RAF Halton’s Halton House Officers’ Mess was the venue last week for a very special Medal Award Ceremony. The Malaysian government have awarded a new medal known as The Pingat Jasa Medal to UK Service personnel serving in Malaya, Singapore and Borneo, who helped the South Eastern country fight against Communist guerrillas and Indonesian rebels, from the granting of independence to these countries in 1957 to the end of the confrontation with Indonesia in 1966. Veterans of the campaigns from across Buckinghamshire, some of them Royal Air Force Halton’s ex-Apprentices, were presented with their medals by Lieutenant General Dato Hj Sharhron bin Hj Ibrahim, RMAM, Chief of Staff for the Malaysian Armed Forces. The ceremony was also attended by The Defence Attache for the Malaysian Armed Forces, Colonel M. Tarjri Alwi. The Medal Citation read: The Supreme head of the Federation of Malaysia wishes to award medals to all those who distinguished themselves in chivalry, gallantry, and loyalty while performing their services.
One recipient was Buckinghamshire County Councillor, David Rowlands who fought in the jungles of Borneo to defend the Malaysian state of Sarawak from 1962-1963. David Amies, aged 65, who served with the Second Royal Green Jackets Infantry, said he felt very proud, he added, ‘We marched through swamps and were up to our necks in it. We were worried about the leeches and snakes, and ants that were as big as your thumb’.
Chief of Staff at Halton, Wing Commander John Paulson, who attended the ceremony, said:
‘It was an honour for RAF Halton to be able to host this event in these superb surroundings. The ambience of Halton House Officers’ Mess made the occasion all the more unique for the recipients receiving the medal for an all but forgotten war. It was delightful to see members of RAF Halton’s own staff taking part as recipients of the Pingat jasa Medal.’