A journey through life of drama and adventure in England and Malaya 11/5/24
Between 1940 and 1950 his father lived in Africa India Burma and Malaya where he was with his father, during the police operation against the communist insurgents.
His mother Maud Gill had come from a coal mining village in Durham, and at the age of 38 found herself in Malaya. His father had won the opportunity to go to the Naval Academy and made a military career.
Aircraftsman Shaw is better known as Lawrence of Arabia.
His paternal grandmother in1878 Tynmouth Northallerton , North Yorkshire. Her home was always clean as "Cleanliness was respectability"
The symbol of England was the lion and the meaning of Singapora in Sanskrit is Lion City. When the war ended the father remained on his duties in Africa, India and Burma. Now his was in Malaya fighting the communists. The Malay Emergency was never called a war because of Insurance reasons.
Alans mother, he and older sister Jean set out on the Empire Windrush. This was a captured German ship and later it took Caribbean immigrants to England in 1948.They travelled via Gibraltar , Malta , Port Said where they refueled and he had a view of the pyramids then Suez , Aden, Bombay (Mumbai named after the goddess Mumbadevi) Colombo and the Malacca Straits between Sumatra and Malaya to Singapore, (still a Crown Colony) Malaya would become his home for 8 years. 1947 till 1960 the Malay Emergency
They lived on the Kelantan River in the north east of Malaya at the home of Bill Bang a rubber planter in a teak house He had been there since the 1920s. He had converted to Islam and was a Haji He spoke Malay and Tamil fluently as well as some French and Chinese. There were hunter gatherer natives who used blowpipes and darts. They still hunted tigers only when they were a danger to the people.
1941 November. Malay volunteer groups helped the British they were the first to let them know that the Japanese were about to land at Kota Bjaru. The Japanese came south along the East Coast. Bill Bang was a thorn to Japanese till he was put into the Changi jail. When Japan capitulated the Japanese officer took his life in the bushido tradition and Bill had his sword as a trophy. Bill never married and remained on the rubber estate.
His father Charles Gill received his officers commission while fighting in Burma, something rare. Burma saw the most hellish fighting conditions and wounded men could not easily be taken out of the combat zones.
1951 The Gill family were based in Port Dickson , Negeri Sembilan, Malaya. They lived in a big house on a hill that belonged to a wealthy merchant and had been sequestered by the Japanese Army. Nearby was he town of Malacca a trading port that had that had been a powerhouse of trade for over 600 years to the Ming Dynasty with Arabs, Indians, Persians and later the Portuguese.
The communist terrorist offensive wore down and independence was on the horizon and the British back, they moved to the island of Penang. In the eight years as a kid Alan got to know the cultures of the Malays , Chinese , East Indian and the Indigenous people. This was a country rich in natural resources rubber and tin but also coal, iron, bauxite and manganese.
1,900 Malay and Commonwealth troops and and 9,000 communist troops lost their lives.
Field Marshall William Slim 1891 to 1970. knew his father from the Burma and recruited him for Malaya.
Many soldiers were brought to the Gill home to relax and many were traumatized, dealing with this was not well established like today.
At the age of 11 he was sent to boarding school in England while his sister lived in Malaysia and Singapore for the next 45 years. Penang Island was known as the Pearl of the orient. His mother had learned cooking from a Chinese maid who had worked for a French embassy family. This cooking was adapted to the conditions and cultures of Penang. In Malaya when food was hard to find at the coast their was fish to be eaten. Of his family he was the one who had mastered the Malay language the best, as he mixed easily with the local children.
Lady Isabel Gurney the wife of the British High Commissioner of Malaya visited their house in Port Dickson a few times part of showing the flag. In 1951 Sir Henry Gurney the High Commissioner was assassinated on his way to Fraser's Hill in their black Rolls Royce ambushed by communist terrorists, In 2014 when Alan visited Penang at Government House the old black Rolls Royce with bullet holes was standing there as a tourist interest object.
In England when he and his older brother went to boarding school in Redcar North Yorkshire. It was the Sir William Turner grammar school. Red Barns had been the stately home in 1860s of Sir Hugh Bell a big industrialist. His wife died and he married Florence Oliffe a writer on social issues. Gertrude Bell Sir Williams daughter went onto Oxford and was the first women to obtain a first class degree in History. She had a love for languages and spoke French, German, Italian but also studied Arabic , Turkish, Persian. She became the de facto leader of Middle East delegation with the title Oriental Secretary and worked for Churchill and TE Lawrence. Lawrence was the only one who was her equal. She left quite a footprint in Turkish Empire, Iraq , Jordan , Palestine. She died in 1926 in Bagdad. The Iraqi Museum has a wing named after her. Faisal Ibn Hussein, King of Iraq was introduced to her by TE Lawrence. where he treated her like a queen.
