CO537-4075 — Page 54

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Air Chief Marshal Sir R. Brooke-Popham.

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Air Vice Marshal Sir P. Maltby.

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Royal Engineer personnel were at. that time fighting as combatant troops."

"The failure of civil Asiatic Labour and, in the closing stages, of some of the military labour also under air attack was one of the most crippling events of the Malayan Campaign."

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"The formation of Army Labour Units in Malaya was a matter that was delayed for various reasons. Finally, however, it was decided to recruit Chinese in Hongkong, which had the advantage not only of getting labour, but also of reducing the Chinese population of Hongkong, but unfortunately, the project was not executed before war broke out. 11

2.

"It was noteworthy that Malay labour at Kuching disappeared as the course of operations approached the area."

"To improve the labour situation, negotiations were opened with the Civil Government in May 1941 for forming locally enlisted works units to be clothed in uniform and officered by Europeans. Approval was obtained in August 1941 and the matter was put to the Air Ministry, but by the time final sanction was given it was too late to be effective.

"The difficulties of all units was (sic) intensified by the wholesale, but understandable, disappearance of unenlisted native followers - cooks, M.T. drivers, sanitary personnel etc. and only improvised arrangements were possible for replacing them by European personnel at the dislocation of the latter's normal work. The defection of labour spread to the railway area."

"On the 1st January the first serious attack against Tengah took place, as a result of which native labour disappeared. This was to happen at all aerodromes as they became attacked, necessitating the replacement of domestic personnel by Europeans and making it increasingly difficult to repair damage to aerodrome

surfaces."

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"It is imperative in these days of air warfare to enlist all native personnel on whom dependance is to be placed in war. If enlisted, and officered by trained leaders, the natives in the Far East proved to be most reliable. This