Gurkha Army Service Corps Operations in Brunei and Borneo 1962-1966

At the start of 1963, Headquarters Gurkha ASC was in Seremban, Malaysia, separated from all its companies: 28 Company in Hong Kong, 30 Company in the UK, 31 Company serving in Brunei, Labuan and Singapore, and 34 Company in Kluang, Malaysia, with a platoon in Seremban.

Throughout 1963, elements of 31 Company continued to serve on Labuan Island and Brunei to support mopping up operations following the Brunei Revolt and the increasing tempo of operations to counter Indonesia backed insurgency. Earlier in the year, the company headquarters and two transport platoons had returned to Singapore, leaving the Composite Platoon in Brunei and a large transport platoon on Labuan Island. Resupply remained unchanged, with loaded vehicles conducting daily runs from Labuan to Brunei by Landing Craft Tank (LCT), Ramped Power Lighter (RPL) and Z Craft.

As the year progressed and with the establishment of a supply depot and ordnance field park on Labuan, the company’s presence thinned out further. On 24 November the last platoon was withdrawn on relief by a detachment from 61 Company RASC, designated the Borneo Platoon.

Lieutenant Robin Marston RASC received a Mention in Despatches (MiD) for his outstanding work during the early stages of the Brunei uprising—the first of several operational awards made to the Gurkha ASC over the next three years. The company also established an alliance with HMAS Quiberon, a Royal Australian Navy frigate. In October, a ceremonial parade at Nee Soon Garrison, Singapore, saw the ship’s company presented with a Kothimora kukri, and in return 31 Company received a photograph and shield of HMAS Quiberon.

Because of the closeness to the border with Indonesia and the increasing threat of incursion by raiding parties, the routes along which the Kuching detachment operated were graded ‘black’, ‘grey’ or ‘white’ depending on the degree of vulnerability.

On ‘black’ and ‘grey’ roads, a minimum of two company vehicles travelled together, with an armed escort in each vehicle cab, while convoys were escorted by armoured cars. Shortage of manpower for escorts from the battalions led to 31 Company, and later 30 Company, manning two FERRET Scout Cars (FSC), which had been brought across on deployment in January, and providing frequent escorts from within its own resources. Ambush drills evolved and were practised with the need for constant alertness impressed upon all ranks.

As a result of Confrontation, 30 Company was deployed back to Singapore from UK in early 1964. The Company was initially accommodated in the transit lines in Nee Soon Garrison while the Gurkha families that returned at the same time, were temporarily accommodated in the Gurkha Families Lines of the Gurkha Transit Camp near Slim Barracks, Singapore.

However, the families of British officers and NCOs initially stayed behind in the UK. The company ceased to be an Airportable Brigade Company on 1 March and was re-organised into an Infantry Brigade Group Company before spending the next few weeks settling into its new surroundings, re-acclimatising and drawing vehicles, stores, tropical clothing and equipment.

Their arrival was quickly seized upon by Headquarters Singapore District as a source of much needed manpower and it wasn’t long before the company was providing countless guards and fatigues to the various base facilities and depots with hardly a wheel being turned. However, through the exertions of the Director of Operations in Borneo, Major General WC Walker CBE DSO*, and Commander 51 Infantry Brigade, Brigadier HC Tuzo OBE MC, the company was nominated to take-over from 31 Company in Borneo in May for a four month tour of duty.

The main body of the Composite Platoon was deployed to Tawau where it arrived on HMS Loch Killisport, under Captain (QGO) Dalbahadur Thapa Gurkha ASC, to be met by the Composite Platoon commander, Captain Tony Meier RASC, and his small advance party.

The Composite Platoon provided support to the East Brigade with resupply being conducted by helicopter, military vessels of 37 Company RASC, ships of the Royal Malaysian Navy and by vehicle on the only road.

The Company Workshop REME was established on Labuan Island where it supported the Borneo Platoon of 61 Company RASC, and other minor units, as well as undertaking the repair of a multitude of equipment ranging from cranes to outboard engines.

