Malayan Spymaster

by Boris Hembry

  On the day before Freddy was due to leave KL to drive up to meet us at the Tanjong Malim rendezvous he went down with malaria. Luckily, it was of the kind known as ‘benign tertiary’ – not the most serious type, but extremely debilitating all the same. Consequently, his departure was delayed whilst he received medical treatment. He persuaded the doctor – obviously a gullible man – to allow him to set out, even with a temperature of 103 degrees, on condition that he lay up in the jungle for a few days whilst his temperature fell.

  During that day, 7 January 1942, the Japs broke through our line at Slim River and the British Army fell back to Tanjong Malim. On learning this, Freddy sent amended orders up to us by motorcycle despatch rider, but the latter could not get through before the Tanjong Malim bridge was blown, so had to return to KL, the message undelivered. Freddy then decided that he would join the other half of his ‘stay behind party’, consisting of Bill Harvey, Sartin, Sheppard, Shebbeare and the rest, at Sungei Sempan, and having done so would then try to get across the river to Tanjong Malim to join up with us. In the event he was not able to. Then most of his stores, including his wireless, were stolen by some Chinese. After several brushes with Jap patrols, Freddy split up his party again. Bill, leading one party, was subsequently captured and taken to Pudu Gaol, in KL, where he was eventually joined by Frank Vanrenen and Ronald Graham. Freddy, having come across Bob Chrystal and Robbie Robinson, members of another ‘stay behind party’, at their jungle camp near Sungei Sempan, went on to spend three years in the jungle with the MPAJA and Sakai, before we were able to get him back by submarine to Ceylon in May 1945.

  Appendix B: Fate of Frank Vanrenen and Ronald Graham

  Having flown back to Singapore in the Tiger Moth from Sumatra, Frank and Ronald reported to 101 STS Headquarters in the Cathay Building where they met John Davis and Richard Broome who, together with Basil Goodfellow, were planning to establish and lay down supplies for an escape route to the Indigari area of Sumatra for the many British Army stragglers known to be wandering around behind the Japanese lines. As Frank and Ronald were to attempt to meet up with Freddy Spencer Chapman, the two parties joined forces in the requisitioned motor junk Hui Lee and sailed to Bagan Siapi Api, on the east coast of Sumatra, under the command of Col Warren.

  At Bagan Siapiapi my two friends hired a sailing junk to take them across the Strait of Sumatra to the vicinity of Kuala Selangor, setting sail on 12 February. The junk returned to Sumatra towards the end of February to report that Frank and Ronald had not returned. The skipper had stayed near the agreed rendezvous for six days, even though he had been instructed by my friends to wait for only four days.

  John Davis, Richard Broome and others were to make their epic escape to Ceylon from Padang on the Sirdhana Johannes.

  Frank Vanrenen and Ronald Graham were captured by the Japanese and taken to Pudu Gaol in Kuala Lumpur, where they met Bill Harvey who had also been captured after he had split up from Freddy Spencer Chapman. Somehow the three managed to escape from Pudu Gaol, but were recaptured near Bentong trying to get to Bill’s old estate, betrayed by kampong Malays, and returned to Pudu.

  Tominara, the Jap gaol commandant, who considered them ‘truculent and rude’ – probably for failing to avert their eyes when in his presence – ordered their execution. Having first been kept in solitary confinement for several days, without food or even water, and made to dig their own graves, my friends Frank, Ronald and Bill were beheaded.

  The kampong dwellers who betrayed them cannot be blamed. They knew that the Japs would have rounded up and shot the entire village had they not reported the escapers’ presence.

  Appendix C: Winning Hearts and Minds

  This became one of the twin principles, together with victory in the field, of General Templer’s plan to overcome the communist insurgency in Malaya, a phrase which ever since has been constantly used by others in many contexts.

  Although many believe the Americans to have coined the phrase in Vietnam (where they singularly failed to implement the concept) I maintain that those words were first used simply as a throw-away remark by Del Tufoe while we were chatting informally prior to a Federal War Council meeting he chaired in November 1951.I see from notes which I retain that I repeated the phrase during the ensuing meeting, voicing my opinion that the Acting High Commissioner’s concept was indeed the sine qua non for victory over the Communists. My comment received unanimous agreement.

  I have no doubt that Del Tufoe repeated the expression to the new high commissioner, maybe even in the car on the way to King’s House KL after the official welcoming ceremony at the airport, and that they were subsequently seized upon by Templer as encapsulating his contention that the war in Malaya could not be won unless the support of the vast majority of the population, of all races, could be won over and retained.

