We've tried to ensure the information displayed here is as accurate as possible. Should there be any inaccuracies, we would be grateful if you could let us know at info@ipohworld.org . All images and content are copyright.
(Please click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.)
Police Lieutenant Tom Turnbull - Part 1
Mr Thomas (Tom) Turnbull served first as a Sergeant and then as a Police Lieutenant with the Federation of Malaya Police Force from 14 September 1948 to 24 December 1953 and again from 10 July 1954 to 30 December 1957. He had earlier served in Palestine as part of the British colonial police service there and came to Malaya, at the age of 22, as a member of a newly formed Special Constabulary; one of 500 experienced Police Officers specifically brought in, after the State of Emergency was declared in June 1948, to support the Malayan Police in their struggle against the Communist insurgents. The emergency lasted until 1960 and Tom therefore served in Malaya for most of it. His photograph, taken during his Malayan service is shown above.
Initially Tom and his colleagues acted as drill sergeants, training volunteers recruited from the Malay villages as 'Special Constables' to protect the miners and planters being targeted by the communist terrorists. After about 16 months he was then moved to a new role as officer in Charge of a Jungle Squad whose role was to seek out and capture/kill the communists.
Some three years after arriving in Malaya he was promoted to Police Lieutenant and after more time with the Jungle squads as he became Commander 20 Federal Jungle Company, Ipoh and then Group Commander Area Security Unit, Sitiawan. His last three years here were as Group Commander Area Security Unit, Batu Gajah.
One interesting opinion that he often recalls is how the Chinese managed to turn the tables on the communists when they started to join the police in large numbers for, before that time the police were "taking a terrible beating". He remembers:
"Most of the young Chinese who joined the police were straight out of school having completed their Senior Cambridge School Certificate. In order to join they had to lie to their parents as their enrolment in the police would never have been agreed to. These important new recruits had a better understanding of the Chinese mind and were able to undertake many special operations, including a number of clandestine operations where they infiltrated the communist camps themselves disguised as communists. These operations led to many surrenders, captures and deaths in the communist ranks. This was a major turning point in the Emergency."
Tom then went on to cite examples like Dato Seri Yuen Yuet Leng and Dr Leong Chee Woh.
During his service in Malaya he sufferd deprivation in the jungle, close brushes with death and saw many of his friends and colleagues killed but, of all the experiences that he suffered over the ten years he served the people of Malaya, one incident sticks out in his mind forever and demonstrates the brutality of some of the communists. The incident he related below took place at Rantau Panjang, Selama, Taiping, Perak:
"They first rounded up everybody and forced them to assemble on the Padang (public field). Then they picked out three people, a bicycle hawker, an opium addict and a third man and simply bayoneted them to death.
This was the communist idea of a lesson to the public so that they could terrorise and dominate the rural people with a view to making Malaya a communist state." Tom continued "That was something I could not abide".
Chronologically, he held the following Appointments:
| Period | Appointment |
| Sep 48 - Dec 49 | OIC Special Constable Posts, Tanjong Rambutan, Perak. |
| Dec 49 - Oct 51 | OIC Jungle Squads, Taiping, Perak. |
| Oct 51 - Apr 52 | Leave in UK |
| Apr 52 - Nov 52 | OIC Special Constabulary Posts Kuala Krai, Kelantan. |
| Nov 52 - Jun 53 | Commander 20 Federal Jungle Company, Ipoh, Perak. |
| Jun 53 - Oct 53 | Group Commander Area Security Unit, Sitiawan, Perak. |
| Oct 53 - Dec 53 | Leave in UK |
| Jul 54 - Aug 57 | Group Commander Area Security Unit, Batu Gajah, Perak |
The above information is taken from Tom’s Service Record issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Federation of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur on 30 August 1957 (the eve of Malaya’s Independence from Britain). It is signed for the Commissioner by A B Jeffries.
The two-page document shown to the left of his photograph above continues thus:
“He is a first class operational leader and has been tireless in his efforts to eliminate Communist Terrorists. He has taken part in a number of successful operations on several occasions under great odds. An inspiring leader with great powers of discipline, he is always willing to accept responsibility and has discharged his duties most satisfactorily.”
On the second roe od images above is a Letter of Commendation signed by the Commissioner of Police, W L R Carronell, Federation of Malaya, again on 30 August 1957. It reads:
“I have great pleasure in awarding you this Letter of Commendation for Merit in recognition of the extremely efficient and conscientious manner in which you have carried out your duties as Area Security Group Commander.
I have been particularly pleased to hear of the skill and initiative displayed by you when planning and carrying out operations in the Batu Gajah district of Perak, resulting in the elimination of eight Communists Terrorists.
There are more details of Tom’s life at Part 2 of this item.
In addition to the above mentioned documents, Tom has generously provided us with several more photographs, details and articles from his time in service in Malaya.
To read more about Tom Turnbull in Part 2, click here.