Malaya Command Explained
The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States.[1] It consisted mainly of small garrison forces in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Taiping, Seremban and Singapore.
With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the command reinforced its strength in anticipation of an attack. With the bulk of British forces being tied down in Europe and North Africa, the command was mainly augmented by units from India.
On 18 November 1940, the command was placed under the command of the British Far East Command and later, on 7 January 1942, under the short-lived South West Pacific Command or ABDACOM, which was tasked to maintain control of the "Malay Barrier" (or "East Indies Barrier"), a notional line running down the Malayan Peninsula, through Singapore and the southernmost islands of the Dutch East Indies. The command was disbanded on 15 February 1942 with the surrender of all Commonwealth forces in the conclusion of the Battle of Singapore.
With the Surrender of Japan, the command was re-formed from the 14th Army with its HQ based in Singapore on 1 November 1945. The command was divided and downgraded to the Malaya District and Singapore District in August 1947 but was upgraded again into a full command in August 1950 due to the Malayan Emergency.
With the independence of Malaya on 31 August 1957, the command was disbanded and succeeded by Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces (Malaya).
Formation and Structure
In November 1940, the total strength of Malaya Command was 17 battalions. The Indian Army contingent was mainly organised as III Corps with their HQ based in Kuala Lumpur.
When Japanese forces invaded Malaya on 8 December 1941, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Malaya in charge of Malaya Command, with a force of 88,600 faced the 70,000 strong Twenty Fifth Army of the Imperial Japanese Army under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
Allied Land Forces (8 December 1941)
As of 8 December 1941
Indian III Corps
Commanding Officer III Indian Corps – Lt Gen Lewis Heath
Maj-Gen Arthur Barstow (28 January 1942 at Layang-Layang near Bota)
HQ: Kuala Lumpur
Brig Bethold Key
HQ: Kota Bharu
Brig Gordon Painter
HQ: Kuantan
- 5th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. Edward William Francis Jephson
- 4th Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces (Pahang) – Lt. Col. James Oliphant Mackellar (d.12 March 1945)
- 88th (2nd West Lancashire) Field Regiment RA – Lt. Col. Sylvain Claude D'Aubuz
Maj-Gen David Murray-Lyon/Brig Archibald Paris/Maj-Gen Berthold Wells Key
HQ: Sungai Petani
Brig William Oswald Lay/Lt. Col. Henry Sloane Larkin
HQ: Jitra
- 22nd Mountain Artillery Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. George Leonard Hughes
- 3rd Field Company (King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners) - Major A.R. Beattie RE
Brig Kenneth Alfred Garrett/Brig. William St.John Carpendale
HQ: Jitra
Brig William St J. Carpendale/Lt. Col. Wallace Raymond Selby
HQ: Ipoh
- 2nd Battalion, 2nd Gurkha Rifles – Lt. Col. Geoffrey Harley Douglas Woollcombe (Died Indian Ocean, 28 Feb. 1942)
- 2nd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles – Lt. Col. Wallace Raymond Selby/Lt. Col. Maurice Bryer Allsebrook DSO MC
- 11th Division Command Troops
- 137th (2nd West Lancashire) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. Gilbert Daly Holmes (at Slim River)
- 155th (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. Alan Murdoch (at Slim River)
- 80th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. William E.S. Napier
- 1st Independent Company – Major Sheppard Percy Fearon
- 43rd Field Park Company, (King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners)
Lt. Col. Henry Dawson Moorhead
- 5th Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment (3 Companies) – Lt. Col. Cyril Lovesy Lawrence Stokes (in captivity on 15th February 1942 following the Battle of Slim River) [3]
- 2/3rd Australian Motor Company - Capt. George Arthur Carrick Kiernan
- Line of Communications Brigade
Brig Robert Gifford Moir
- 1st Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces (Perak) - Lt Col. J.E.G. "Jim" Staley
