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Medals issued 50 years on




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A man has been honoured for his Army service in Malaya more than 40 years ago.

Mr David Burnell (75) of Woodland View, Southwell, received his Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal at a ceremony in Lincoln.

The former sergeant was in Kuala Lumpur from 1958-1961 in the finance and pay section of the Army.

The medal is being awarded for services after Malaya, now Malaysia, gained independence.

It is issued directly from the Malaysian government in recognition of services to that nation, rather than from the British.

Mr Burnell said during his service there he travelled on night trains between Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Panang which always had dummy engines in front of the passenger engines to trigger bombs laid by communist terrorists.

When he went on picnics with his family they could not take food because the communists were being starved out of hiding.

Mr Burnell, who was in the Army for 25 years, said Malaysia was the best three years of his service.

“It was a pleasant place where all different races got on,” he said.

At the medal ceremony last week he met a cousin, Mr David Hooper (76) of Lincoln, who he did not know about and had never met before.

Mr Hooper was at the same ceremony, receiving the same medal.

They started speaking and Mr Hooper, who had researched his family tree, recognised Mr Burnell’s name.

The medals, handed out 50 years after the end of hostilities, represent official recognition from the Malaysian government.

To be eligible Servicemen must have been stationed in Malaysia, Singapore or Northern Borneo for at least three months since independence in August, 1957, and August, 1966.

They were presented in Lincoln by the defence attaché to the Malaysian High Commission, Colonel Tajri Alwi.

More medals will be issued at a service in Grantham on April 2.



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