  I suspect the phrase was then introduced to the Americans in Vietnam by Sir Robert Thompson.

  Glossary

  Amah a Chinese maidservant and nanny, see also ‘ayah’.

  ASDIC now known as SONAR. Used to detect submarines and other underwater obstacles.

  Atap roof thatch made from large palm or banana leaves or fronds.

  Atjeh old spelling of Aceh, Indonesia.

  Ayah an Indian maidservant and nanny, see also ‘amah’.

  Ayer limo lime and water (now spelled air limau).

  Barang luggage, goods, things, stuff.

  Basha simple hut or temporary shelter.

  Batavia former name for Jakarta, Indonesia.

  Blaht small huts built on stilts in quite deep water, and from which they could cast their nets (now more commonly known as ‘kelong’).

  Box wallah slang for a desk-bound or ‘armchair’ soldier (literally a small-scale travelling merchant peddler in India).

  Burra peg double whiskey, see also ‘chota peg’.

  Bukit hill.

  Charpoy a woven bed comprising a wooden frame bordering a set of knotted ropes.

  Chaung river (Burmese).

  Chota hazri breakfast.

  Chota peg slang in British India for a glass of whiskey and water or soda, see also ‘burra peg’ and ‘stengah’.

  Dhobi person who washes clothes; also British military slang for ‘to wash one’s clothes’.

  FMSVF Federated Malay States Volunteer Force. Each state had its own battalion in which peoples of all races served. Europeans often held ranks junior to Malays and Indians, as did Boris Hembry.

  Force 136 the SOE organisation operating in the S.E. Asia area.

  Gunong mountain (also spelled gunung).

  ISLD Inter Services Liaison Department. The cover name for the SIS organisation in South East Asia.

  Istana palace belonging to Malay royalty.

  JB abbreviation for Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

  Kampong village or small collection of houses (also spelled kampung).

  Kangani foreman.

  Kebun short for ‘tukang kebun’ or gardener.

  Kedai provisions shop or, as in ‘kedai kopi’, a coffee shop.

  Kempeitai Japanese secret police – the equivalent of the German GESTAPO.

  KL abbreviation for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

  Krani clerk

  Kuala estuary (hence Kuala Lumpur is Muddy Estuary).

  Lalang a kind of long, coarse, weedy grass.

  Laut sea.

  Makan the Malay verb ‘to eat’, also a slang form of ‘makanan’ meaning ‘food’.

  Malaya the British name for pre-independence Malaysia.

  MCS Malayan Civil Service.

  Mem the Malayan equivalent of memsahib; madam.

  Mentri Besar Chief Minister. During British rule, British-appointed advisors acted as chief ministers in Malayan states with a monarchy.

  MPAJA Malayan Peoples Anti Japanese Army. Communist Chinese-led, but trained and equipped by Force 136 to rise up against the Japanese when the Allies invaded Malaya (Operation ZIPPER). It was renamed the Malayan Peoples Anti British Army during the
Malayan Emergency.

  OCPD Officer Commanding Police District. Responsible for law and order in the district surrounding a town, or large village like Sungei Siput, which had a police station (with administrative offices, armoury, charge room and cells etc.).

  Orang person, man.

  Orangutan derived from ‘orang’ (man) and ‘hutan’ (forest/jungle).

  OSPC Officer Supervising Police Circle. In charge of several police districts.

  P&O Peninsula & Orient Steam Navigation Company.

  Padang literally a field, but also a public square or sports field (especially for cricket).

  Padi rice plants.

  Parang machete or cleaver-like knife used to cut through thick vegetation and as a weapon.

  PD abbreviation for Port Dickson, Malaysia.

  Peon office messanger.

  POSH Port Out Starboard Home. In the days before air conditioning on ships it was preferable to have a more expensive cabin facing away from the sun.

  Only the ‘posh’ could afford such luxury.

  Pulau island.

  PWD Public Works Department. The government department, so named in all the colonies throughout the Empire, which built and maintained the roads, bridges, and government facilities.

  SACSEA Supreme Allied Command South East Asia. Lord Mountbatten was the Supreme Allied Commander and liked being called ‘Supremo’.

  Sampan generic name for any small boat.

  Satu empat jalan Literally ‘one four road’, satu empat jalan was a popular expression used by British servicemen and expatriates in Malaya to mean ‘one for the road’, to have a final drink before leaving.

