Major Bhuwansing Limbu MVO
In early 1962, having re-joined the battalion in Ipoh, Bhuwansing’s company was briefed that they were deploying to Slim Barracks in Singapore to await a ship to take them to Sarawak. After a week, they boarded the battleship HMS Albion. It was on HMS Albion that Bhuwansing was introduced to rabbit meat for the first time. Having shown his surprise to the cook on being issued with rabbit meat, which he was not familiar with, the cook had enquired, ‘Don’t Gurkhas eat rabbit meat?’ Bhuwansing recalls that he didn’t enjoy it that much. It was onboard HMS Albion that Bhuwansing’s English was really put to the test as he was given the task of telling the Gurkhas what they could do and what they could not do onboard the ship.
Bhuwansing takes up the narrative:
‘Here, my company was briefed that Chinese Communist insurgents had been trained in Indonesia and equipped with arms and ammunition. Intelligence indicated that a unit of eight had entered Sarawak and established a strong Map of Northern Borneo 1962-66. Kalimantan was controlled by Indonesia. My company was tasked with locating and engaging the unit.
‘We boarded a large police boat and travelled upriver. When the river narrowed and was too shallow for the police boat, we transferred to wooden long boats to take us deep into the jungle. On leaving the boats, we began our patrol through the dense jungle. I was point man with my SLR (7.62mm self-loading rifle) raised in anticipation of an ambush. Suddenly, my good friend Tek Bahadur Limbu, who was immediately behind me to the right, let off a short burst with his sub-machine gun (SMG). He had seen an enemy soldier, partly concealed by a tree, aiming his rifle at me. So began a short firefight between us and the group of eight enemy, although at the time we weren’t sure how many there were. They were well protected by mud banks and had established defensive positions. We endeavoured to approach closer but came under strong fire. The thick foliage of the jungle denied us the opportunity to identify exactly where they were. In no time I had expended two magazines of ammunition, with three remaining. Our Platoon Commander, Sergeant Ram Bahadur Rai, ordered our left-hand section to stay where we were and provide covering fire. He moved forward and was shot. He called out that he was hit. Our medical orderly Lance Corporal Sher Bahadur Limbu went to his assistance and despite our covering fire he was also shot.
‘On the radio we informed Company HQ that No 3 Platoon was pinned down. The Company Commander, Major O’Leary, crawled forward to my position and I pointed out the approximate location of the enemy. He took two grenades from me. He primed both of them then instructed our section to give him covering fire. He very bravely stood up, and shouting “Grenade”, threw both the grenades. His aim was good and the explosions silenced the enemy gunfire, having killed two and injured two more.
‘We then heard shouting in Malay, which we didn’t understand. Cautiously, I moved forward with Rifleman Amrit Bahadur Rai on my right. As we approached, a Chinese man stood up holding a grenade in each raised hand. It was apparent that he was stunned and struggling to release the grenades. Without a second thought Amrit shot him straight in the chest. He dropped immediately to the ground, still holding the grenades. We dived for cover. Fortunately, he had not removed the pins and they did not explode, otherwise
both Amrit and I would have been killed or seriously injured.
‘A search of the ambush site recovered 69 sten guns and three large bags full of 9mm ammunition as well as a bag full of hand grenades. One of the enemy group managed to escape by swimming across a river. The following day he was picked up by local Iban and handed over.
‘That was my first contact with the enemy. The medical orderly Lance Corporal Sher Bahadur Limbu received the Military Medal for his bravery.
‘I recall being frightened as we advanced through the jungle in anticipation of an ambush. Yet once the shooting started, the fear went away and I simply wanted to kill the enemy before they killed me. I was very lucky to survive that day.
‘Thereafter we went on many, many long patrols through the jungle but there was no further contact with the enemy.’
Kindly shared with permission from Gordon Elsden.
