Richard Avery - Memories of Malaya and Korea

By John Denyer

THIS month we continue the fascinating story of Richard Avery from Ashleigh Way.

Memories of Malaya and Korea

In 1949 at the age of 171/2 Richard applied to join the Army as a regular. His father had been in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI), and when asked what regiment he wished to join, being proud of his Cornish roots, he requested DCLI. Off he went to Borden in Hampshire for 10 weeks of infantry training. At the end of basic training, he was still too young to be sent to his regiment for active service, so had to endure what seemed like a never-ending period of 'spud bashing', 'square bashing' and further training.

Image: Richard passing out from Infantry training

Anyone who has ever been in the military will know that to survive you quickly need to develop both resilience and a sense of humour. Both were soon needed when rather than being allowed to follow in his father’s footsteps, Richard was instead sent to join the 1st Battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI).

Richard quickly made the KOYLI his home and on the 1st May 1950 the battalion was shipped out to Malaya for active service supporting what was known as The Malayan Emergency - a guerrilla war started by pro independence fighters in 1948.

In Malaya, the battalion HQ was based in Sungai Petani, 220 miles north of Kuala Lumpur, and each company was sent to a different region of the country. As an infantryman, Richard spent a lot of time on patrol in the jungle. It was difficult and dangerous work and during the three years the regiment was in Malaya, 35 KOYLI infantrymen were killed, mostly by ambush while on patrol in the jungle. Malaya eventually became an independent country, now known as Malaysia, in 1957.

After Malaya, the battalion was shipped back to Yorkshire, see below for a link to the Pathe News reel film of their arrival home. They then went to Germany by which time Richard had been made a lance corporal.

By June 1952 the war in Korea had been in progress for three years and had more or less reached a stalemate. It was a bitter struggle between communist forces from North Korea supported by China, and the United Nations (UN) forces of South Korea, the United States, the British Commonwealth forces (UK, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and others), and other western nations.

The Korean War is often referred to as the 'forgotten war', but it shouldn't be. From a British perspective, the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Army and Royal Air Force were all heavily deployed on UN service in Korea and tens of thousands of British servicemen, a large proportion of whom were national servicemen, did one tour of duty there.

In 1952, the 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (DLI) were stationed in Berlin as part of British Army of the Rhine but were sent back to Britain for training and preparations for active service in Korea. At this time Richard, also in Germany with the KOYLI, was told he was being transferred to the DLI. Many other experienced officers, NCOs and other ranks volunteered or were transferred to the DLI to counter the number of inexperienced national servicemen who made up around 50% of the battalion.

Image: Major Johnny Tresawna DSO

In additional to Richard, another of these was the experienced Major Johnnie Tresawna DSO from Probus, who had transferred in from the Buckinghamshire Light Infantry to become a Company Commander in the DLI. Major Tresawna, a career officer, had served with distinction in WW2.

After leave and training at Bellerby moors, the 1st Battalion DLI departed on the troopship Empire Halladale. After stopping at Aden, Ceylon, Singapore and Hong Kong, the ship arrived in Pusan, on the southern coast of Korea on 7th September 1952. They were met at the dockside by a US Army band who played If We’d Known You Were Coming We’d Have Baked A Cake, much to the amusement of everyone.

ImageL The Troopship Empire Haladale

From Pusan, the battalion were sent northwards by train to Britannia Camp in the militarised zone. It was autumn in Korea and still quite warm. Richard was working in HQ company, and one memory of this time is very clear. ‘One day Major Tresawna stopped as he was driving past in his jeep. He asked

“Are you from Cornwall”? “Yes Sir, Mevagissey Sir” I replied. Major Tresawna responded, “Well done, you will be in my company forthwith”.

I found out later that he had found others from Cornwall who also were transferred to his company and he then formed us in to ‘The One and All Club’.

Image: Major Tresawna pictured centre with Richard Avery behind his right shoulder along with fellow members of the newly formed ‘One And All Club’. After this photograph was taken, he shouted ‘One For All and All for One’.

Major Tresawna was keen to bring as many Cornish soldiers together as he could ‘to make a name for themselves as they have done all over the world’.

‘By late September, after we completed initial training, the battalion moved to Neachon known as Hill 159. On arrival, we were surprised to be greeted by the Chinese calling out our regiment name on loud speakers. They regularly did this when new battalions moved up the front line, somehow always knowing who they were facing. Here began the never-ending process of attempting to make the trenches clean and habitable while patrolling to dominate no-man’sland'.

Image: A ‘Hoochie’ on the back of hill 159.

Life on Hill 159 set the pattern for the rest of the campaign - a company placed on a hill, ringed with barbed wire and mines. From this position the valley could be covered by patrols, mortars and Bren guns. The enemy positions were generally only 600 to 1000 yards away with a paddy field in the valley between both lines.

Image: Richard repairing a trench

At the end of December 1952, the battalion took over positions on Hill 210 again repairing trenches, repairing barbed wire fences as well as continuous patrolling. It was on Hill 210 that Richard spent his 21st birthday. It would be hard to imagine a grimmer place on earth, for such a muted celebration. No doubt he and the other ‘Durhams’ were very pleased to get off that hill when they were relieved by the Americans at the end of January. Richard spent over one year and ten days in Korea. He said that the Korean winter was the coldest he had ever experienced - ‘everything froze solid in the snow, ice and incredibly cold wind’.

