Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare and outstanding North West Frontier 1937 operations M.C. group of six awarded to Major F. E. K. Laman, 1st Punjab Regiment, who was awarded a “mention” for his subsequent gallantry in the Malaya operations of 1941-42, prior to his death in action during the evacuation of Singapore

Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; India General Service 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37 (Capt. F. E. K. Laman, Tochi Scouts); 1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, M.I.D. oak leaf, the second with officially corrected unit, good very fine (6) £3000-3500

M.C. London Gazette 10 December 1937:

‘For distinguished services rendered in the field in connection with the operations in Waziristan, during the period 25 November 1936 to 11 January 1937.’

Mention in despatches London Gazette 19 December 1946:

‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Malaya in 1942.’

Frederick Ernest Kirkland Laman, known to his friends and colleagues as George, was born in December 1906, the son of Major E. K. Laman, M.B.E., M.C., and Edith Sybil Laman, of Dinas Powis, Glamorgan. He was first commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the Unattached List of the Indian Army in January 1927 and arrived in India in March of the same year. After a year’s service with a British regiment, he was posted to the 5th Battalion of the 1st Punjab Regiment in April 1928. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant a year later.

The Tochi Scouts - North-West Frontier 1936-37 - M.C.

In January 1934, Laman was attached to the Tochi Scouts at Miranshah. According to Charles Chevenix Trench in the Frontier Scouts, ‘There was much competition among British officers to join. It was rather like joining a very small, very exclusive club. Not only did a candidate have to have a first class report from his regiment, and some command of Pashto, but he had to stay a couple of weeks with a corps, at headquarters and in outposts, to be vetted ... A veto from a single officer, a hint from the Subadar Major that he would not quite do , and that was that.’

Laman was promoted to Captain in January 1936. In that year a religious leader, the Faqir of Ipi, began to preach ‘holy war’ amongst the Tori Khel Wazirs. The Government decided on a show of force to deter the tribesmen and sent two brigades to conduct operations in the Khaisora Valley area. The plan was that on 25 November 1936 one brigade, referred to as ‘Razcol’, would start from Damdil and move eastwards down the Khaisora Valley to Biche Kashkai Camp. On the same day the second brigade, Tocol, would start from Mir Ali, move southward over low hills and meet Razcol at Biche Kashkai. Next day both would return to their bases. Each column would be accompanied by several platoons of Tochi Scouts to provide distant flank protection.

Both columns came under heavy fire and Tocol didn’t reach the rendezvous until the afternoon of the second day. As the troops were provided with rations and ammunition for only three days, it was decided that both columns would return to Mir Ali, with the Tochi Scouts forming the advance guard.

A Lieutenant Wainwright recalled that at one stage when the bullets were flying all around , ‘I was almost knocked over by a terrific kick in the seat of my partog (Pathan-style baggy trousers) by George Laman. “Stop walking about like a spare f-----g lamp-post”, he said. “It’s cost the tax-payer thousands to train you!”

During the three day operation, for which Laman won his M.C., the Scouts had 26 casualties and also won an I.O.M. and two I.D.S.Ms. The two brigades of regular troops had 107 casualties and it was clear that the incident marked the opening of a major Frontier War.

In May 1937 information was received that the Faqir was at Arsal Kot, a complex of caves and fortified towers in the Shaktu Valley, which runs parallel to the Khaisora and five to ten miles south of it. It was decided to attack Arsal Kot with the objective of capturing the Faqir or, at least, destroying his headquarters and bringing the Tori Khel to battle. For this objective the Bannu and Abbotabad brigades were concentrated at Dosalli.

The first objective was the Sham Plain, a high plateau five to six miles south of Dosalli, which formed part of the watershed between the two river systems. From Dosalli, the obvious approach was up the Sre Mela nullah and gorge. The enemy anticipated this and had constructed many artfully concealed sangars, so that an advance up the gorge would be a very slow and expensive operation.

There was an alternative route, far more difficult, along the top of the three mile long Iblanke ridge rising from north to south about a mile east of the Sre Mela. The Army commander decided to surprise the enemy with a night march over the Iblanke ridge to the Sham Plain. It was an extremely bold concept as any reconnaissance would have alerted the enemy. If he had been wrong and dawn had found the Bannu Brigade jam-packed and immobile on the knife-edge ridge, fired at from three sides and unable to bring its own weapons to bear, there would have been a horrendous disaster.

Eight platoons of the Tochi Scouts commanded by Laman and two other officers were to lead the advance, seize the highest features of the ridge and hold them until the advance guard of the Bannu Brigade caught up. The Scouts set off from Dosalli at nine o’clock in the evening: ‘In pitch dark, carrying only rifles and ammunition, wearing grass sandals, they moved silent as wraiths, climbing continuously until they occupied the ‘shoulder blade heights’ half an hour after midnight.’

