At 11am on Friday 1 September, members of the Mount Evelyn RSL paid tribute to the veterans who fought in both the Malayan emergency and Borneo confrontation.
As RSL president Matthew Crymble said, it was about acknowledging and paying respect to the Australian and Commonwealth Armed Forces who served in the battles, especially one of their own, piper Iain Townsley, who served in the Borneo conflict as an 18-year-old.
“The Malayan Emergency was an undeclared war from 1948 to 1960, fought between pro-communist guerrilla fighters and the Federation of Malaya, supported by Commonwealth forces, including Australia.
“The term Emergency was used by Britain to characterise the conflict in order to avoid referring to it as a war. 39 Australians were killed and 27 wounded.
“The Borneo Confrontation was an undeclared war from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesian opposition to the creation of the Federation of Malaysia. It was a counter insurgency cold war conflict with Indonesia receiving indirect support from the USSR and China; and Malaysia receiving direct military support from the Commonwealth forces, including Australia.
“23 Australians were killed in action and eight wounded.
“The Federation of Malaysia exists as a peaceful nation today through the service, sacrifice and courage of these soldiers from the Commonwealth.”
Mr Crymble went on to say that it is the responsibility of the RSL to ensure the welfare of those who served, as well as their families, and to continue to honour and commemorate past conflicts.
