- Gerald Templer
Infobox Military Person
name=Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer
lived=11 September 1898 –25 October 1979
nicknames=
placeofbirth=Colchester ,Essex
placeofdeath=Chelsea,London
allegiance=Flagicon|United KingdomUnited Kingdom
branch=
serviceyears=1916 - 1958
rank=Field Marshal
unit=
commands=47th Infantry Division
II Corps
1st Infantry Division
56th Infantry Division
6th Armoured Division
battles=First World War Russian Civil War Second World War Malayan Emergency
awards=Knight of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
relations=
laterwork=Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE (11 September 1898 –25 October 1979 ) was a British military commander. He is best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954. "The jungle has been neutralised", he declared in aTime Magazine cover article in 1952.Early life
Born in Colchester and educated at Wellington College, Templer was commissioned into his father's regiment, the
Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1916 and fought inWorld War I .Heathcote, Anthony pg 274]econd World War
At the outbreak of
World War II he was a lieutenant-colonel in Military Intelligence, serving on the staff of theBritish Expeditionary Force . After evacuating from France he oversaw the raising of the 9thRoyal Sussex Regiment and then commanded a brigade under Montgomery in a Home Service division.In 1942 he took over command of 47th Infantry Division as a major-general, shortly thereafter commanding II CorpsHeathcote, Anthony pg 275] as the Army's youngest lieutenant-general. In 1943 he requested a field command, was reduced to major-general and posted to command the 1st Infantry Division in North Africa before commanding the 56th Infantry Division during the Italian campaign.
He briefly commanded the 6th Armoured Division before being severely injured by a land mine in mid-1944. He spent the rest of the war on intelligence duties in
21st Army Group HQ as well as briefly heading the German Directorate of theSpecial Operations Executive .He served as Director of Military Government in
Germany during the Allied occupation afterWorld War II . He first came to public notice after firing the mayor ofCologne ,Konrad Adenauer , for "laziness and inefficiency".High Commissioner of Malaya
Winston Churchill then appointed himBritish High Commissioner in Malaya in January 1952 to deal with theMalayan Emergency .Heathcote, Anthony pg 276]Working closely with Robert Thompson, the Permanent Secretary of Defence for Malaya, Templer's tactics against the communists were held up as a model for
counter-insurgency .Templer famously remarked that, "The answer [to the uprising] lies not in pouring more troops into the jungle, but in the hearts and minds of the people." [Lapping, Brian pg 224] He demanded that newly built villages, where ethnic Chinese were resettled away from the jungles and beyond the reach (and influence) of the guerrillas, look inviting. To further gain the "hearts and minds" of the non-Malays, who were the main source of communist support, Templer fought to grant Malayan citizenship to over 2.6 million Malayan residents, 1.1 million of whom were Chinese. Templer sought "political and social equality of all" Malayans (contrast with post-independence "
Ketuanan Melayu "). [Friedman, Herbert A. (2006). [http://www.psywar.org/malaya.php Psychological Warfare of the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960] . Retrieved December 27, 2006.]He instituted incentive schemes for rewarding surrendering rebels and those who encouraged them to surrender. [http://channel4.empireschildren.co.uk/category/chapters/index.php?chapter=131&cat=3 Channel 4 Empire's Children: Hearts and Minds Campaign] ]
He also used strict curfews and tight control of food supplies to force compliance from rebellious areas and flush out guerillas. Crops grown by the communists in response to these measures were sprayed with herbicide. These restrictions would be lifted on so-called "White Areas" which had been found to be free of communist incursion. [Ramakrishna, Kumar pg 120]
In military terms Templer concentrated his efforts on intelligence. [http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/pointer/journals/2003/v29n4/personality_profile.html Pointer: Journal of the Singapore Armed Forces] ] When he left Malaya in 1954 the situation was dramatically improved, though the rebels remained a force. Templer denied that the situation had stabilised, declaring "I'll shoot the bastard who says that this Emergency is over". The Malayan government eventually declared the Emergency over in 1960.
Chief of the Imperial General Staff
Templer later served as
Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1955–1958) and was promoted tofield marshal . He spent his last years working towards the foundation of theNational Army Museum inLondon . [ [http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/research/templerss2.shtml National Army Museum: Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer] ]Honours
* The
University of Birmingham Centre for First World War Studies established theTempler Medal in 1982 to commemorate the life and achievements of Gerald Templer and to mark his Presidency of theSociety for Army Historical Research between 1965 and 1979.* The Malaysian Government conferred him the award that brings the Title "Tun"
* The Main Hall at Maktab Tentera DiRaja (Royal Military College) in
Sungai Besi ,Kuala Lumpur is named Dewan Tun Templer (Tun Templer Hall).* A road in
Petaling Jaya of Malaysia is named Jalan Templer (Templer Road).* In 1979 was made one of the few Honorary Members of
Boodle's Club inSt James's London.* He served as
Chief Scout of the Malay Federation in the 1950s.References
Further reading
* Cloake, John "Templer, tiger of Malaya : the life of field marshal Sir Gerald Templer", London, Harrap, 1985 ISBN 978-0245542046
* Neillands, Robin "A fighting retreat : the British Empire 1947-97", London, Hodder, 1997 ISBN 978-0340635209
* Lapping, Brian "End of Empire", 1985 ISBN 978-0312250713
* Heathcote, Anthony "The British Field Marshals 1736-1997", Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1999 ISBN 0-85052-696-5
* Ramakrishna, Kumar "Emergency Propaganda: The Winning of Malayan Hearts and Minds 1948-1958", Curzon Press, Richmond, 2002 ISBN 978-0700715107See also
*
Malayan Emergency External links
* [http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk National Army Museum]
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