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Marshall Cavendish International - A Squire Thomas

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177 pages

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Best known for his role in helping to establish the Singapore Armed Forces Commando Formation and as the unit's first commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Clarence Tan was born on his family's rubber plantation, just ten months before the Japanese invasion of British Malaya in 1941. As with those of his generation, his life spans the dramatic, often tumultuous years of Singapore's evolution from a primarily rural British colony to the world class cosmopolis it is today. From leading a platoon during racial riots in Singapore to searching for communist insurgents and Indonesian infiltrators in the jungles of Malaysia during the Emergency and the Confrontation, LTC (Rtd) Tan was part of both the British and Malaysian armies before becoming a pioneer officer in Singapore's defence force. For as surely as there are makers of history, there are those too who are made by history. Always A Commando is at once a compelling chronicle of one man's life from kampong kid to red beret and a rich evocation of the country he served through turbulent and uncertain times.

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Lettres et linguistique

Singapore

Singapour

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Publié par	Marshall Cavendish International
Date de parution	23 octobre 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814794220
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

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Extrait

Clarence meets then-President Wee Kim Wee during a visit to the commando camp in 1986 or 1987.

2019 Thomas A. Squire
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: (65) 6213 9300. E-mail: genref@sg.marshallcavendish.com
Website: www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Marshall Cavendish is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Name(s): Squire, Thomas A.
Title: Always a commando : the life of Singapore army pioneer Clarence Tan / Thomas A. Squire. Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2017 | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifier(s): OCN 1001426718 | eISBN 978 981 4794 22 0
Subject(s): LCSH: Tan, Clarence, 1941- | Singapore. Armed Forces-Officers-Biography. | Malaysia. Tentera Darat-Officers-Biography. | Singapore. Armed Forces-History.
Classification: DDC 355.0092-dc23
Printed in Singapore
Illustrations by Alvin Mark Tan ( www.alvinmark.com )
Photographs courtesy of the author and his family, except on page 82 (Saint Patrick s School) and page 270 (David Yeoh).
For Emma and Luke, the raisons d tre
CONTENTS
Foreword
A Letter (and a few disclaimers)
Prologue: The House on Kembangan Hill
Part One: The Childhood Years (1941 - 1959)
Chapter 1: A Name Etched in Stone
Chapter 2: Being Peranakan
Chapter 3: Japanese Times
Chapter 4: The New Year
Chapter 5: Kampong Kid
Chapter 6: Off to School
Chapter 7: Working on the Docks
Part Two: Army Days (1959 - 1965)
Chapter 8: The Emergency
Chapter 9: Becoming a Regular Officer
Chapter 10: Riot Control
Chapter 11: Jungle Training and the September Riots
Chapter 12: Hunting for Communists
Chapter 13: Confrontation
Chapter 14: Into the Field
Chapter 15: Of Reconnaissance, Pigs and Hovercraft
Chapter 16: End of the Tour of Duty
Chapter 17: MSSU and the End of Confrontation
Part Three: An Independent Singapore (1965 - Today)
Chapter 18: Return to Singapore
Chapter 19: The Beginnings of an Army
Chapter 20: US Ranger and Airborne Courses
Chapter 21: Busy Times
Chapter 22: Commando
Chapter 23: Laju Hostage Crisis
Chapter 24: Vietnamese Boat People
Chapter 25: Always a Commando
Closing Letter
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Foreword
Always A Commando is a biography of one of Singapore s pioneer army officers, LTC (Retired) Clarence Tan. Clarence s son-in-law, Thomas Squire, has written this as a story for his children, about their grandfather s life journey.
Clarence s experience reflects that of our pioneer generation. They had come from all walks of life, and together, helped to lay the foundation for a strong, united and harmonious Singapore.
Clarence joined the Singapore Volunteer Corps in 1959 and contributed to our defence and security during the Malayan Emergency fighting the Communists. He and his comrades from the First Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment were also deployed during Konfrontasi to an island off the east coast of Borneo.
But Clarence is best remembered for his role in developing our Commandos. As the first commanding officer of the Commandos in the newly-formed Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Clarence worked closely with his colleagues to train new recruits and build a capable and cohesive formation, who wear their distinctive red berets and serve proudly, For Honour and Glory . He was a legend in his own time, identified by all in the SAF with the Commandos. He had seen action in the turbulent times of the 1960s and 70s, and was called upon for the Laju hijack incident.