Alans sister Jeans mother in law Kathleen Fraser of later known as Kathleen Brown. Her husband had worked for the Indian civil service. Kathleen and one of her sisters were born in Mombasa, Kenya Kathleen had been a suffragette under Emile Pankhurst. She was arrested for brawling and spent 6 weeks in solitary confinement. She was in Prison 3 times. They later realized that despite her ability Kathleen was deaf. The Suffragette colours of green purple and white were seen everywhere.
1918 Nov. The Representation of People Act gave women the same voting rights as men.
Returning after the war to Malaya a country where the economy was almost non existent. Everything had come to a halt. Malay , Ghurka and British Regiments returned and the Australian Airforce. The Malay Communist party adept to jungle warfare. His sister Jean worked as a secretary for the Regimental Adjutants' office and had to sign the official secrets act. When she went out with a boyfriend she needed a chaperone and he had that position. They took photos with a box Brownie a camera that came out in 1900 but was still popular in the 1950s This camera first put photography in the hand of amateurs. His sister Jean lived in Malaysia and Singapore for the next 45 years.
Tunka Abdul Raman was Malaysia's first head of government and he had occasionally visited their house and while a young boy Alan had met him.
Later Alan was in Trinidad , Dr Eric Williams born in Port of Spain Trinidad. He spent 6 years in Oxford University and ruled Trinidad from 1962 to 1981 taking it into independence. He was considered "Father of the Nation"
Even during the war no matter where they were Africa, India , Burma and Malaya they received regular shipment of books and he learn to love reading. Someone read to him every night.
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Singapore to Freedom The vivid WW2 escape across South East Asia by Oswald Gilmour 1943 245pg 17/6/24
1926 He got to Singapore at the time the place generally unknown in Europe it is a degree north of the equator. It has an average day and night temperature of 30C.
1941 The population was 750,000 and 60% were Chinese with Malays and India's and 10,000 Europeans.
During the months proceeding the Japanese invasion, after work he would spend 3 hours training 4 days a week with the co called Volunteer forces. Men over 40 did training for the Volunteer Police Reserve or the Fire Brigade. The production of tin and rubber was important raw materials especially once the war began and many of the European staff left for the war in Europe leaving more work to those who stayed. There was no compulsory service for Asiatic, however they has Volunteer forces and those who fought as guerillas all Asiatic.
British troops were there and when not training had lots of time as apposed to civilians who had 2 jobs.
Civilians who came to these colonies earned well , as an inducement as they had to face unknown conditions break away from their friends and families and sent their children back to England at the age of 8 and only saw them a few months in the holidays. Many wives spent long tours of health back home in England. Only the well educated and picked men were suitable for this kind of life in these lands.
The war had been going in Europe for 2 years already but most goods were still available in the colonies but at higher prices because of taxes. Petrol was rationed and there were no use of cars for joyriding. Air raid precautions and anti gas material had been set up. Stocks of food and other essential had ben set up and the arrival of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse in Malay water made them feel secure. People had been advised by the government to grow vegetables in their gardens for the war but this was not easy in these foreign conditions.
Oswald worked as Deputy Municipal Engineer but roads had never been properly constructed to be able to get to the hidden ammunition stores hidden amongst the rubber trees. They heard that a large Japanese convey had entered the Gulf of Siam. British ships should have gone to challenge this.
Fort Canning was the military headquarters. There was an air raid and he was in charge of the Rescue , Demolitions, Debris and repair Parties, to extricate buried persons and clear the streets. 140 people were killed in this air raid. A total blackout was immediately enforced. After Dec 8th 1941 most shops closed down. There was not restriction on women leaving the Colony and on the first attack most wives and children were sent away, but up to the near end they were required to pay their own passage ,this should have been done earlier. People started blacking out houses and digging trenches. They painted white lines in centres of the streets and whitewashed tree trunks along the roadsides. The British Government had been a reluctant to spend money before the war, now too late funds were available.
