2nd King Edward VIII's Own Goorkas (The Sirmoor Rifles) Brunei Rebellion and Borneo Confrontation 1962 - 1966

BRUNEI

It all began very early on Saturday, 8th December 1962, in Singapore. The Regiment’s 1st Battalion was in Slim Barracks, preparing to deploy on a jungle training exercise. As final preparations for the exercise were underway, there was little sense that what was about to unfold would be four years of jungle fighting.
At 0500 hrs, the Adjutant was called to the telephone, to be told by the Brigade Major 99 Gurkha Infantry Brigade that there had been a rebellion in Brunei and two rifle companies and a small Force HQ were to be ready to move to Brunei “as soon as you can”. What followed was the most extraordinary series of events as the Battalion, from a standing start, deployed that afternoon into an unknown theatre of operations.

It took three weeks of intensive fighting before the rebellion was eventually overcome. More details are available by following the link in the attached extract from Nick Hinton and John Harrop’s book on the Regiment’s history: Remarkable Times, Remarkable Men. To underscore the inclusion of flexibility as a Principle of War the fighting was followed by a period of flood relief in support of a population subjected to the worst floods in living memory. By early February 1963, the 1st Battalion had returned to Singapore. Casualties had been relatively light, although one British Officer and two Gurkha NCOs had been killed. Awards included one MC, one MM and two MiDs. Over 100 rebels had been killed and almost 2,000 detained. So began the increasingly close relationship between the Brigade and the people of Brunei, which endures to this day.

CONFRONTATION

The Brunei Rebellion was the first sign of regional instability fostered by President Sukarno of Indonesia, for his own nefarious purposes of power politics that led to the Borneo Confrontation, an “undeclared war” between Indonesia and Malaysia, the latter supported by British and Commonwealth troops. The result was a “war” that lasted four years, involving both Battalions of the Regiment deploying regularly from their bases in Singapore and Hong Kong. It was a conflict fought at company, platoon and section level. It played to the strengths of the Gurkha soldier: his military skills; his eye for ground; his courage under fire; his strength in adversity. But there were also challenges: Operation CLARET or cross-border operations carried out under great secrecy, long and uncertain lines of communication over difficult terrain, and the ever-present enemy threat. The Regiment lost 20 Gurkha soldiers killed, but awards included eleven MCs, one DCM, eleven MMs, 27 MiDs.
The actions carried out by both Battalions during the four years of Confrontation are all described in detail in Remarkable Times, Remarkable Men. Each is a tale of derring-do, each underscores the remarkable courage and professionalism of those who played a part in Confrontation.

Please click here to read more in Remarkable Times Remarkable Men, pp. 375 to 401

To purchase Remarkable Times Remarkable Men, please click here.