Having handed over, 31 Company returned to Singapore by air and sea on 3 July to the following message from the Director of Operations in Borneo, Major General WC Walker CB CBE DSO*:
“Your Company has faced the many demands made upon it with professional competence. Not least was the quick move of your Composite Platoon to Tawau in answer to my call.

You will be glad to be together once again with your families and other platoons. My warm thanks to you all.”

After nearly two years of continuous operational service, 31 Company started a full training programme of upgrading courses and mandatory training and classification.

At the same time, it provided transport support to Singapore District and was committed to providing guards to several base installations following unrest and the threat of sabotage on Singapore Island. All this was against the background of its next deployment to Borneo towards the end of the year.

In mid-August 1964, regular Indonesian troops effected a parachute landing in the Labis area, about 40 miles from Kluang. As a result, 34 Company was placed in support of 28 Commonwealth Infantry Brigade and became the third Gurkha ASC company to be committed to operations.

One transport platoon, under Captain Robin Evans RASC, was attached to 1/10 GR for three weeks as the battalion hunted down and killed or captured the ‘freedom fighters’. Many long hours were spent by drivers behind the wheel of their vehicles while junior commanders concentrated on their map-reading skills.

The company went on to provide transport support to the security forces operating in the Pontian, Malacca, Rengam and Mersing areas, again covering a high mileage. Throughout this period, training of 27 former recruits and eight boys, who had arrived from the Training Depot Brigade of Gurkhas (TDBG) in June and October respectively, continued under the direction of WO1 (RSM) Dhanbahadur Tamang Gurkha ASC.

The concentration of all the companies in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong and the influx of new Driver Sunbahadur Gurung assisting 1/10 GR with a captured Indonesian soldier after the parachute landing in Labis British officers into the Gurkha ASC also led to a one-off Gurkhali language course being held in Kluang as opposed to TDBG in Sungei Patani.

In November 1964, the London Gazette announced that Staff Sergeant James Corless RASC (Supply) had been awarded a MiD for his distinguished service in the Borneo Territories.

Early in 1965, 31 Company once again deployed to Kuching, Labuan Island and Brunei. Although there was no longer the frenetic activity of earlier deployments, the detachments were kept extremely busy, especially with the threat of a major build-up by regular Indonesian forces along the Sarawak border.

To meet the growing threat, two additional battalions were deployed to Sarawak, which increased the tonnages of stores being handled through Kuching port and airfield. To assist in this additional requirement, 3 Commando Brigade Transport Platoon was placed under the command of 31 Company until March when it was relieved by a platoon from 1 Company RASC, which had accompanied 1 Infantry Brigade to Borneo from the UK.

At the end of June 1965, 31 Company was again relieved by 30 Company. Before its departure, the company was presented with a shield bearing the State of Sarawak Crest by the Chief Minister of Sarawak State, Dato Stephen Kalong Ningkhan, as a mark of appreciation for all the work done by the company in defence of Sarawak.

The company returned to Singapore for rest and recuperation and to catch up on promotion courses, unit administrative and vehicle inspections, as well as preparation for its next deployment in January. During this period, Major Bill Godwin RCT returned for a third tour to replace Major Alan Blackmore RCT as squadron commander.

Headquarters Gurkha ASC continued to be housed in Balaclava Lines, Kluang but with the promise of taking over the air-conditioned offices of HQ Brigade of Gurkhas in the coming year when it moved to Seremban. The strain of having to allocate more than half of its vehicle fleet to driver training for the 113 former recruits, who had arrived from TDBG in August, left 34 Company struggling to meet its garrison transport commitments through either not having sufficient drivers or vehicles or both.

With the completion of driver training and despatch of the newly trained drivers to their respective squadrons at the end of November, it was able to conduct some much needed unit field training.

All this, however, did not preclude the company from holding a successful fete at the end of August and winning the 17 Division/Malaya Area Cross Country and Basketball Minor Unit Championships 1965, as well as the 17 Division/Malaya Area Non-Central Rifle Competition 1964-65.

