Orders, Decorations and Medals

An extremely rare Borneo operations B.E.M. awarded to Staff Sergeant P. S. Brown, Intelligence Corps, who was decorated for his services as a Field Intelligence Operator attached to the 2/6th Gurkha Rifles

British Empire Medal, (Military) E.II.R. (23248308 S./Sgt. Philip S. Brown, Int. Corps), in its Royal Mint case of issue, naming rubbed as usual but entirely as issued, good very fine £800-1000

B.E.M. London Gazette 24 May 1966:

‘In recognition of distinguished services in the Borneo Territories during the period 24 June to 23 December 1965.’

The original recommendation states:

‘Staff Sergeant Brown has been carrying out the duties of Field Intelligence Operator with this Battalion since 6 April 1965 to the present time. These duties, which are of a confidential and security nature require the Operator to work completely on his own amongst the indigenous peoples of Sarawak. Normal supervision by an Intelligence Officer is not possible and Staff Sergeant Brown is therefore by the nature of his employment left for long periods on his own.

This senior N.C.O. has performed his duties on active service at the Tactical Headquarters of the Battalion in an exemplary manner. His work is efficient and accurate and on his information much valuable operational experience has been gained. He has a very pleasant manner with everyone with whom he comes in contact and this has enabled him to get the maximum value from his work. He works long hours in the frontier area without leave or relief and has always put his duty before his personal matters.

Before joining the Battalion, Staff Sergeant Brown was in the Intelligence Platoon at H.Q. Central Brigade and his work there was always of a very high standard. Again, he worked long hours often in his own time, and produced excellent results.

This N.C.O. has consistently set a high standard to all and shown devotion to duty and loyalty to the Service beyond the normal. He has produced excellent results and made the very best of all of his opportunities. This example has been an inspiration to all.’



Philip Stephen Brown later published an account of his time in Borneo in the Intelligence Corps Journal. Co-authored with Captain Althorp, and entitled Hot but Worthwhile, the account throws further light on the activities briefly described in the above cited recommendation - not least on the sense of isolation experienced by F.I.Os left to their own devices in hundreds of square miles of jungle, with little means of communication.

Thus N.C.Os who lived in bamboo huts with lizards and mosquitoes as their only company, but who, nonetheless, undertook valuable negotiations with the local Ibans, sometimes having to spend a week or so as a guest in their longhouses to gain their confidence. Moreover, once suitable intelligence had been obtained, these N.C.O’s had to return to their parent unit - in Brown’s case the 2/6th Gurkhas - in order to deliver an accurate and balanced assessment to unit C.Os - no easy task for an N.C.O. up against a ‘fire-eating ready-for-action Major’, who required delicate persuasion as to the error of his ways. As Hot but Worthwhile concludes, ‘In the three years of operations in Borneo, during which time perhaps a total of only two dozen men were used as F.I.Os, four were awarded B.E.Ms and two were mentioned in despatches - a high proportion for any type of unit. It speaks much for the quality of them men and the results achieved.’

Brown was subsequently granted a short service commission as a Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps in June 1970, but was dismissed from the Service by order of a General Court Martial on 22 July 1971.