4 Fd Regt (SVN) Old Boys Newsletter - December 2020 Edition

An article by Keith Hall from his time with102 Field Battery in Malaya circa 1964. In late October 1974, 102 Field Battery RAA was deployed as part of 45 Light Regiment RA to Asahan Artillery Range (Malaya) for a technical firing practice. For some days we had been engaging the technical targets such as linears, smoke screens, VT, coordinated illumination targets – all that we did not engage on the average range practice. It was a non tac practice which was to create problems later. Mid morning on the 29th, the Battery received the order: “Cease Firing, move to Jasin Police Station”. Naturally enough, as the GPO I sought to confirm the order as it seemed so far out of place. We did not “portee” the guns but simply hooked up behind the ¾ ton Landrovers, the detachments standing in the back holding onto cross beams with a few rounds on the floor of the vehicle and headed off at speed to Jasin. On arrival at the Police Station the vehicles and guns were parked inside the compound with the drivers. We were then informed that a party of some sixty Indonesians had landed on the coast near the mouth of the Kesang River, a swampy unattractive area. 3 RAR, 1RNZIR and other elements of 28th Commonwealth Brigade had been deployed to apprehend them. Some 20 infiltrators surrendered but the remainder stayed and indeed tried to break out. The Battery was to form part of the outer perimeter patrolling along the canal running south from the village of Merlimau and along the north-south road. The Battery was then formed into three light “platoons” commanded by the GPO (Lt KR Hall) and two Section Commanders (Lt BH Mitchell and 2LT GT Reed) and commenced to patrol along the road and canal. Suddenly people were caught short having been deployed on a non tac practice camp – lack of water bottles and the like. The centre pf the activities was the junction of the canal and the main road. It was here that a feeding point was established in the back of a Bedford truck with a series of choofers mass producing jaffles. As you passed the truck you put your hand up and received a jaffle – it may have been jam, baked beans, whatever. You took pot luck. There was little time to put into place a support group at this stage but we managed. It was an eerie feeling patrolling through the village knowing so many pairs of eyes were watching and following your every move. That night we formed an ambush along the canal, but it was an uneventful night. Early next morning I was directed to recce a gun position and be prepared to deploy the Battery. There were very few options but to deploy the guns along the line of the canal which had been cleared for about 20 yards from the edge of the canal itself. So, the Battey deployed with a frontage of perhaps 50 yards and no depth at all. An FO party under Captain Don Quinn deployed further down the canal to opposite where the Indonesians were still trapped. Then started an argument among the Numbers One who would fire the ranging rounds. Some, like SGT Frank Buxton claiming seniority, and on it went. In the end I tossed a coin and SGT Skeeter Wills won the honour. Then followed a quite time as we deployed and made ready. It was also uncertain what the Indonesians were doing. Later in the morning Captain Quinn was ordered to engage the area and so he commenced to range into the swamp with SGT Will’s gun firing the ranging rounds. This was followed by five rounds gunfire. Again, it was not certain what was going on with the enemy. There seemed to be a move to surrender. Another five rounds gunfire and this seemed to convince the Indonesians to surrender. All but a couple of the infiltrators were captured. Some of those captured were brought out through the gun position, a very bedraggled group.