At the close of the year, having had little opportunity for operational service, 34 Company provided a transport troop for service in Brunei, under the command of Lieutenant Stan Yates RASC and Lieutenant (QGO) Dhanbahadur Gurung Gurkha ASC, to reinforce 31 Squadron for its next tour of operational duty.

In 1965, the Army’s logistic services were reorganised. The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) became the Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) with responsibility for transport and movements and the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) took over the Army’s supply functions. As a result, the Gurkha ASC was redesignated The Gurkha Transport Regiment (GTR) on 16 October 1965: companies became squadrons and platoons became troops.

In the Operational List of Honours and Awards for Borneo published at the end of 1965, Major Alan Blackmore RCT, who had taken 31 Company to Brunei on the outbreak of the Rebellion in December 1962, was awarded a MiD for command of 31 Company during the Brunei Rebellion and three subsequent Borneo tours in 1963-65.
On 6 January 1966, 31 Squadron, commanded by Major Bill Godwin RCT, returned to Borneo and Brunei for the fourth consecutive year for a six month tour of duty.

Its move had been preceded by the deployment of one of its transport troops in November to take over from a troop of 1 Squadron RCT so that it could return to the UK in time for Christmas. The squadron was also reinforced, for the first time, by a troop from 34 Squadron. The squadron headquarters and its transport troops were established in Kuching, now designated as the Force Maintenance Area (FMA), with its air and sea ports, while the Composite Troop and the troop from 34 Squadron were stationed in Brunei.

The Kuching element of the squadron continued to be responsible for supporting units of 99 Gurkha Infantry Brigade. Over the next six months its vehicles covered nearly half a million miles, most of which were on laterite tracks, which were particularly dangerous during and after heavy rain. The continuing threat of incursions by highly trained Indonesian regular troops across the nearby border required each vehicle still to have an escort. This meant that every available soldier was committed, including clerks, cooks, tailors and bootmakers. However, despite the ever-present threat of ambush, the only vehicle to be fired upon was the result of a dog shoot being conducted in the FMA!

In Brunei, the role of the Composite Troop remained unchanged: resupplying units of 51 Gurkha Infantry Brigade in the rear areas, assisting in the resupply to forward units by air and transport support to the Seria based resident Gurkha battalion, while the troop from 34 Squadron transported large tonnages of ordnance and engineer stores arriving by sea from Labuan Island.

Back in Singapore, the rear party was not only responsible for the squadron’s administration and families but also looked after the rear elements of 248 Gurkha Signals Squadron, which supported Headquarters 99 Gurkha Infantry Brigade.

Prior to the return of 30 Squadron to Singapore, it too had been presented with a plaque by the Government of Sarawak in recognition of the squadron’s service in defence of Sarawak since 1964. Back in Singapore, it continued to be housed in the transit lines in Nee Soon Garrison.

After two weeks’ post-operational block leave, it returned to providing routine administrative transport in support of Singapore District. Nevertheless, the squadron’s emphasis remained on individual and collective training, attendance on career courses for promotion and preparation for the next planned deployment scheduled for the coming June/July.

In April, one of the transport troops was tasked to move a heavy ferry, measuring some 64 feet long, and its ancillary equipment, on 10-ton vehicles with 16 feet-long trailers in support of the RE. The drivers for this detail were therefore selected more for their physical size than driving skill.

After the requisite training on these unfamiliar vehicles and trailers, it was a proud group of drivers that took the ferry to its launching site on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and its subsequent return without mishap. The drivers included some of the recently joined 1965 recruit intake, who displayed a much higher standard of driving than had normally been expected at this stage of their service and experience.

In May, the squadron had a welcome break from Singapore when it deployed on Exercise LION’S ROAR with 28 Commonwealth Infantry Brigade. This gave the squadron the opportunity to conduct long distant convoys and a number of troop lifts. The squadron also managed to get a week’s ‘change-of-air’ in the Cameron Highlands. Unfortunately, the arrival of the squadron main body at Brinchang Airstrip, where a camp had been constructed by the Composite Troop, coincided with a very wet and chilly week, with everyone savouring the warmth of blankets and log fires.

