The word "Topo" was common army
slang meaning Topographical Surveyor in the Survey Service of
the Royal Engineers and although strictly speaking I was not a
Topographical Surveyor but a Field Survey Technician, I was
proud to he recognised as a member of No. I Topographic Troop of
84 Survey Squadron, Royal Engineers from January 1963 until
September 1965. To go back in time a little
I should explain that 84 Field Survey Squadron RE was raised in
Singapore in l955 but operated from Kuala Lumpur until 31 August
1960, providing mapping necessary to meet the demands of the
Malayan Emergency. It then returned to Singapore where it was
amalgamated with 570 Map Reproduction Troop RE to become 84
Survey Squadron RE. The Squadron was based at Gillman Barracks
as part of Engineer Ease Group but its workshops were in Dover
Road which was also the base for 556 Field Survey Depot RE,
otherwise known as the ‘Map Depot'.
My involvement with the
Squadron began in October 1962 when I was first posted to
Singapore on a three year engagement in the theatre. After
nearly four years of training as an Army Apprentice at both
Harrogate and Chepstow and then at No. I Training Regiment RE
life in the Far East offered a most welcome change and at last I
would be able to practice the trade for which I had been
trained. Imagine my surprise therefore when on the first day in
the unit, my OC informed me and my colleagues that by the
weekend we must report to the Far East Training Centre at Nee
Soon and commence a five week course to learn the Malay
Language. I must admit that once or twice during that period, I
became a little frustrated and felt that I had gone out there to
do surveying and not to learn a foreign language and in any case
if anyone wished to speak to me then they could jolly well use
English, or words to that effect. My fellow surveyors and I all
persevered and at the end of the five weeks we all passed off
with average ‘C’ gradings, not too bad considering that we had
been thrown in at the deep end only days after arriving in
Singapore and with hind sight, it was the best thing that could
have possibly happened to us as we were about to find out. We
returned to Dover Road and settled down to a little more
training, learning about aerial photography, its geometry and
vital use to modern day mapping. Two weeks later, one Saturday
morning I was back at Nee Soon but this time I was on the
ranges. I was a member of the butt party when halfway through a
shoot, the telephone rang and we were ordered to pack up and
return to the firing point where the rest of the Squadron were
hastily cleaning their weapons. After inquiring as to what was
going on, someone replied that a war had broken out and that we
were to return to base immediately. We were none too happy as
most of us felt that we hadn’t joined the Army to fight any wars
but it was back to Gillman Barracks where we handed in our
weapons and were then ordered to change into civilian clothes
and report to Dover Road forthwith. A funny way to fight any war
we thought. It turned out to be the start of the Brunei
rebellion and the Squadron began a round the clock exercise
churning out Air Photo maps of Brunei, and the surrounding
areas. As field surveyors, the OC explained that he could not
employ us in our trades, but asked us if we would kindly help
out in the Map Depot. Who were we to refuse and so began a month
of very interesting work, bundling up thousands of copies of
maps, loading then, onto various 3 tonners which came into the
depot from units directly involved with putting down the revolt
and escorting other consignments to the airports and docks for
transhipment to Brunei.
On 12 January 1963, I set sail
with two others on the SS Rajah Brooke from Singapore, arriving
in Kuching, Sarawak, on Monday 14th, where I became a founder
member of the new detachment 84 Survey Squadron RE. From the
late I 950’s, field surveyors from the Squadron had been
deployed in small numbers in Brunei and North Borneo where they
operated around Sandakan and Tawau, revising the existing 1:50,
000 scale series of maps in conjunction with the local Land and
Survey Department. This deployment had ended in late 1962 and
the new detachment under the command of Captain Geoffrey
Gathercole RE was to commence a similar task in and around the
1st Division of Sarawak, operating from the Land and Survey
Department Headquarters office in Badrudin Road. The Army’s
contribution to this task was to provide the trained personnel,
equipment, food and vehicles, with Land and Surveys bearing the
cost of accommodation, fuel and other transportation costs. As a
result, we found ourselves living in a large detached house in
Jalan Budaya and being paid the princely sum of l/6d (7.5p) per
day to wear civilian clothes. The nine members of the detachment
had been posted to Sarawak on active service, due to the Brunei
Rebellion, but we continued to enjoy our semi civilian status
for some months until the attack on Tebedu Police Station on 12
April 1963. Up to this point, the only other British, military
personnel in the 1st Division had been a Squadron of Queen’s
Royal Irish Hussars, some Royal Navy, Army Air Corps and RAF
based at the Airport, the occasional RN Minesweeper which would
appear at the quayside and a few shadowy gentlemen with winged
dagger emblems on their Landrovers. Life then changed
dramatically with the arrival of 3 Commando Brigade in Kuching
and we became a fully operational military unit.