I came to know Clarence as a fellow officer and colleague in the SAF, and his wife Judy. Though Clarence was several years my senior in the service, he was always willing to offer his views, ideas and advice in a practical, direct and useful way, based on his actual operational experience and closeness to his men and the ground. When he served as our Defence Adviser in Canberra, I spent two days with him, just the two of us, as he drove us from Sydney to Nowra, and then on to Canberra as we visited several defence installations. Several of the stories in this book have a familiar ring to them, as he reminisced about his experiences over those two days. We also spent quite a lot of that time going through all the different things that he had eaten and how to prepare them - told with all seriousness but also with a sense of humour and self-deprecation that is Clarence.
The stories in this book are not only those of a Singapore army pioneer, but also reflect the aspirations of his fellow pioneer generation for Singapore. It was a delight to meet Clarence, Judy and the children and grandchildren as this book became ready for publication. I hope that these anecdotes will inspire his grandchildren Emma and Luke, and more youths to contribute to society and build a better future for all Singaporeans.
Teo Chee Hean Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security
A Letter (and a few disclaimers)
Dear Emma and Luke,
It was August 1998 when I first met Kong Kong, your maternal grandfather. Mummy had just finished her posting to Wellington and I had joined her on her return to Singapore. We were not yet married so at that stage I simply addressed him as Uncle Clarence. Kong Kong and Mama were kind enough to let me stay under their roof when I first arrived, so from the moment I stepped off our flight from New Zealand I was immersed into a part of Singapore culture.
Some of the most prominent memories of my early days in Singapore were the meals we all shared at their house in Kembangan. Kong Kong, Mama, Ku Ku Mel, and Mummy and I. The food was all very exotic for me, with much that I had never seen before. All of it delicious - though it did take me a while to appreciate bittergourd - and all washed down with copious amounts of water, thanks to the hot, humid weather and all those spices.
After many of these meals, I often found myself remaining at the dinner table for long periods of time, listening to Kong Kong tell me stories of his life: his days growing up as a child, his days at school, his days in the army. He spoke of his own Peranakan culture, his experiences interacting with the other cultures of Singapore, and of many of the changes that Singapore had gone through in his time - politically, socially, and geographically. I always found these stories fascinating.
Most of the time, your Mummy, Mama, and Ku Ku Mel would disappear as Kong Kong started his stories, leaving me alone with him at the table. Once he started his reminiscing, they would all excuse themselves. I asked your mum once why they never hung around to listen, because to me (aside from it seeming rude to just get up and leave the table mid-conversation) it seemed strange that they did not want to hear these intriguing tales. We have heard it all before, was her reply.
These post-meal encounters were not dialogues. They were not conversations. They were storytelling time, and Kong Kong was the storyteller. Every now and then I would interject with a question to direct him into an area I was interested in learning more about, or I would say something to indicate my tenuous grasp of the history, but for the most part, he did the talking and I did the listening. Many times, my questions revealed an understandable ignorance of this culture I eventually married into. During one of our early meals, names of relatives like Marco and Giko were being thrown around. So, feeling clever, I said, Interesting, so you have some Italian blood in the family? I was to learn, to my humiliation, that these names were Chinese terms used to refer to the oldest paternal aunt, Mak Ko, and second oldest paternal aunt, Ji Ko.
From these discussions, I learnt much of what I know about the Peranakan culture, half of your heritage. Most of it was told to me by Kong Kong, but Mama has also provided a significant wealth of information - sometimes while she was still at the table, and sometimes as a corrective interjection to Kong Kong from elsewhere in the house. Your Peranakan heritage is something quite special, and one that you should be proud of. It is a heritage that you share with a relatively small community. Your heritage is more than this bloodline, however. It is also a history that you share with all Singaporeans of other races and creeds who can trace their ancestry back a number of generations on this island, and with those of more recent immigration.
One day, as Kong Kong was finishing yet another story after a Christmas lunch at our old East Grove apartment, I looked over to you, Emma (you were not yet born, Luke), and it struck me how the Singapore that you were growing up in was so differe