated such tinned food one could hardly throw it back at the aircraft. Unfortunately this detestable mixture was one of our Commanders favourite dishes. Enough said! Communications were very primitive by today's standards. We were still using morse and messages were put into code and then transmitted by pedal trans-receivers. These were really out of date even compared to the 68 sets used by other units but had the advantage of much greater range. I always had great respect for our SAS signallers operating under such awful conditions. At least we were able to communicate. I remember during a month long operation in 1949 in Kampar we had to borrow two Gurkha signallers as the Police then did not have mobile radios. When out on a long patrol I used to sleep in a small one man hammock with a waterproof top and mosquito proof sides. As a three man patrol we did not have the man power to mount night sentries after the day's march so we surrounded our camp site with effective booby traps and were comparatively safe - provided we remembered were they were! Although we had other things to think about there were some quite beautiful things to see in the jungle. I remember particularly some of the rivers and small lakes. Not to mention wildlife. One three man patrol came back to base and said they had seen a pride of tiger cubs. When asked what they did they said that they had kept very quiet and just watched"as discretion was a sign of maturity - and survival" A wise,safe decision. Finally Colonel Calvert joined us and I had the task of leading him out to the river Aur where he was to be picked up by an RASC sea going launch. But it was a very rough sea and wisely he decided not to leave that day. Meanwhile not having had a shave or haircut for three months I really needed one. In what was then the little village of Mersing I found an Indian barber who,despite my appearance,took me in hand. I feared he would give me a traditional army 'short back and sides' but in all fairness must admit he did a good job. On returning to Dusun Tua I learned with great sadness that John Ford had been drowned on his first operation. The death of this good friend came as a shocking surprise as he was a superb,very powerful swimmer. After I had had a short break from operations Police headquarters asked for my return but Colonel Calvert asked if I could be retained for a further four months. At that time I was very much involved in collecting and coordinating intelligence on the Bentong-Kuala Lumpur-Mankis triangle for the new Rhodesian Squadron. Their commander was Colonel Wall who later became a General and head of Rhodesia's armed forces after U.D.I. and during the guerrilla campaign. Then after a very good and satisfying rest, I, the sole survivor of the first Police officers to be seconded to the Malayan Scouts,returned to normal police duties. My final contact with the SAS took place shortly after my return. A Trooper O'Leary of the SAS had become lost whilst on patrol and was then murdered by some Sakai. I knew the area well and could speak their dialect and was asked if I would help to recover the unfortunate O'Leary's remains. I was due to go on leave after a busy tour of duty but the Judge who was to try the case against the main accused said I was not to fly on leave until after the case was over. He anticipated that the risk of my aircraft crashing on the flight to the UK or on the return flight was too great and that O'Learys body must be recovered first...Not exactly the type of thing to improve one's confidence in airlines. I flew into Kampong Aur where the accused was being held at a small police post. Then with an escort of two SAS Troopers,the accused and the Sakai headman,we set off in a dugout canoe for a small mudbank where O'Leary was buried. The remains were easily identified as he was one of the first soldiers to wear a gold ear ring which was recovered. The accused was extremely co-operative and helpful throughout this part of the investigation. After making our way back to Kampong Aur we made arrangements for the remains to be flown out for post mortem and proper burial at Kuantan.The accused was also sent to Kuantan to be formally charged and my task was done.
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