Manchester lived up to its reputation as a friendly city on Saturday 21 September and avoided its other reputation as "rainy city" when the Commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the action at Limbang, North Borneo was held at the Imperial War Museum, North.

Contact had been made with over eighty of the 130-plus Royal Marines and sailors who had taken part in the battle. Over fifty of them were on parade, including former members of Lima Company, 42 Commando and HM Ships Fiskerton, Chawton and Dartington, Also present, were colleagues from HM Ships Albion and Dufton, representing RN participation in subsequent actions of Confrontation (1962-66) 

The veterans joined their presiding officer, Major General Sir Jeremy Moore CBE, OBE, MC and Bar to commemorate the events of forty years ago. As a Captain of Marines, Jeremy Moore organised and led the raid on Limbang. Twenty years later, as he was Commander Land Forces in the Falklands Campaign.

The events at Limbang had been triggered when civil unrest in Brunei led to occupation of several towns in North Borneo by armed units of the Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara (TNKU), the North Borneo Liberation Army. There had been several clashes between the TNKU and the Sarawak Police, supported by resident units of the British army.  At Limbang the rebels killed four police officers and took hostage eleven European and American civilians, including Mr and Mrs Morris, the District Officer and his wife, two members of the US Peace Corps, a Catholic missionary and several expatriate businessmen. The rebels had threatened to execute the hostages, so Lima Co, 42 Cdo was tasked to release them.

The Commemoration honoured the memory of the four members of the Sarawak Constabulary who were killed when the town was occupied by insurgents on 8th December 1962 and the five Royal Marines who gave their lives in re-taking the town four days later. 

Sailors from the minesweepers Fiskerton and Chawton had manned requisitioned civilian ramp lighters to act as landing craft for the raid. Later the ships were joined by Dartington and Houghton to conduct search and mopping up operations along the waterways of Brunei and Sarawak. Fuelled by Indonesia, Confrontation subsequently spread to the east coast and interior of Borneo and into the Singapore Straits.

Messages of goodwill were received from Admiral Sir Jeremy Black, KCB. DSO, MBE, from Commander Andrew Marx and from Captain Harry Mucklow: commanding officers of HM Ships Fiskerton, Dartington and Chawton at the time of the Brunei rebellion.

Among the guests of honour were Commodore Madgwick OBE, RN, Regional Naval Officer for Northern England, wives and families of the veterans, representatives of the US Peace Corps, serving members of 42 Commando and relatives of one of the brave Royal Marines killed in the action.

The new Imperial War Museum was a most appropriate location for the Commemoration. It was one of the prominent venues for the Commonwealth Games recently hosted by Manchester. Its striking architecture allowed a temporary parade ground to be established where the Royal Marine detachments of Sea Cadet units TS Quantock (Ashton under Lyne), TS Ilex (Salford) and TS Forward (Ellesmere Port) provided a guard and band to welcome the Presiding Officer and to entertain the veterans and their guests.

General Moore congratulated the cadets of the high standard of their turnout, drill and musical skills. He emphasised to their Commanding Officers the importance of their work in preparing the next generation for responsible citizenship.

Some guests had travelled considerable distances to attend the Commemoration. Adrian Morris and Geraldine Bull, the son and daughter of Mr and Mrs Morris, had travelled from Australia and, representing the US Peace Corps, were Thaine Allinson and Andy Powers and their wives. Thaine and Andy had served in Sarawak at the time of the insurrection.

Given current world events, the safety of young American volunteers serving in developing countries is a topical issue in the United States. The President of the US Peace Corps had sent an illuminated address to thank the Royal Marines for saving the lives of their volunteers forty years ago. WO2 Jones and Sergeant Biddle, serving with the present Lima Company,accepted the address on behalf of 42 Cdo.

The veterans responded in kind. The Peace Corps was presented with a poignant picture painted by Tony Standish (once a stoker, now a distinguished artist) of Fritz Klattenhof, one of the Peace Corps workers, recovering by night the body of his friend, one of the police officers who had been killed when the town was occupied by the rebels. Fritz was captured the following day and was among those threatened with execution.

Rev. Bruce Lamb, Chaplain the Manchester Branch of the Royal Naval Association, and himself a former RN Padre, conducted a Service of Remembrance. The Commemoration ended with the pipes "Up Spirits" and "Hands to Dinner", followed by a tot all round, served from genuine rum tub.

The event was judged to have been a great success. Friendships were renewed with shipmates who had not been seen for forty years: sailors and Royals alike, and the bonds resumed as if only yesterday.

The reunion concluded with a visit to Manchester's China town for a sentimental Nasi Goreng and copious Tiger beers. Toasts were drunk to Absent Friends: those who had crossed the bar and those for whom distance or illness had prevented their attending.

The organisers of the Limbang 40 Commemoration would like to say a special  "Thank You"  to Brush Fire Films for their generous support, without which the  event would have been on a much smaller scale.

It is not gererally known that Brush Fire Films have met the costs and provided the artistic and technical skills to set up and maintain the Limbang website.

The website has been the main vehicle for extending our search for those who participated in the actions in Brunei and Limbang. This has produced some  surprising results; not only finding former Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel throughout the United Kingdom, but also in Australia, Malta and USA.. We have also received requets for information from people who are not ex-services in India, France and South East Asia. Through the good offices of Brush Fire Films, contacts have also been made in Borneo, both with former members of the TNKU and "friendlies".

We must also acknowledge the material support of Brush Fire Films in assisting members of the US Peace Corps to attend the commemoration. Their presence and their surprise presentation to 42 Commando, made this reunion unique.

The Sea Cadet units too, have expressed their thanks for the contribution which Brush Fire Films made to defray the costs of these excellent young people attending the Commemoration. The officers and instructors of the Sea Cadet are all volunteers who receive no payment for the painstaking work they do in training young people in the heritage of our country and in providing them challenges and positive outlets for their energies.

We look forward to continuing a successful liaison with Brush Fire Films as production the documentary moves to the dramatic stage of filming at the site of the battle. Brush Fire Films proposes to provide material assistance to enable a group of veterans to retrace their steps to the scence of the action and to meet, this time in friendship, their former adversaries.

The good harmony and liaison betweeen the media technicians of Brush Fire Films and the  ex-Sevice personnel has been quite remarkable and even more productive than might have been anticipated. Both groups have learned a lot from each other: Mutual respect and understanding for skills, techniques and experiences has led to some fascinating interactions - and produced some excellent film footage.

Among the treasures unearthed by the reunion was the "personal standard" of COMBRITNAVFORBRU - Commander British Naval Forces Brunei - a highly unofficial flag flown by  Lt Cdrs Black and Marx when successively Senior Naval Officers in Brunei before the full scale organisation  for Confrontation was established, and the equally unofficial flag of the "8th Assault Squadron" - flown by the collection  of launches and armed canoes operated by the minesweeper sailors in support of military operations in those early days.

The value of naval training was amply illustrated when we compared notes on how life has treated us since we left the service. We discovered that in our ranks we now have policemen, firefighters, engineers, hoteliers, careworkers, secretary of a golf club, artist, poet, ROV pilot, computer programmers, a butty-bar baron and  "the switchboard operator for James Bond" plus two Admirals and a Bishop - what a mix of talent to find on a sweepdeck !

The story of Confrontation including the actions at Limbang, off Tawau on the east coast of Borneo and in the Singapore Straits, is graphically illustrated on the website Britain's Small Wars

This website is linked to the TCA website

And all this came about because, during the middle watch at a reunion of the TON Class Association reunion, the Chief GI commented to the Fresh Water Tanky . " I  wonder what became of the rest of the boats's crew ? ."