On its return to Singapore, the squadron began preparations for its next deployment to Borneo, unaware that this would be the regiment’s last, with Indonesia announcing its end to Confrontation in August.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, 28 Squadron’s relatively tranquil life was shattered by an outbreak of riots in Kowloon in the first half of April 1966. The catalyst for the riots was a proposed increase in fares on the Star Ferry that operated between the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island.

Protests against the rise were initially peaceful but violence broke out within a couple of days with vehicles being set on fire and police stations attacked in Kowloon. Riot police were deployed and the Army called out in support. Squadron transport was deployed to move infantry companies to the trouble spots and those personnel not deployed were placed on standby for further tasking or local defence of Whitfield Barracks.

The troubles lasted for one week and during the curfew that was imposed throughout the night, the eerie silence of Nathan Road, the usually noisy and busy main thoroughfare of Kowloon that ran past the barracks, felt very strange. The arrest of many curfew breakers was witnessed by the squadron as the riot squads of the Hong Kong Police and the Army went into action. The squadron annual summer camp had been planned to commence in April, but because of the unsettled situation, training had to be conducted by half of the squadron at a time.

The initial phase of the training, with emphasis on watermanship, was held on Lamma Island, to the south west of Hong Kong Island, and culminated in an escape and evasion exercise. The subsequent phase was held on the mainland and incorporated map-reading skills, night driving, shooting and harbour drills. Later during the summer months, the colony suffered from a series of typhoons and torrential rain, which led to the squadron assisting Gurkha engineers with the reconstruction of a road bridge and transport support to the many flooded areas.

At the same time, the squadron was committed to helping move the ordnance depot from Kai Tak, adjacent to the airport, to its newly built installation, Blackdown Barracks, at San Po Kong, Kowloon.

The changeover of 30 and 31 Squadrons in the Borneo Territories took place during June/July 1966. Led again by Major Jim Massey RCT for its third tour, headquarters 30 Squadron and two of its transport troops deployed to Kuching while the Composite Troop and the third transport troop were located in Brunei; leaving a small rear party in Nee Soon.

A fourth transport troop was provided by 34 Squadron. All the elements of 31 Squadron were back in Nee Soon by the second week of July and over the next two months fielded 18 inspections that preceded their annual administrative inspection! During the same month, the Composite Troops of 30 and 31 Squadrons were redesignated Combat Supplies Troops, although, as yet, they were still not commanded by RAOC British officers.

At the end of July, the regiment suffered its only casualty during Borneo Confrontation when Driver Indrabahadur Limbu GTR, who had enlisted in 1964, was killed in a road traffic accident in Kuching whilst travelling as a passenger. He was buried in Ulu Pandan Cemetery, Singapore with full military honours.

When the end to Confrontation was formally announced, 30 Squadron became fully occupied in back-loading stores and equipment from the forward bases with transport sections detached to British, Gurkha and Commonwealth battalions to assist in the withdrawal. Over time, the pace of the run-down intensified with the squadron working long hours moving stores into the FMA and thereafter to the docks in Kuching for shipment back to Singapore.

The main body of 30 Squadron finally left Kuching in mid-December and was joined before Christmas by the Combat Supplies Troop and the third transport troop that had operated from Brunei. A small element of the squadron remained in Borneo until the beginning of the New Year.

After nearly four years, Confrontation by Indonesia with Malaysia officially came to an end on 11 August 1966. On average, each of the Gurkha battalions and corps squadrons had completed more than 20 months on operations since the Brunei Revolt in 1962.

As the youngest regiment within the Brigade of Gurkhas, the Gurkha ASC was very much an unknown quantity at the start of the campaign, considering it only started to be raised in 1958. Looking back, it is amazing what the regiment achieved: British officers were new to both Gurkha service and the conditions of SE Asia, not to mention logistic operations in a jungle environment. And the Gurkha officers and soldiers had very little knowledge or experience of transport and resupply in an operational situation by land, sea and air.