Martyn bags his Malayan medal at last
Malayan embassy attache Col Alwi presents Martyn Bevan
with his medal, as the diplomat family look on.
MEMORIES of Malaya and the Maldives flooded back for Askern's former mayor
when his days as a serviceman were finally recognised - with a medal.
Along with fellow Askernites Harry Faulkner and Eddie Roe, Martyn Bevan
received his Pingat-Jasa Malaysia (PJM) medal at Doncaster's Mansion House,
after an announcement from the Malay Government last year that British forces
were entitled.
The medals were to commemorate the part played by British men in the Malayan
Emergency, which was declared by the British colonial government out there in
1948, as they strove to fight political pressures.
Mr Faulkner was with the King's Own Light Infantry and Mr Roe with the RAF.
RAF man Mr Bevan first went to Singapore in 1960, to maintain internal
security. Although much of his remit was for "basic work" he says, he
underwent intensive jungle survival training.
Part of his service, in 1962, took place in the Maldives, when he was paid 12
pounds 10 shillings a week to keep a presence there, and recalls a not too
friendly visit from spear laden natives of other islands, as they approached
the beach in their canoes.
"We grouped together and beat our shields, and they obviously didn't like the
look of us because they turned around and paddled away again," said Mr Bevan.
And another memory which stayed with him concerned a patrol along the
Malay/Thai border - rough country: "It was rumoured that there were tribes in
the hills around that no-one ever saw. I happened to look up one night and
spotted a chap in a loincloth hovering near me. But he seemed to just vanish
with no trace," he added.
He was also part of the 1961 Queen's birthday parade at infamous Singapore POW
camp, RAF Changhi.
Appreciative of the medal he and others received, to mark "distinguished
chivalry, gallantry, sacrifice or loyalty" in contributing to the freedom of
independence of Malaysia, Mr Bevan felt he had been bestowed a real honour.
"It was a complete surprise to me when I first heard about this. It was a
quick ceremony, but moving, and it was nice to see everyone all scrubbed up.
It's brilliant that the Malayan government recognised the part played by the
British, and it must have cost a fortune to do this," he added.