We continued with our work,
annotating the aerial photographs, provided by 8l Photo
Reconnaissance Squadron RAF with the names of all the villages,
rivers, mountains and other topographical detail such as the
types of vegetation, rice fields, rubber and pepper plantations
etc. Every hill and mountain which had trigonometrical stations
on them was visited and the positions pin pricked onto the
aerial photographs. Some additional horizontal control was
established by triangulation or Tellurometers measurement but a
great deal of vertical control had to be established by means of
altimeter heighting. Each sortie into the jungle usually
comprised two surveyors, sometimes accompanied by labourers from
the Land and Survey Department but local porters and guides were
hired for the longer lasting missions. When operating near the
border with Indonesia, a military escort was required and this
was usually supplied by 40 or 42 Commando RM, but I recall one
occasion when I was allocated one ban Sarawak Ranger. The
Marines were always pleased to assist and almost always showed a
keen interest in our work as indeed did other rank and file
soldiers later on. Officers however did not get over involved,
keeping somewhat aloof in case they did not understand what we
were about.
The onset of Confrontation
brought about the demand for greater mapping requirements and in
mid 1963 it was decided to raise a second Field Troop to be
based in North Borneo (later called Sabah) and so the original
detachment became No. I Topo Troop. In late 1963, the Troop
decamped to Lundu for a period of three months in order to
progress its work in the west of the Division, often billeting
with either the Royal Marines or the Border Scouts and their
Ghurkha mentors. We were always made welcome as we were fresh
faces and had news of what was going on elsewhere. During this
period, the command of the troop changed twice, first to Captain
Peter McMaster’s RE who was eventually to rise to the post of
Director General of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain.
Secondly to Captain John White RE.
In March 1964 No I troops task
in the 1st. Division was almost complete and it had been
intended to transfer the unit to Simanggang (now Sri Aman) in
order to carry out similar work in the 2nd Division. However
priorities were changed and a third troop from 19 Topographic
Squadron, 42 Survey Engineer Regiment was posted from the UK for
a six month period to take up these duties. No. I Topographic
Troop with its more experienced personnel was transferred to the
3rd. Division and although still based in Kuching for a time its
members were employed in what is now known as the Kapit Division
of Sarawak. Initial duties included the determination of
Position Line Fixes by astronomical observations in order to
provide control for a new series of 1:250,000 scale mapping
using wide angle aerial photography. Again altimetry surveys
were carried out either by boat or helicopter to provide the
vertical control for this mapping project. Gravity surveys were
also undertaken at this time but they were mainly observed by
two American soldiers from the US Army Map Service, Far East,
based in Tokyo but seconded to 84 Survey Squadron RE whose
support they required to produce this data as part of the United
States contribution to the International Geophysical Year. A
more likely explanation was that the US required such data on
the shape of the Earth in order to advance its rocket programme
and future missions into space. All this work was carried out
along the Sungai and Ulu Baleh, the upper reaches of the Batang
Rejang and the Balui River. More remote stations were accessed
thanks to 845 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy and protection was
afforded by the Guard’s (lnd) Parachute Company and the Royal
Malay Regiment
A second No. 3 Troop replaced
the original and was based in Sibu to carry out 1:50,000 scale
mapping in the lower reaches of the Rejang, the northern section
of the 3rd. Division, again for a period not exceeding six
months. Meanwhile in November 1964, No. I Topo Troop relocated
its base from Kuching to Sibu but the hulk of its operations
were carried out from Nanga Gaat, the home of Temenggong Jugah,
Paramount Chief of the lbans and Minister of State for
Sarawak
Affairs. Nanga Gaat was also a forward air base operated by 845
Naval Air Squadron, (HMS Bulwark) Royal Navy whose helicopters
became invaluable to the members of No. I Topo Troop. Command of
the Troop at this time passed to Lieutenant Roy Wood RE, a
future Director General of Military Survey, attaining the rank
of Major General. The field surveyors together with their small
army of Iban labourers visited many of the highest mountains in
the region, Bukits Batu, Tasu, Mersing, Lumut, Dema, Batu Bora,
Kayu and Robertson to name but a few. The latter mountain
originally had no name but members of the troop unanimously
voted to name it after a Royal Navy pilot who was tragically
killed in a mid air collision between two helicopters which were
about to land at Nanga Gaat. The word "Kayu" in the Malay
language means wood, so there are no prizes for guessing who
this mountain was named after. The object of this exercise was
to construct a network of triangulations whereby the angles
between each mountain peak were very precisely measured both
horizontally and vertically and the distances between each point
were also measured electronically in order to co-ordinate each
Trig Station and establish a height for each point, thus
producing a rigid framework of control for a completely new
series of 1:50,000 scale maps for this virgin area of Sarawak.