In April 1953 the battalion relieved American troops on Hill 355, known locally as Kowang San but referred to as 'Little Gibraltar' by the Commonwealth forces as the sides were so steep. Richard says

'I remember it well as we climbed at night with full kit and it seemed ages before we reached the trenches at the top. Again, we had to clean the trenches and also go out on the numerous patrols.'

He recalled having to carry heavy equipment up the hill towards forward positions and 'self-heating' tins of soup.

Image: Richard near hill 355

The platoons would spend a number of days in forward positions, before returning to the rear for much needed rest and recuperation before going forward again. He said that during the day there generally wasn't so much activity in their area, as both sides could easily see the other. At night, both the Chinese and the UN forces sent out forward patrols into no-man’s land to gather information, catch prisoners or make raids. That is when it was most dangerous, and many lives were lost. Regular artillery and mortar shelling of the positions were constant dangers.

‘One of my duties assigned to me when up the front was to supervise the Korean Service Corps chaps who brought up the supplies, mainly at dusk or first light. Now and then when needed I joined a patrol. I had just returned from being out on a patrol in front of hill 355 when summoned to the main Command Post and advised that I was being transferred to ‘S’ Company at ‘A’Echelon promoted to Full Corporal and Liason NCO to the South Korean Service Corps’.

Image: Richard with members of the Korea Service Corps

The Korean soldiers wore British uniform and the DLI cap badge. Their role was support, repairing, building and moving ammunition, supplies and equipment up to the front lines. Meanwhile, on Hill 355 the battalion continued to patrol vigorously, encountering Chinese patrols on occasion.

Image: Members of the Korean Service Corps

On 10th June 1953, just five weeks before the ceasefire was signed, 39-year old Major Tresawna (below) was killed while coordinating a series of patrols in no- man’s land.

Major J. A. Tresawna DSO from Lamelyn Farm, Probus

The following is an extract from a letter written to his parents by a fellow infantryman:

‘Johnnie died as he would have liked to die, out on patrol in the green valley with the men of his company, shooting it out at close range. He was not particularly bloodthirsty, nor did he hate greatly the tough brown Chinamen who oppose us.

He had a tremendous pride in his company, in this battalion, in the job on hand and in himself. We had all got to be better than anybody else, our trenches must be better, we must be smarter, our patrols must be better, our food must be better, we must be tougher. To use his own expression, we must be right on the ball, like Johnnie himself always was.

On the night in question Johnnie’s company had several big patrols forward and he, with two men and a wireless, were controlling them (from no-man’s land). Just before dawn he gave orders for the withdrawal, and as he was about the come in himself he was suddenly rushed by a more powerful body of the enemy. His little party fought it out, the other two men were wounded, and Johnnie was killed. The enemy drew off and we got the wounded and Johnnie’s body in’.

Richard said of Major Tresawna

‘Major Tresawna gave all in his company the confidence and inspiration to be the best we could be. He made sure that each and everyone in his company knew exactly why we were in Korea’.

An armistice agreement was signed on 27th July 1953, the two sides finally reaching agreement on the location of the border and the creation of a demilitarised zone along its length. No peace treaty has ever been signed and Korea remains bitterly divided into North and South to this day.

In September 1953, just before the battalion boarded the troopship to sail home, one important duty remained. At Pusan, the Durhams paraded for a memorial service in the UN Military Cemetary and, on that very emotional day, said goodbye to the 24 brothers-in-arms who had been killed and three who were classified as ‘missing presumed dead’, none of whom would be returning home.

Major Tresawna is buried in the United Nations cemetery at Pusan, South Korea. A brass plaque was dedicated to him in Probus Church and he is remembered on Probus War Memorial.

Image: The brass plaque in Probus Church for Major J A Tresawna DSO.

The Korean War 1950 - 1953 saw a massive commitment of US, British, Commonwealth and troops from many other nations to serve under the United Nations banner. Seventy years on casualty numbers are disputed, but the numbers are still shocking. In British historian Max Hastings’ 1987 book The Korean War, he wrote that 1263 British and Commonwealth troops, 33,629 US troops, 415,000 South Korean, and 1,800 troops from other nations were killed. On the other side, between half and one and a half million North Korea and Chinese troops were also killed. Civilian casualties on both sides count for 750,000 lives lost.

Prologue: After returning from Korea, Richard spent a further five years in the army. In November 1953 he was posted to the DCLI to prepare for deployment to Jamaica where he spent 8 months. In 1954 he transferred to the Pay Corp and served once more in Germany. Richard left the army in October 1958 and embarked on, what turned out to be a long and successful career in the global cell and battery manufacturing industry. Richard retired in 2011 aged 79.

Image: Richard’s medals. General Service (Malaya) Medal, (Queens) Korea Medal 1950 - 1953, United Nations Service Medal for Korea.

In 2014, Richard, along with other surviving members of the Korean War Association, was invited to the unveiling of the Korean War Memorial in central London. He was also presented with an 'Ambassador for Peace' award and medal by the government of South Korea.

Image: The opening ceremony for the Korean War Memorial in London

Image: The medal awarded to Richard Avery by the government of South Korea in 2014.

Sources, links and further reading

•https://www.britishpathe.com/video/ koylis-back-from-malaya

• https://www.britishpathe.com/ workspaces/page/korean-war

• https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/ voices-of-the-korean-war

• http://www.thememoryproject.com/ stories/2869:peter-chisholm/

The Durhams in Korea - by Harry Moses