The Brigade following behind, including a battery of mountain artillery with mules, had an extraordinarily arduous climb but joined the Scouts on the summit at dawn and drove off the surprised enemy, then descended to the Sham Plain. On that day in London King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were being crowned, and the camp was named Coronation Camp.

The Brigade duly advanced to Arsal Kot. Not unexpectedly they found that the bird had flown, but they razed the buildings to the ground and blew up the Faqir’s cave - headquarters.

In 1938 Laman returned to the United Kingdom and on 15 February King George VI presented him with the Military Cross at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

In September 1938 he returned to duty with the 1st Punjab Regiment as a Company Commander in 11th Battalion. Then in April 1939 he joined the recruiting staff at Jullundar.

Malayan Campaign 1941-42

In July 1941 Laman qualified as G.S.O. 3, and was appointed Brigade Major of the 15th Infantry Brigade in Malaya. He was a Temporary Major with effect from 29 August 1941.

On the outbreak of war with Japan the 15th Brigade, part of the 11th Indian Division, was at Jitra in the far north of Malaya, only a few miles from the border with Thailand. The Japanese landed in southern Thailand and on the north-east coast of Malaya on 8 December and attacked the British positions around Jitra on the evening of the 10th. Supported by tanks, they quickly over-ran the forward troops. A night withdrawal to a reserve line was ordered, but the enemy had now blocked the main road bridge to the south, causing many wheeled and tracked vehicles to be abandoned. During the ensuing five days of confused fighting, 11 Indian Division was over-run and suffered heavy losses.

The Division attempted to make a stand at Gurun, 20 miles to the south, but the Japanese tactics of infiltration and encirclement were again successful and the Division had to retreat another 60 miles, to Ipoh. British and Indian casualties were so severe that the remnants of 6 Brigade and 15 Brigade were merged to form 6/15 Brigade.

After a few days rest at Ipoh the 6/15 Brigade was ordered to take up a defensive position at Kampar, about 40 miles to the south. The British Battalion held a position astride the road about half a mile north of the town. East of the road were three ridges, covered in jungle: to the west, the country was open. The last week of 1941 was spent in preparing the position for defence by digging, wiring and clearing fields of fire.

After a heavy bombardment, the enemy attacked at 0700 on New Year’s Day 1942 with a frontal assault on the first ridge and flank attacks from the jungle. They succeeded in getting a temporary foothold but were thrown off by a British counter-attack. For two days there was heavy fighting on the ridges, with many outstanding acts of gallantry, until news came that the enemy had landed in strength on the west coast to the rear of the Kampar position, which therefore became untenable.

Then followed 12 wearisome days of a fighting withdrawal. Positions were taken up and then abandoned as the enemy made further landings in the rear. A long drive of 70 miles brought the Brigade to the Selangor River on the morning of 6 January, a position which was held for three days until the unit on its right flank was overrun and the Brigade on its left retired. The Brigade then withdrew to Kuala Lumpur, reached at 2300 hours on 10 January and to Kluang on 14 January where the Brigade was supposed to have a week’s rest in Divisional reserve. The “rest” lasted exactly one day.

On 16 January 1942 the Japanese made further landings in strength on the west coast of Malaya, near the towns of Muar and Batu Pahat. The Brigade was sent to the latter but initially failed to make contact with the enemy who had gone to ground in the jungle-covered hills. On the 23rd the main enemy advance reached the river immediately north of the town, and other parties cut off the road to Ayer Hitam to the west, and even infiltrated to the south west of Batu Pahat. The 6/15 Brigade was in danger of being cut off, and on the 23rd Challen, the Brigade Commander, gave orders for a withdrawal. This had actually begun when the Divisional Commander ordered that Batu Pahat must be held. A battalion from the newly arrived 53rd Brigade had to fight its way back into the town, losing many men in the process.

On the 24th there was heavy fighting around Batu Pahat, and by 3 p.m. that day the Japanese were on the east flank of the town in considerable strength and in possession of a low hill overlooking the road south. Challen urged the necessity of an early withdrawal but this was not authorised until 4 p.m. the next day.

6/15 Brigade’s withdrawal from Batu Pahat began at 8.30 p.m. on the 25th, and by 5 a.m. next morning the advance guard reached Senggarang. There was a Japanese roadblock just south of this town and increasingly desperate attempts by the tired troops to break through failed.

Also on the 25th, elements of the 53rd Brigade advanced north from Pontian Kechil to keep the road open for the 6/15th. When no contact could be made with them on the 26th - radio communication was a serious problem in this area - an armoured column was sent north from Benut. The column was ambushed and annihilated just to the north of Rengit; only a single vehicle managed to break through and reach 6/15 Brigade at Senggarang.