Initially the surveyors roped down from the helicopters onto
these mountains and with their Iban escorts cleared the mountain
tops of all the trees in order to provide all round visibility
for their future observations. Pre-cast concrete ground marks
were then planted at the highest point and an observation tower
erected above it. The felled trees were then stripped of all
their branches and the trunks lashed together to form helicopter
landing pads enabling future re-supply missions and extractions
to be made more easily. Most of these mountains were in the
region of 5,000ft to 7,000ft high and the Wessex Mk. I
helicopters were operating at their maximum altitude limits for
tropical areas. It was often necessary for the survey parties to
be ferried up to each mountain peak two at a time but when it
was time to leave, the choppers were overloaded provided that
they could dive over the edge of the mountain sides and build up
enough speed to keep them airborne We became used to this
procedure but later when 845 Squadron was replaced by 848
Squadron with its Wessex V machines, this procedure became
unnecessary and funnily enough, a straight lift off at these
altitudes was initially unnerving to say
the least. After clearing some half dozen hills, the surveyors
would return to Nanga Gaat and regroup for the next part of the
operation. A considerable amount of equipment was checked and
adjusted before being allocated to the four observation teams
who would undertake the next phase of the triangulation scheme
and it would include Geodetic theodolites, Tellurometers
(Electronic Measuring Equipment), Lamps. Heliographs, Charging
Engines, Batteries, Petrol, Radios and of course good old Compo
Rations as well as numerous other bits and bats. Once ready,
each survey team comprising two Surveyors and four lbans
together with their equipment would fly directly onto their
allocated mountain and depending on the weather conditions would
remain there for up to six weeks until all possible observations
had been completed. Some of the teams however did have the
opportunity to leap frog their colleagues and observe from more
than one station and then it was back to Nanga Gaat and the
whole cycle would start all over again.
Similar work was being carried
out by No. 2 Topo Troop in Sabah and in due course, it was
extended down into Sarawak to link up with that work being
carried out by No. 1 Topo Troop. Sadly my three year posting
came to an end in October 1965 when I returned to the UK and
became a member of 19 Topographic Squadron RE but my links with
84 Survey Squadron RE were rekindled in October 1967 when I
returned to Singapore on a six months detachment to observe
astronomical ‘La Place’ stations both in Singapore and Sabah. At
this time, No. 1
Troop was also in Singapore having completed
its assignment in Sarawak at the end of 1966 but it was about to
undertake another Geodetic scheme on the Thai/Malay border,
working with representatives from both those countries. No. 2
Troop was still in Sabah, based in Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) and
I joined then, there in January 1968.
Members of 84 Survey Squadron
RE continued to work throughout north Borneo until 1969, long
after the end of Confrontation and ironically some members even
saw service In Indonesian, Kalimantan, taking part in a joint
Indonesian/Australian/British exercise named "Operation Mandau"
in 1970, when they were based in Pontianac for the mapping of
West Kalimantan. All in all, probably less than, one hundred
British Military Field Surveyors visited and worked throughout
the north Borneo States of Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah during this
twelve year period of continuous presence by 84 Survey Squadron
RE. Most Field Surveyors although based in Singapore, spent the
bulk of their postings to the Far East in Borneo and several men
returned for more than one tour of duty. Most remember their
times there with great affection and in particular their great
rapport with the local population. Many learned to speak the
Malay language which proved invaluable to them in the execution
of their duties not to mention their leisure activities. Indeed
several surveyors married local girls and most continue to live
happily in the UK and other parts of the world.