Where their were work teams after bombing they had to arrange food as there were no longer venders selling food. At night fires and lights were forbidden. Trenches were build on any place that planes could land but these became mosquito breeders and had to be closed.
As the Japanese advanced south Penang was evacuated and people heard unpleasant stories. They dreaded moonlight night as they brought the bombers. Initially these raids were confined to military objects. There were antiaircraft batteries and a few Brewster Buffalos planes for defense. A few Hurricane Planes arrived.
Kuala Lumpur and the Muar river were taken by the enemy. The enemy were always infiltrating behind the lines preparing the way, while British troops retreated to establish new lines. British troops were new to the country and did not recognize the difference between Japanese, Chinese , Malays and Indians.
Sir Shenton Thomas was the Colony Governor and said Singapore must not fall but he and General Percival were left to nurse Malaya in its death struggles.
1942 Jan 30 the Japanese were nearing the Johore Straits, which was 3 quarter of a mile from Singapore, and there was a lull while they were preparing to attack. He had heard about the atrocities that took place in Hong Kong. Most of the leadership thought this was exaggerated. Troops and civilians were retreating to Singapore. His friend Sid Kelley worked for the Water Dept. and kept te pumps and water pipes going.
The work of unloading ships was being don by British and Indian troops as there was no labour around. RAF . staff were being evacuated to Dutch East Indies airports. £36 million of oil tanks had been sabotaged so that the enemy could not get it a a cloud of black smoke covered the bay. Important machinery was also being destroyed. General Wavell had flown into Singapore for a few hours and left. Workers were all being given advance payments to empty the money from the banks. Drinks and spirits was poured down the drain as reports showed that the atrocities were caused in HK by drunk Japanese.
He friend Sid and he were given permission to leave and the ships had both uniformed and civilians as well as women and children. Pompong was and island where they were supposed to pick up survivors of a bombed ship but then they were bombed and abandoned ship. Pompong was a tiny empty island with few fruits or things to eat. Medical supplies were taken off lifeboats. Thee were a number of doctors.
If an airman is lost in the jungle he must look for down hill and the rivers will lead to the sea. The existence of a small water spring saved their lives. There were no mosquitoes luckily. Small craft went by and the Japanese policy was not to attack native or fishing craft. Batavia ,( Jakarta today) was being bombed.
1942 15th Feb Singapore fell , thus Japan controlled territory both north and south of where they were.
They were taken in a small boat to Sinajang where people survived on coconuts and fishing but they area hadn't received supplies from Singapore and the natives were reluctant to sell anything. Any wound or cut did not heal under the conditions. They found a launch and it was manned by a party of soldiers who escaped Singapore and got to Dabo. The Dutch were doing a scorched earth before the Japanese arrived.
They had to get to Sumatra and cross it to the Western side. So the were looking for the Indragirl River which would take them into Sumatra. (This happened to be the best place to land as realized afterwards) The jungle was usually thickest at the edge of an opening. There was an efficient organization here helping refugees. Once Malaya had fallen into enemy hand the Dutch government was reluctant to take Straits currency. .
The Japanese were now approaching from both north and South Sumatra. They hired someone with a car to take them. The Dutch did not try to evacuate their national from NEI as the Netherland was occupied 2 years previously. In Pandeng the British vice consul was handling evacuation of British arriving.
The NEI had no colour bar to marriage which was a different order from British colonies and some soldiers were not polite about this.
They were billeted with a Dutch family that spoke no English so the communicated in Malay. The ship to take them from Pandeng was small and some were hesitant to go. They wee lucky because cloudy weather sheltered them from the Japanese planes, the waited at some island as the captain wanted to go through the Siberat Straits at night.. We were the last launch to get away. Bad weather helps avoid the possibilities of an attack. We reached Columbo, Ceylon.
During the campaign on the peninsula many troops got cut off from their units and found launces and row-boats and pushed out westwards. Those not lost at sea landed on Sumatra, a few managed to get to Java but the more fortunate got to Australia, India or Ceylon.
Borneo and the Celebes had been in Japanese hand for some time. Anyone who landed in north or south Sumatra walked into captivity and at the time the battle for Java was on, slowed down the full occupation of Sumatra.
About 8000 men and about 300 women remained behind.
1900 Oswald Gilmour born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland , was a civil engineer, after the war he returned to Singapore to reset up the Malay planning unit and later returned and worked back in England and died at Harlow Essex 1978
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