- 2nd Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces (Selangor) - Lt. Col. W.M. "Jimmie" James
- 3rd Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces (Negeri Sembilan) – Lt. Col. C.F.H. Riches
- Light Battery, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces (Equipped 4 x 3.7" How) - Major R. Wilshaw
- Armoured Car Company, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces (Equipped 9 Armoured Cars) – Major C.E. Collinge
- Signals Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces - Lt. Col. Stanley P. Moreton
- Fortress Penang
Brig Cyril Arthur Lyon
HQ: Penang
- 11th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. M.L. More
- 3rd Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment (assigned to Krohcol) – Lt. Col. Henry Moorhead (at Battle of Muar)
- 1st Battalion, Bahawalpur Infantry (Indian States Forces) – Lt. Col. Harry Ernest Tyrell
- 1st Battalion, Hyderabad Regiment (Indian States Forces) – Lt. Col. Charles Albert Hendrick (10 December 1941 at Kota Bharu)
- 11th Indian Division Signal Regiment
- Corps Troops
- 46 Army Troops Company (Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners)
Australian 8th Division
Maj Gen Gordon Bennett
HQ: Kluang
- 2/10th Field Regiment (Equipped 8 × 18-Pdr and 16 × 4.5" How. / re-equipped with 24 × 25-Pdr between 9–12 January 1942) - Lt.Col. A.W. Walsh
- 2/10th Field Company - Major K.P.H Lawrence
- 2/12th Field Company - Major J.A.L. Shaw
Brig Harold Burfield Taylor
HQ: Mersing – Endau
Brig Duncan Maxwell
HQ: Kluang
Fortress Singapore
Commanding Officer – Maj Gen Frank Keith SimmonsHQ: Singapore
- Fortress Singapore Division
Maj Gen F. K. Simmons
Brig George Giffard Rawson Williams
- 2nd Battalion, Malay Regiment – Lt. Col. Frederick Walter Young
Brig Francis Hugh Fraser
- Straits Settlements Volunteer Force Brigade
Col Francis Reginald Grimwood
- 2nd Battalion, Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (Singapore Volunteer Corps) - Lt. Col. Donald G. Macleod
- 4th Battalion, Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (Malacca Volunteer Corps) – Lt. Col. Charles Alexander Scott
- Singapore Armoured Car Company, Straits Settlements Volunteer Force
Brig Ivan Simson
- 34th Fortress Company, Royal Engineers
- 35th Fortress Company, Royal Engineers
- 41st Fortress Company, Royal Engineers
Commander, Air Defences, Singapore – Brig Alec Warren Greenlaw Wildey
- 1st (Heavy) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Indian Artillery - Lt. Col. John Rowley Williamson DSO
- 1st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery - Lt. Col. Archer Edwards Tawney
- 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. Howard Wincent Allpres
- 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery - Lt. Col. Denis Vivian Hill
- 3rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery - Lt. Col. Francis Edgar Hugonin
Commander, Fixed Defences, Singapore – Brigadier A.D. Curtis
- 7th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. Hereward Douglas St. George Cardew
- 9th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. Charles Philip Heath
- 16th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. M.S.H. Maxwell-Gumbleton
- Half Strength Kapurthala Infantry Battalion (Indian States Forces) (½ Strength) - Major Aziz Ahmad
Malaya Command Reserve
Commanding Officer: Brig.A.C.M. Paris/Lt. Col. I.M. StewartHQ: Port Dickson
HQ: Port Dickson
- 122nd (West Riding) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. George St.John Armitage Dyson (22 November 1942)
- 15 Field Company (Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners) - Major R. B. Muir RE
Sarawak Force (SARFOR)
Commanding Officer: Lt-Col Charles Malet LaneHQ: Kuching
Lt-Col C. M. Lane
HQ: Kuching
- Sarawak Coastal Marine Service
- 6" Guns Battery, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery
Christmas Island
Commanding Officer: Capt Leonard Walter Thomas WilliamsHQ: Christmas Island
- 6" Gun, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery[5]
Reinforcements
Arrived January 3rd 1942 – February 5th 1942
In addition to the units listed below a number of replacement drafts were sent to Singapore on convoys MS2 from Melbourne arriving 24/1/1942 and BM12 from Bombay arriving 5/2/1942
