Jungle Bashers: A British Infantry Battalion in the Malayan Emergency, 1951-1954 [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

Very occasionally, when thumbing through a book before setting to & reading it, the reader gets a feeling that this is an important work ready to stand the test of time. Here is one such, a credit to the diligence & determination of the author & a witness to the obvious regimental pride in producing what must become an invaluable study of life in a typical infantry battalion. For those wishing to explore the Malayan Emergency from the viewpoint of the infantryman at the sharp end, Robert Bonner's work is an essential tool. Ultimately the procedures adopted by the senior commanders and the dogged perseverance of the infantry proved successful and, in retrospect something of a textbook operation. The book is highly recommended for the casual reader, veteran, student & any professional historian researching the Malayan Emergency. --Jounal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 82. No:329.

Despite an astonishing amount of detail concerning the activities of the Manchester Regiment in its role against the terrorist insurgency in Malaya, this is a well written narrative and is eminently readable by an interested observer of modern history in the making. Although the author inevitably describes those actions in which he personally was involved he writes with the same objectivity over the whole field of regimental activity. Importantly it is a fully descriptive account of Police/Military co-operation particularly related to Special Branch. No terrorist surrendered, was captured or killed but that Special Branch knew instantly who they were, their place in the hierarchy and what they had been up to. Jungle Bashers is unwittingly a significant recognition of and tribute to the penetration by Special Branch of Communist affairs in Malaya, to say nothing of the operational intelligence they so freely supplied. Bob Bonner also knew and has spoken with all those caught up in the murder of Neville Godwin, CPO Kedah/Perlis, and the account he gives of that dreadful atrocity is therefore the definitive statement. Over one hundred and twenty photographs, maps and drawings illustrate not only the work of the soldier but provide a record of police personalities and their activities in the north of Malaya during what turned out to be the peak years of the Emergency. The book is an important addition to the genre. --Newsletter - Royal Malaysia Police Asociation.

A description of the campaign agaist Communist Terrorists between June 1951 and April 1954. For three years the 1st Bn Manchester Regiment was engaged in a campaign in the jungle and rubber estates of Kedah, Perlis and Perak in the north of Malaya. this was a classic campaign in counter-insurgfency operations but one which has received little publicity when compared to the other overseas conflicts of the second half of the 20th century. This book should go a small way in rectifying this.