When Sukarno of Indonesia decided to challenge the right of the Singapore and Malayan Federation to separate from the clutches of the British Empire in 1964 , he set in motion a tidal wave of financial and religious oppression , that still haunts the region today .

In September of that year I was part of the Re Force sent from Cyprus with a Canberra Squadron to help keep Singapore and the Malayan Federation out of the clutches of Sukarno . We were based at SAAF Tengah , where we were joined by units from the UK , Australia and NZ . A frightening mixture of V force , Javelins and Hunters , Canberras from both Singapore and Cyprus based sqns , plus a sqn from NZ . Buccaneers from the UK , and already ancient Bristol Frighteners ( Freighters ) from NZ shared the same very limited pan space at Tengah . This didn`t include the Hunters and A 4 `s of the SAAF , which had their own pans behind the Officers'Mess on the other side of the airfield ! I have a picture, somewhere , of 104 aircraft overflying Tengah airfield in a show of of strength !!

It wasn`t long before aircraft were dispersed to other airfields up and down Malaya to reduce the vulnerability of the UK forces . This plan was put into effect beginning January 1965 , but I was already back in Cyprus having served the requisite 90 days away from home

I spent my next 90 days stint in the Far East , starting in the August of 1965 , at one of these dispersed airfields , Kuantan. Now a luxury holiday leisure centre , with all the amenities that one expects from posh travel brochures , Kuantan then was no more than an outpost of the old Empire days Built initially in 1936 as a grass strip for the RAF . Overrun by the Japanese in 1941 it was recovered in 1947 and a concrete runway built by the Royal Engineers . It served as the base for operations against the communist underground movement during the 50`s , but after their defeat was closed down and reverted to a civilian airfield, operated by the old British Malayan Airways . With no viable traffic Kuantan soon fell into disrepair and although the runway was maintained ( ? ) , virtually closed down until panic stations revived it in 1964 !!

The British ReForce element based there was purely support for the rotating Cyprus sqns that did their stint of duty every 90 days . We lived in tents , not totally waterproof in the monsoon weather , were given wood to build our own beds on , and were fed from field kitchens that were unable to produce decent food . A NAAFI was established for the troops and became the focal point of our entertainment , except film nights , when they were shown in the tent allocated to the messing requirements of the men .

Boredom was a real factor and all kinds of things were done , made or suggested, to break the monotony . I organised a rugby team and we did play some serious stuff against the local schools and the Ghurkas from Temeloh . Some trips were organised to Tengah , Butterworth and across to Kuala Lumpar , and R and R became a must for everyone . Some things were organised that also had to be done , but more of an official nature than voluntary , and these were also volunteered for by all and sundry, JUNGLE SURVIVAL !!

On one such training mission into the jungle , leeches , baboons and scorpions abounded , and keeping one`s eyes open for rusty old barbed wire , grown over streams and the endless mosquitoes , I noticed what appeared to be a moss encrusted piece of concrete in the shape of a cross . We were in a party of a dozen or so , and with willing help managed to raise it into a vertical position , where we were able to verify that it was indeed a cross and not an old fence post . Scraping off the growth of many years revealed a rough cast cross , with just visible the words 8 Brave Men . Photographs were taken and we carried on hacking our way through the jungle , but my curiosity had been roused. I was determined to find out the origins of such a Memorial , for that it certainly was .

Using RAF ordnance survey maps , the leaders of our party , a pilot and a navigator , were able to establish fairly accurately where the place was , so I paid a visit to the local school . The school had been built originally by the Colonials , pre WWII , to educate the children of the plantation workers . Known as the Mrs Thomas Wilson School , it was the only school for miles around , and prewar had some 80 pupils . The school is shown in the film "A Town Like Alice" , and was the start point of the long march by the civilians across Malaya to Temeloh . The Australians featured in the film were a rear guard party who became lost and stumbled on the school after the Japanese had taken over . Of those 8, 3 were crucified and the others escaping into the jungle were caught and summarily executed where we found the cross earlier.

. After the war , local people told the remaining survivors of the school what had happened , and the rough cast stone cross was born . Forgotten over the years , the Colonials all gone , the plantations and the school closed and the town all but died . The timber trade finished , the jungle took back all that it could over the next 15 years and the concrete strip in the jungle was all that was left . Till 1965 !!

I revisited the site twice more before leaving for the last time , took a lot more photos and when they were all developed mounted them in an album . 3 years later I became aircrew and clearing out a cupboard found the album again I contacted the Australian High Commission in London , wondering if they were interested in either the story or the photos . With no interest shown, I forgot all about it.

Some months later I was summoned to the Adjutant's office of my then sqn , and introduced to a Mike Burchey . An Australian and the son of one of the 8 members killed in Malaya all those years ago , I was flabbergasted to find out he wanted the photos so that he could present them to the newly formed Flying Training Wing of the Royal Malayan Air Force base at Kuantan !! At the time we were doing regular dets to the ANZUK Force in Singapore , so I managed to get a place out of turn and with Mike went up to Kuantan and duly presented the album to the Stn Cmdr . I was taken around the local area to see all the changes . The school had gone , the airfield had a second runway , a harbour had been built , and the small town of Kuantan had swollen from a place of 10,000 to the 4th largest city in Malaya . The cross was in pride of place by the Officers Mess , but the jungle got to keep the site where it had once stood . Kris Penney Armourer