Major gets his medal ...fifty years on

A MALAYAN war veteran has been honoured for his role in helping the south-east Asian country more than 50 years ago.

Major Frank Clark 83 of Ashingdon served in the Intelligence Corps and spent five years in the Malayan Jungle fighting Chinese communist

 "We were liberating the Malayan people and defending their rubber plantations and tin mines, which were being attacked by Chinese communist guerrillas. There were times when I came under fire from snipers," said Major Clark.

 "But I loved being in the jungle and rainforests. I would sleep rough there and it was an amazing place The ground underfoot was teamingwith life and literally always on the move. But not all of Major Clark's encounters with the local wildlife were comfortable. "There were snakes and even leeches every­where," he said." There was also a lot of disease and if you had an open wound a great chance of infection. Luckily, I never got any of those."

 Mr Clark, who also took part in the Normandy beach landings during the Second World War and helped liber­ate France, Belgium and the

Netherlands.

 He was pleased to receive his medal. "I know it was all a long time ago, but it is nice to be remembered," he said.

 Echo News Friday August 17,2007  Photo by Steve O’Connell