One hell of a read - Captain F. Spencer Chapman DSO and Bar. WW2 exploits in Malaya.

[2495]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...se-troops.html

He joined the army at the outbreak of war, soon transferring to special forces. In September 1941, as tensions in the Far East mounted, Chapman was posted to Singapore as the second in command of a Special Training School, to prepare expats for resistance against the Japanese, should they invade.

But he found the colonial authorities dismissive. Neither Singapore, the so-called 'Impregnable Fortress', nor Malaya, protected by its thick jungle barrier, would ever fall to the 'little yellow men', they insisted.
Chapman was refused permission to train either British civilians or local Chinese communists who settled in the region and hated the Japanese since their homeland had been invaded in 1937.
It was not until Japanese troops landed in Malaya and bombed Singapore on December 8, 1941, that Chapman was finally taken seriously.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...pf_rd_i=468294

I am glad to see there is at least a glimmer of recognition for the man and his heroic stand in WW2 against the Japanese and its a well written article about a man very few will know about, let alone even heard of. The Amazon link is to his book, The Jungle is Neutral: simply one of those books that once started, are impossible to put down.

[ayanami_tard]

malaya strategy is very wrong to begin with

1-all defence is concentrated to singapore,nothing significant in perlis/kedah

2-no tanks in british side

3-brits is outmaneuvered by japs,with simply using bicycle

4-brits isn't trained for jungle warfare at that time


....
got to love high school history

[2495]

Originally Posted by ayanami_tard

....
got to love high school history

This threads not about the pro/cons of the defence of Singapore, it is about a man, whom against appalling odds and through incredible hardship, carried the fight to the enemy at the time: The Japanese.

I posted it because he is not so well known outside of military enthusiasts / military historians, and this is a shame. Hence I also posted a link to his book he wrote about his time in the jungle.

[CMN]

The book is simply brilliant. IIRC I read it in a day pretty much without leaving my study. A real tough bastard. I hope wherever he is, he's resting easy.

[a_very_ex_STAB]

Didn't Spencer-Chapman write his own account of what went on?

IIRC 'The Jungle is Neutral'

[2495]

Originally Posted by 2495

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...se-troops.html



http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...pf_rd_i=468294

I am glad to see there is at least a glimmer of recognition for the man and his heroic stand in WW2 against the Japanese and its a well written article about a man very few will know about, let alone even heard of. The Amazon link is to his book, The Jungle is Neutral: simply one of those books that once started, are impossible to put down.

yeah - link to it in the first post.

[baboon6]

Originally Posted by a_very_ex_STAB

Didn't Spencer-Chapman write his own account of what went on?

IIRC 'The Jungle is Neutral'

Yes. Also there is an earlier biography entitled One Man's Jungle by Russell Braddon.

By the way he was a Major when he went into the jungle and a Lt Col by the end of the war.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by baboon6

By the way he was a Major when he went into the jungle and a Lt Col by the end of the war.

Given the promotion speeds of some of his peers in the North Africa/European theatre he had a right to feel somewhat agreived at that.

His book is indeed an excellent read.

[goat89]

Originally Posted by a_very_ex_STAB

Didn't Spencer-Chapman write his own account of what went on?

IIRC 'The Jungle is Neutral'

Been reading up and yeah, hes the guy saying that the Jungle is neutral. Legendary fellow.

[Clockwinder]

I read the Jungle is Neutral while serving in peacetime Penang. It was cool to be able to take trips and see some of the places Spencer -Chapman was. The jungle may be neutral, but it sure isn't hospitable.
The Malaya debacle is yet another example of the British Imperial predilection for disaster going back to the Crimea - and yet, they always seem to win in the end.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by Clockwinder

The Malaya debacle is yet another example of the British Imperial predilection for disaster going back to the Crimea - and yet, they always seem to win in the end.

There were British military disasters long before Crimea (which wasn't a disaster BTW - we won. Convincingly). The 'charge of the Light Brigade' - if that is what you were referring to - was a minor factor in a battle that we won.

People cite the issue of the telegraph and press reporting and its effect on public opinion back home (anyone see any mordern paralells there?! Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc etc), but Wellington was complaining about exactly the same kind of political interference and whinging 40 years earlier.