§ 18. Sir J. Smythasked the Minister of Defence if he will give further details of the operations in Brunei.
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI will, with permission, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
I should like to add my tribute to the courage and resolution of the Services, all ranks of whom have reacted swiftly and effectively to the calls made upon them, and my sympathy for the relatives of those who have lost their lives.
§ Sir J. SmythI thank my right hon. Friend for issuing a detailed report, which I am sure we will study with great interest. Does not he agree that the British officers and Gurkha ranks of the l/2nd Gurkha Rifles acquitted themselves superbly in this operation, particularly in the original fly-in, which had to be conducted at night, on a strange aerodrome, and then in a night operation which had to be carried out in an unknown town, in view of the urgency of the situation, thus making the rest of the operations comparatively easy?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftThe Gurkhas discharged their duties with the skill and courage which we have grown to expect of them.
Following is the statement:
As a result of a review of the state of readiness by the Commander-in-Chief, Far East, several days before, forces were at about 12 hours' notice when help was requested by the Sultan of Brunei to deal with the attempt to overthrow his Government which was made early on the morning of 8th December, 1962. The first troops began to arrive by R.A.F. aircraft the same evening, and within a new days a well-balanced force was built up. At its peak this included three major Army units, two Royal Marine Commandos and additional small elements, and 11 ships of the Royal Navy, including supply ships. The R.A.F. was operating short and long-range transport, fighter and photographic reconnaissance air craft. Naval helicopters from H.M.S. "Albion" were also operating in the area.The forces were at first under the command of Brigadier J. B. A. Glennie; he was succeeded by Major-General W. C. Walker who became Director of Operations.As the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies announced on 20th December, these forces, working with the police forces, had by then restored order in the main centres and secured the release of all hostages. The 65 main military operation was therefore completed last month, but security forces have been continuing to round up rebels and to recover arms and ammunition. Their attention has turned more to outlying areas, but operations are at present hampered by rains and serious flooding and are taking second-place to flood relief work. The Services have been giving all-out help in difficult conditions which in some areas are the worst in living memory. A British soldier died on patrol last week while crossing a flooded river.Total British Service casualties in the operation were eight killed and 28 wounded. Between 50 and 60 rebels were killed and about 2,000 taken prisoner.This military operation shows that our conventional forces are poised ready to deal with any brushfire outbreak, that their reaction time is swift, and that inter-Service co-operation is of the highest order.