Malaya and Borneo Veterans’ Day
Today is Malaya and Borneo Veterans’ Day. This date is significant as it coincides with Merdeka Day (Freedom Day), marking the Federation of Malaya’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.
The Malayan Emergency was declared in 1948 and the conflict continued until 1960. This 13-year conflict started just a few short years after the end of the Second World War.
Australian forces joined the conflict in 1950, and remained in place after the Malayan Emergency ended in 1960 to provide support. The last of our military returned home in 1963.
The Indonesian Confrontation began in 1962, and Australian forces became involved in 1964 although infantry units were not sent to Borneo until 1965. A peace treaty was signed in Bangkok in August 1966.
39 Australians lost their lives during the Malayan Emergency, and during the Indonesian Confrontation 23 Australians lost their lives.
On Malaya and Borneo Veterans’ Day, we pay tribute to all those who served during these two conflicts.
Sergeant RR (Jock) Richardson MM MID, (standing on road centre), waits for his men as they alight from an armoured truck, or ‘coffin’, on a road through a rubber estate in Perak, Malaya. These soldiers are members of the ‘stand-by’ platoon from B Company, 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, 1956.