Challen then concluded that it would be impossible for his Brigade to fight its way south along the road to reach Benut, 18 miles away. He decided that his only course was to destroy his guns and vehicles and take his Brigade cross-country. Leaving the wounded behind, under the doubtful protection of a Red Cross flag, the Brigade set off on foot at 6.15 p.m.

The march was a nightmare: not only were the troops completely exhausted, but the terrain consisted of mangrove swamps, ditches and quagmires which made movement extremely slow. A private of the British Battalion recalled: ‘We slowly wended our way in single file through the black sludge, stepping from root to root, and trying to avoid plunging into pools of filthy liquid mud’.

Under such conditions, the rear-guard lost touch with the rest of the Brigade, and discipline in some units broke down when the exhausted men came under attack from mortars and machine-guns. Laman remained with a group of about 1,500 men, including the British Battalion: when this group came to a river which could not be crossed, the senior officers abandoned the idea of reaching Benut, and made for the coast.

This group reached the village of Penggor, about three miles from Rengit, and concealed themselves while enemy transport streamed past on the road, only 1100 meters away, and Japanese planes were constantly overhead, searching for the lost Brigade.

Laman volunteered to sail to Pontian Kechil in a sampan and inform the Divisional commander of the situation. The History of the 11th Division in Malaya records his arrival as follows:

‘At 2230 hours Brigadier Selby rang up. The Brigade Major of the 15th Indian Brigade had just landed at Pontian Kechil in a sampan: he had news of the Brigade, and was already on his way to D.H.Q in a truck. A few minutes later a disreputable object with a blackened face strolled into D.H.Q. under escort and said, “Well, here I am chaps. I’m not extinguished yet”. It was Major Laman.’

He was given a well-earned drink whilst General Keys immediately requested the Royal Navy to take action: five hours later an officer from the gunboat Dragonfly appeared off the mudflats off Ponggor and greeted the senior British officer there with the words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” The first few men were brought back that night, and the remainder of the Brigade were evacuated to Singapore over the following two nights.

Singapore

Colonel Harrison, a Staff Officer of 11th Division, recorded that he arrived in the city on the night of 28 January and went to Raffles Hotel to report his arrival.

‘While phoning, Laman came along. He was looking extremely ill and tired, but he had removed his black camouflage from his face. I told him what the job was, and he volunteered to help me in my reconnaissance. “Quite sure you’re fit for it?” I asked, and he cheerfully assured me that he’d never felt better. As I’d learnt that he’d been coughing blood for the past two weeks I accepted his offer with mental reservations, and told him to lay on reconnaissance parties from the 15th Brigade next morning, and the Brigade’s provisional area would be from the mouth of the S. Seleta to the Naval Dockyard.’

The following day, Colonel Harrison went to Nee Soon, where he found Laman:

‘Laman gave me a detailed and useful description of his area and of his proposed dispositions which he had marked on a map. The representatives of the 15th Brigade had understandably failed to arrive, and he had carried out his reconnaissance single-handed. He had evidently covered the ground and was spattered with black mud ... I had a look at him. He obviously had fever. I ordered him to give his report to Lt. Colonel Morrison ... and then to report to hospital. That was the last I saw of Laman. I heard later that he did not report sick until he had shown the Brigade representatives round their area next day. On the 13th February he was evacuated in those last parties from Singapore: his ship was bombed and sunk, and he was drowned.’

The 15th Brigade was allocated a sector on the north east coast of Singapore island, near the Naval Base; when the Japanese landed, it was on the north-west coast, a sector held by the Australians who made only a token effort to defend it. The Brigade was brought forward to hold a defensive position known as the Jurong Line, but had to withdraw when the units on either flank gave way. A counter-attack by 11 Division on the 11th February proved to be a disastrous failure.

At 2100 hours on Friday 13th February, orders were received for the evacuation by sea of representatives from Formation Headquarters and of selected personnel from each Battalion. They were to assemble at Empire Dock at midnight. Laman was one of those selected: the ship in which he was evacuated is not recorded but might well have been one of the two river gunboats, Dragonfly and Grasshopper in which other personnel of 15 Brigade are known to have embarked. Both vessels were bombed and sunk the following day, and the survivors machine-gunned in the water.

Apparently, Laman’s death was not immediately known. In 1946 he was mentioned in dispatches for gallant and distinguished service in Malaya, with no reference to the fact that it was a posthumous award, and he was still listed on the Indian Army List as late as April 1947.

Having no known grave, his name is listed on the Singapore Memorial in Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore; sold with a file of copied research.