- 4th Battalion, 9th Jat Regiment – Lt. Col. John Whittaker Williams (at Battle of Muar)
- 13th Indian Auxiliary Pioneer Battalion
- 13th Indian Field Company (Madras Sappers and Miners) (Arrived 3-Jan-1942 Convoy BM9A) - Major B.E. Whitman RE
- 100th Light Tank Squadron (Arrived 29-Jan-1942 Convoy BM11) – Major Jack Alford (12 Feb 1942) equipped Carden Lloyd Tankettes
- 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment – Lt. Col. Ian Conway Gilford Lywood (at Alexandra Hospital Massacre)
- 2nd Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment – Lt. Col. Gordon Calthorpe Thorne (Died, Indian Ocean while attempting to escape)
- 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment – Lt. Col. Alfred Ernest Knights
- 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment – Lt. Col. Lionel John Baker
- 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment – Lt. Col. Gerald Goodwin Carpenter
- 118th (8th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (TA) - (Arrived 29 January 1942 Convoy BM11) – Lt. Col. C.E.Mackellar
- 148th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - (Arrived 29 January 1942 Convoy BM11) – Lt. Col. S.W.Harris
- 125th (Northumbrian) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery - (Arrived 5 February 1942 Convoy BM12) – Lt. Col. James Dean
- 35th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (144th Battery and part of 89th Battery) (Arrived 13 January 1942 Convoy DM1) – Lt. Col. John Bassett
- 197th Field Ambulance[6] (Arrived 5 February 1942 Convoy BM12)
- 251st Field Park Company (Arrived 5-Feb-1942 Convoy BM12)
Allied Air Force units in Malaya December 1941
There were 161 front line aircraft, including three Royal Netherlands Air Force Catalina flying boats, based in Malaya and on Singapore Island on 8 December 1941. These units came under the control of Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force) under the command of Air Vice Marshal C.W.H.Pulford until February 1942 when Air Vice Marshal P.C.Maltby[7] took command.
Based on Singapore Island
Based in Northern Malaya
Commanders-in-Chief
Commanders-in-Chief have included:[9] [10] [11]
GOC Troops in the Straits Settlements
GOC Malaya Command
Note from 1943 to 1945 Malaya was under Japanese control
GOC Malaya District
GOC Malaya
See also
References
- Book: Farndale, Martin . Martin Farndale
. Martin Farndale . History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Far East Theatre 1939–1946 . 2002 . Brasseys . London . 978-1-85753-302-6.
Further reading
Notes and References
- George Ernest Morrison 'The correspondence of G.E. Morrison'
- Book: Sandes. The Indian Engineers 1939–1947. The Institute of Indian Engineers. 1956. Kirkee, India. 183.
- Web site: Stokes. Cyril Lovesy Lawrence. Commonwealth War Graves. Commonwealth War Graves.
- Farndale, Annex A.
- Web site: L . Klemen . The Mystery of Christmas Island – March 1942 . 1999–2000 . Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 . 30 March 2021 . 21 January 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160121080434/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/christmas.html . dead .
- Web site: Cambridgeshire History - Military - Table of Actions . 4 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160208173923/http://www.cambridgeshirehistory.com/Military/cambsactions.html . 8 February 2016 . dead .
- Web site: Klemen . L . Air Vice-Marshal Sir Paul (Copeland) Maltby . 1999–2000 . Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325051613/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/maltby.html . 25 March 2012.
- Web site: Leo . Niehorster . Order of Battle-Royal Air Force-Far East Command-Norgroup . 2000 . World War II Armed Forces.
- Whitaker's Almanacks 1924 – 1957
- https://web.archive.org/web/20071220001217/http://www.regiments.org/formations/uk-cmdarmy/os-malay.htm Malaya Command at Regiments.org
- http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands
- Naval & Military intelligence . 3 October 1902 . 8 . 36889.
- Web site: Klemen . L . Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival . 1999–2000 . Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110924050711/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/percival.html . 24 September 2011 .