  SFC Special Forces Club. A congenial watering-hole in London, for those of all Allied nations who have been, or are involved in clandestine operations and special forces (SAS, SOE, OSS, etc).

  Siam the official name of Thailand before it was changed in 1939.

  SIS Secret Intelligence Service. The branch of the Foreign Office responsible for acquiring intelligence information concerning foreign (enemy and occasionally Allied) governments, the dispositions and order of battle of their armed forces, and their military, political and industrial intentions and potential. Also known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section Six).

  SOE Special Operations Executive. Formed originally on Churchill’s instructions to ‘set Europe ablaze’, to organise, equip and train resistance movements in enemy-occupied countries in sabotage and other disruptive activities. 101 STS (Special Training School), established in Singapore in 1941, was part of SOE. SOE operated in the European, Middle East, Mediterranean, Balkans, S.E. Asian and Pacific theatres of war.

  Stengah slang in British Malaya for a long whisky and soda or water – see also ‘chota peg’.

  Sungei river or large stream.

  Syce driver (literally Indian groom or stable attendant).

  Tanjong spit or promontory (of land or sand) into the sea or river (also spelled tanjung).

  ‘The Railway’ the railway line built through the jungle between Thailand and Burma by POWs of all nationalities captured by the Japanese. It was intended to link Singapore with the north of Burma, and ultimately to India.

  Tiffin lunch.

  Towkay small-time businessman, builder, or contractor, usually Chinese.

  Tuan sir.

  Tuan besar someone in a senior position, e.g. the manager or director.

  Tukang ayer water bearer (now spelled ‘tukang air’).

  Ulu jungle, back of beyond (literally ‘upriver’ in Malay).

  VA Visting Agent. Rubber companies often employed senior planters as visiting agents to make regular inspections of their estates.

  Wayang Malay and Indonesian puppet theatre.

  Biblography

  Allan, Charles. Tales from the South China Seas. Deutsch, 1983.

  Barber, Noel. The War of the Running Dogs. Collins, 1971

  Bartlett, Vernon. Report from Malaya. Derek Verschoyle, 1954.

  Brooke, Geoffrey. Singapore’s Dunkirk. Leo Cooper, 1989.*

  Chapman, F. Spencer. The Jungle is Neutral. Chatto & Windus, 1949.*

  Cloake, John. Templer – Tiger of Malaya. Harrap, 1985.

  Clutterbuck, Richard. The Emergency in Malaya, 1948-1960. Cassell, 1966.*

  Connell, Brian. Return of the Tiger. Evans Bros., 1965.

  Cross, John. Red Jungle. Robert Hale, 1957.*

  Cruikshank, Charles. SOE in the Far East. OUP, 1983.*

  Cunyngham-Brown, Sjovald. The Traders. Newman Neame, 1971.

  Foot, MRD. SOE – The Special Operations Executive, 1940-1946. BBC, 1984.

  Gough, Richard. Escape from Singapore. William Kimber, 1989.*

  Gough, Richard. SOE Singapore. William Kimber, 1985.*

  Hobhouse, Henry. Seeds of Wealth. Macmillan, 2003.

  Holman, Dennis. Green Torture. Robert Hale, 1962.*

  Horton, Dick. Ring of Fire. Leo Cooper, 1989.

  Irwin, Anthony. Burma Outpost. Collins, 1945

  O’Brien, Terrance. The Moonlight War. William Collins, 1987.*

  O’Donovan, Patrick. For Fear of Weeping. MacGibbon & Key, 1950.*

  Phillips, C.E. Lucas. The Raiders of Arakan. Heinemann. 1971.

  Shennan, Margaret. Our Man in Malaya. Sutton. 2007.*

  Shennan, Margaret. Out in the Midday Sun. John Murray, 2000.

  Slim, William. Defeat into Victory. Cassel, 1956.

  Trenowden, Ian. Operations Most Secret. William Kimber, 1978*

  Trenowden, Ian. The Hunting Submarine. William Kimber, 1974.

  West, Nigel. Secret War. Hodder & Stoughton, 1992.*

  * Boris Hembry is mentioned by name in these books.

  Boris Hembry also recorded a two-hour interview for the Imperial War Museum for their archives.

