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Fort Kemar - The Building Of A Malayan Jungle Fort - Part 8
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Subject :Fort Kemar - The Building Of A Malayan Jungle Fort - Part 8
Published By : None
Location : Perak
Estimated Year : 1953
Media Type : Photograph
Source : Dennis Wombell, UK
Remark : The most rewarding aspect of the whole fort-building operation was, to me personally, the medical help we were able to bring to the Asli, who, up to that time had only their own, largely ineffective, native herbal treatments. Initially we had only our own platoon medical orderly, but even he was able to make a huge difference to the Asli by treating the simpler ailments, the usual wounds, fevers and septic sores. He was able to clean up the very large wounds but lacked the courage to stitch them up. I took on this role myself with an ordinary sewing needle and boiled strong thread, the patient being held down by two of the beefier members of the platoon.
But the greatest scourge among the Asli at that time was Yaws - a flesh eating disease closely related to Syphilis but not sexually transmitted. It resembles leprosy, in that large areas of flesh are eaten away, causing disfigurement and eventually death. Some sufferers had large septic craters in their faces and I remember one little boy brought in to the fort with most of his backside eaten away. And yet, this dreadful disease was easily cured by the M & B tablets which we carried on operations at all times and were seen as a cure-all. They were produced by May and Baker in 1936 and were the first effective sulphanomides in the treatment of infection prior to the discovery of penicillin and to soldiers in the field they were a lifesaver. Once we had spread the word we soon had a daily queue of yaws sufferers at our medical hut and within a very short time theirs sores were seen to be healing. Within months of the completion of the fort, yaws had almost disappeared from the Asli community in the area. After finding that one Asli lady had made a paste of her tablets and rubbed it into her sores, I attended the daily yaws parade myself and ensured that the tablets were swallowed on the spot by all!!
Meanwhile, we were making good progress and on the 11th March I was able to report on my radio that “Work on Fort going well. Everybody happy. Men moral high and no complaints.” The clearing of the trees on the site, however, was painstaking work and it was not until the 20th that it was completed and we were able to start erecting the buildings. Once we had started, and given the skill of my own men, coupled with that of the Orange Asli, these went up in quick succession and I was able to report on the 4th April `All buildings completed. Only clearing and wiring one side of perimeter remains. In 3 weeks we had built an Admin Block; a Main Dining Hall/Cookhouse; an Officers` and Orderlies` Quarters and Kitchen; 3 large Barrack Blocks; a Canteen for the men; a Shop and School for the Orang Asli; a Medical Room; an Orderly Room/Office; and, in the centre of the fort, a strongly defended Command Post for use in the event of attack. The buildings were constructed in the Malay style and raised upon stilts. Small trees were used for the main frames which were covered with attap roofs laid upon split bamboo laths. Split bamboo was also used for the walls and for the raised sleeping platforms which ran the whole length of one side of the barrack blocks where the men slept and kept their kit. We had also constructed the defences, consisting of slit trenches with sandbag ramparts on all sides and at the corners of the fort and within the barbed wire perimeter which had the added protection of a wide barbed-wire `carpet`.
On the 7th April all work on the Fort was complete; we were able to clear our temporary camp and move in, and, at the same time, the SAS, who were no longer needed, were taken out by helicopter. A few days earlier I had received a signal to inform me that the Deputy High Commissioner, Sir Donald MacGillivray, was to visit the fort on the 10th and was to stay the night. The officer who was to replace me was also to come in with his platoon by helicopter on the same day and I would leave on the 12th. This meant tidying the place up and attempting to ensure that my men, who had been in the jungle for two months, looked reasonably presentable. I had also to prepare for our departure. A couple of weeks earlier the Asli headmen had put it to me, that they were able to take us the entire way back to our camp in Grik by raft - an offer too good to be refused! The journey was to be in two stages - the first down the Sungei Temengor on small 2-3 man rafts and then down the much bigger Sungei Perak on 6-8 man rafts. After negotiating a price it was agreed that the rafts were to be built and made ready for our departure on the 12th April.
The photographs show the Malay Ploce team resting during the construction of the fort's defences and Royal Navy Sikorsky helicopter.
To go to Part 9, click here.
But the greatest scourge among the Asli at that time was Yaws - a flesh eating disease closely related to Syphilis but not sexually transmitted. It resembles leprosy, in that large areas of flesh are eaten away, causing disfigurement and eventually death. Some sufferers had large septic craters in their faces and I remember one little boy brought in to the fort with most of his backside eaten away. And yet, this dreadful disease was easily cured by the M & B tablets which we carried on operations at all times and were seen as a cure-all. They were produced by May and Baker in 1936 and were the first effective sulphanomides in the treatment of infection prior to the discovery of penicillin and to soldiers in the field they were a lifesaver. Once we had spread the word we soon had a daily queue of yaws sufferers at our medical hut and within a very short time theirs sores were seen to be healing. Within months of the completion of the fort, yaws had almost disappeared from the Asli community in the area. After finding that one Asli lady had made a paste of her tablets and rubbed it into her sores, I attended the daily yaws parade myself and ensured that the tablets were swallowed on the spot by all!!
Meanwhile, we were making good progress and on the 11th March I was able to report on my radio that “Work on Fort going well. Everybody happy. Men moral high and no complaints.” The clearing of the trees on the site, however, was painstaking work and it was not until the 20th that it was completed and we were able to start erecting the buildings. Once we had started, and given the skill of my own men, coupled with that of the Orange Asli, these went up in quick succession and I was able to report on the 4th April `All buildings completed. Only clearing and wiring one side of perimeter remains. In 3 weeks we had built an Admin Block; a Main Dining Hall/Cookhouse; an Officers` and Orderlies` Quarters and Kitchen; 3 large Barrack Blocks; a Canteen for the men; a Shop and School for the Orang Asli; a Medical Room; an Orderly Room/Office; and, in the centre of the fort, a strongly defended Command Post for use in the event of attack. The buildings were constructed in the Malay style and raised upon stilts. Small trees were used for the main frames which were covered with attap roofs laid upon split bamboo laths. Split bamboo was also used for the walls and for the raised sleeping platforms which ran the whole length of one side of the barrack blocks where the men slept and kept their kit. We had also constructed the defences, consisting of slit trenches with sandbag ramparts on all sides and at the corners of the fort and within the barbed wire perimeter which had the added protection of a wide barbed-wire `carpet`.
On the 7th April all work on the Fort was complete; we were able to clear our temporary camp and move in, and, at the same time, the SAS, who were no longer needed, were taken out by helicopter. A few days earlier I had received a signal to inform me that the Deputy High Commissioner, Sir Donald MacGillivray, was to visit the fort on the 10th and was to stay the night. The officer who was to replace me was also to come in with his platoon by helicopter on the same day and I would leave on the 12th. This meant tidying the place up and attempting to ensure that my men, who had been in the jungle for two months, looked reasonably presentable. I had also to prepare for our departure. A couple of weeks earlier the Asli headmen had put it to me, that they were able to take us the entire way back to our camp in Grik by raft - an offer too good to be refused! The journey was to be in two stages - the first down the Sungei Temengor on small 2-3 man rafts and then down the much bigger Sungei Perak on 6-8 man rafts. After negotiating a price it was agreed that the rafts were to be built and made ready for our departure on the 12th April.
The photographs show the Malay Ploce team resting during the construction of the fort's defences and Royal Navy Sikorsky helicopter.
To go to Part 9, click here.
Filename : 20111204-026