Military unit
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
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
42nd Field Park Company (
Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners )- Major Thomas Wilfried Nash
[2]
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
2nd Battalion,
East Surrey Regiment – Lt. Col. George Edward Swinton
1st Battalion,
8th Punjab Regiment – Lt. Col. Ronald Charles Sidney Bates (
† , 12 December 1941)
2nd Battalion,
16th Punjab Regiment – Lt. Col. Henry Sloane Larkin (Died as a
POW on 1 January 1944)
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
[2]
Brig Kenneth Alfred Garrett/Brig. William St.John Carpendale
HQ:
Jitra
Brig William St J. Carpendale/Lt. Col. Wallace Raymond Selby
HQ:
Ipoh
11th Division Command Troops
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]
3rd Battalion,
16th Punjab Regiment – Lt. Col. Henry Dawson Moorehead (
† at
Battle of Muar )
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
Brig Cyril Arthur Lyon
HQ:
Penang
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
2/15th Field Regiment (Equipped 24 × 25-Pdr) - Lt. Col. J.W. Wright
4th Anti-Tank Regiment (Equipped 12 × 2-Pdr / 24 × 75mm) – Lt. Col.
Cranston Albury McEachern
2/10th Field Company - Major K.P.H Lawrence
2/12th Field Company - Major J.A.L. Shaw
2/6th Field Park Company - Capt. T.T. Lewis
Brig
Harold Burfield Taylor
HQ:
Mersing –
Endau
Brig
Duncan Maxwell
HQ:
Kluang
Fortress Singapore
Commanding Officer – Maj Gen
Frank Keith Simmons
HQ:
Singapore
Fortress Singapore Division
Maj Gen F. K. Simmons
Brig George Giffard Rawson Williams
Brig Francis Hugh Fraser
Straits Settlements Volunteer Force Brigade
Col Francis Reginald Grimwood
Brig
Ivan Simson
30th Fortress Company,
Royal Engineers
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
5th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery – Lt. Col. R.A.O. Clarke
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
Malaya Command Reserve
Commanding Officer: Brig.
A.C.M. Paris /Lt. Col.
I.M. Stewart
HQ:
Port Dickson
HQ:
Port Dickson
Sarawak Force (SARFOR)
Commanding Officer: Lt-Col Charles Malet Lane
HQ:
Kuching
Lt-Col C. M. Lane
HQ:
Kuching
Christmas Island
Commanding Officer: Capt Leonard Walter Thomas Williams
HQ:
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
13th Indian Field Company (Madras Sappers and Miners) (Arrived 3-Jan-1942 Convoy BM9A) - Major B.E. Whitman RE
[2]
100th Light Tank Squadron (Arrived 29-Jan-1942 Convoy BM11) – Major Jack Alford (
† 12 Feb 1942) equipped
Carden Lloyd Tankettes
5th Battalion,
Royal Norfolk Regiment – Lt. Col. Eric Charles Prattley
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
4th Battalion,
Suffolk Regiment – Lt. Col. Alec Albert Johnson
5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment – Lt. Col. Lionel John Baker
186th Field Ambulance
196th Field Ambulance
197th Field Ambulance
[6] (Arrived 5 February 1942 Convoy BM12)
287th Field Company
288th Field Company
560th Field Company
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
Brewster Buffalo Mark Is from
No. 453 Squadron RAAF being inspected by RAF personnel at
Sembawang Airfield , Singapore on 12 October 1941.
Based in Northern Malaya
Commanders-in-Chief
Commanders-in-Chief have included:
[13]
[14]
[15]
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
Notes
^ George Ernest Morrison 'The correspondence of G.E. Morrison'
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k Sandes (1956). The Indian Engineers 1939–1947 . Kirkee, India: The Institute of Indian Engineers. p. 183.
^
a
b
c Stokes, Cyril Lovesy Lawrence.
"Commonwealth War Graves" . Commonwealth War Graves .
^ Farndale, Annex A.
^ L, Klemen (1999–2000).
"The Mystery of Christmas Island – March 1942" . Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 . Archived from
the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2021 .
^
"Cambridgeshire History - Military - Table of Actions" . Archived from
the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2015 .
^ L, Klemen (1999–2000).
"Air Vice-Marshal Sir Paul (Copeland) Maltby" . Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 .
Archived from the original on 25 March 2012.
^
453 Squadron RAAF , Australian War Memorial
^
21 Squadron RAAF , Australian War Memorial
^
a
b
c Niehorster, Leo (2000).
"Order of Battle-Royal Air Force-Far East Command-Norgroup" . World War II Armed Forces .
^
1 Squadron RAAF , Australian War Memorial
^
8 Squadron RAAF , Australian War Memorial
^ Whitaker's Almanacks 1924 – 1957
^
Malaya Command at Regiments.org
^
Army Commands
Archived 5 July 2015 at the
Wayback Machine
^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times . No. 36889. London. 3 October 1902. p. 8.
^ L, Klemen (1999–2000).
"Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival" . Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 .
Archived from the original on 24 September 2011.
References
Further reading
British army groups, armies, commands, and corps during the Second World War
Army Groups (
list ) Armies (
list ) Corps (
list ) Commands (
list ) Other