  Illustrations

  ABOVE Tiffin party, Kedah, 1933. (STANDING: A.N. Other. Malonie. Jim Davis. Bob Chrystal, Walter Noitlicote-Green. Jonah Jones, Currie. SITTING: Ralph Inder, Burroughs. Dan Wright, Boris Hemby. Galland.)

  BELOW Boris and Jean Hembry, England, 1935.

  ABOVE A Tamil estate worker using a kandar stick to support two buckets of latex from the morning’s tapping.

  BELOW Waterloo Estate bungalow, 1935. Waterloo was a small estate, under a thousand acres, in Padang Rengas, Perak, some six miles north of the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. This was Boris and Jean’s first married home and Boris’ first managership.

  ABOVE Gunong Tunjuk (also known as Lion Hill) on Kamuning Estate. On Coronation Day 1937 Paddy Jackson and Boris Hembry climbed to the summit where they planted a Union Flag.

  BELOW The Assistant Manager’s bungalow on Karauning Estate, 1936. Kamuning Estate, over 8,000 acres in size, was situated astride the main north-south road, about 15 miles from Kuala Kangsar and 19 miles north of Ipoh. Boris and Jean Hembry lived on Kamuning Estate for 14 years.

  ABOVE The Perak Battalion of the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force (FMSVF), Port Dickson, 1938. Boris Hembry initially trained as a Vickers machine gunner with the FMSVF.

  LEFT 2/ Lt Boris Hembry, Perak FMSVF. In early December 1941, Boris Hembrv reported to Perak FMSVF B Company headquarters in Kuala Kangsar, where most people were still of the opinion that the embodiment was only a ‘dummy run’. Days later the Japanese invaded Malays and Boris Hembry was not to see his wife Jean again until 1944 when sent on a short course to England.

  RIGHT A young John Hembry with Ronald Graham, Kamuming Estate pool, 1940. The following year, Graham escaped from Pudu Gaol in Kuala Lumpur, where he was a prisoner of the Japanese, only to be recaptured in Bentong. Graham was then kept in solitary confinement for several days, without food or water, made to dig his own grave and beheaded.

  BELOW Boris Hembry, Bob Chrystal and John Hembry, 1940. Bob Chrystal was to survive three years in the Malayan jungle during WWII before coming out of the jungle with Force 136 and Boris Hembry’s ISLD following the Japanese surrender.

  ABOVE Desmond E. Wilson with the ISLD Kedah team, 1945.


  BELOW T-class submarine, like the HMS Tactician which carried Boris Hembry from Ceylon to Penang and Langkawi on covert patrols.

  ABOVE Operation EVIDENCE 1, January 1945. Boris Hembry’s first operation involved George Brownie, Charles Knaggs, Donald Gray, Chinese agents Ban Ho and Ah Lieu, and the second radio operator Wong Weng Fong.

  BELOW Operation EVIDENCE 2. Boris Hembry with FANY secretary, Nigel Crompton and Douglas Lee-Hunter.

  LEFT Air Chief Marshall Sir Keith Park with his son Colin, who Boris Hembry recruited as an ISLD agent. Colin Park survived WWII only to be killed by Communist Terrorists during the Malayan Emergency whilst serving with Ferret Force.

  BELOW LEFT Lt Col Boris Hembry, Ceylon, June 1945.

  BELOW RIGHT Boris and Jean reunited after WWII, Kamuning Estate, 1946.

  ABOVE Boris Hembry (centre) outlines his ideas on squatter control to High Commissioner Sir Henry Gurney (right), Changkat Kinding, October 1948. Hembry’s suggesitons were later incorporated in the Briggs Plan.

  BELOW Jean and Boris (standing in centre of photograph) talking to Anthony Eden (seated), the future British Prime Minister, Ipoh, 1949.

  Hembry’s Own Bloody Army (HOBA), Kamuning Estate, June 1948. To protect the estate factory and office during the Malayan Emergency, Hembry’s old platoon sergeant from the Perak FMSVF, Eusoff, trained an armed squad of young men from the neighbourhood in basic arms drill and fire discipline. The company payed their wages and Jean Hembry sewed on the HOBA shoulder flashes which she herself embroidered.

  Boris Hembry receiving the Colonial Police Medal for Meritorious Service from High Commissioner Sir Henry Gurney. The investiture was held at the Police Padang, Kuala Lumpur, 1949. Hembry received cables of congratulation from Guthrie’s in London, Singapore and KL, together with many letters and telephone calls from friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately, the medal was engraved Maurice Hembry instead of Boris Hembry.