84 Survey Squadron RE was
disbanded on 31 December 1970 with the withdrawal of British
Forces from the now secure and independent Malaysia and
Singapore. Although its life span was only some fifteen years,
its contribution in terms of providing the afore mentioned
States with modern mapping was quite significant. Indeed, even
today, some thirty years on, the current 1:50,000 scale series
of maps in Sabah and Sarawak, published by the Director of
National Mapping, Malaysia, acknowledge the field work carried
out by 84 Survey Squadron, Royal Engineers.
A
portfolio of 80 photographs accompanying this story are at the
clickable link:-
recognised as a member of No. I Topographic Troop of
84 Survey Squadron, Royal Engineers from January 1963 until
September 1965. To go back in time a l
I must admit that once or twice during that period, I
became a little frustrated and felt that I had gone out there to
do surveying and not to learn a foreign language and in any case
if anyone wished to speak to me then they could jolly well use
English, or words to that effect. My fellow surveyors and I all
persevered and at the end of the five weeks we all passed off
with average ‘C’ gradings, not too bad considering that we had
been thrown in at the deep end only days after arriving in
Singapore and with hind sight, it was the best thing that could
have possibly happened to us as we were about to find out. We
returned to Dover Road and settled down to a little more
training, learning about aerial photography, its geometry and
vital use to modern day mapping. Two weeks later, one Saturday
morning I was back at Nee Soon but this time I was on the
ranges. I was a member of the butt party when halfway through a
shoot, the telephone rang and we were ordered to pack up and
return to the firing point where the rest of the Squadron were
hastily cleaning their weapons. After inquiring as to what was
going on, someone replied that a war had broken out and that we
were to return to base immediately. We were none too happy as
most of us felt that we hadn’t joined the Army to fight any wars
but it was back to Gillman Barracks where we handed in our
weapons and were then ordered to change into civilian clothes
and report to Dover Road forthwith. A funny way to fight any war
we thought. It turned out to be the start of the Brunei
rebellion and the Squadron began a round the clock exercise
churning out Air Photo maps of Brunei, and the surrounding
areas. As field surveyors, the OC explained that he could not
employ us in our trades, but asked us if we would kindly help
out in the Map Depot. Who were we to refuse and so began a month
of very interesting work, bundling up thousands of copies of
maps, loading then, onto various 3 tonners which came into the
depot from units directly involved with putting down the revolt
and escorting other consignments to the airports and docks for
transhipment to Brunei.
950’s, field surveyors from the Squadron had been
deployed in small numbers in Brunei and North Borneo where they
operated around Sandakan and Tawau, revising the existing 1:50,
000 scale series of maps in conjunction with the local Land and
Survey Department. This deployment had ended in late 1962 and
the new detachment under the command of Captain Geoffrey
Gathercole RE was to commence a similar task in and around the
1st Division of Sarawak, operating from the Land and Survey
Department Headquarters office in Badrudin Road. The Army’s
contribution to this task was to provide the trained personnel,
equipment, food and vehicles, with Land and Surveys bearing the
cost of accommodation, fuel and other transportation costs. As a
result, we found ourselves living in a large detached house in
Jalan Budaya and being paid the princely sum of l/6d (7.5p) per
day to wear civilian clothes. The nine members of the detachment
had been posted to Sarawak on active service, due to the Brunei
Rebellion, but we continued to enjoy our semi civilian status
for some months until the attack on Tebedu Police Station on 12
April 1963. Up to this point, the only other British, military
personnel in the 1st Division had been a Squadron of Queen’s
Royal Irish Hussars, some Royal Navy, Army Air Corps and RAF
based at the Airport, the occasional RN Minesweeper which would
appear at the quayside and a few shadowy gentlemen with winged
dagger emblems on their Landrovers. Life then changed
dramatically with the arrival of 3 Commando Brigade in Kuching
and we became a fully operational military unit.
We continued with our work,
annotating the aerial photographs, provided by 8l Photo
Reconnaissance Squadron RAF with the names of all the villages,
rivers, mountains and other topographical detail such as the
types of vegetation, rice fields, rubber and pepper plantations
etc. Every hill and mountain which had trigonometrical stations
on them was visited and the positions pin pricked onto the
aerial photographs. Some additional horizontal control was
established by triangulation or Tellurometers measurement but a
great deal of vertical control had to be established by means of
altimeter heighting. Each sortie into the jungle usually
comprised two surveyors, sometimes accompanied by labourers from
the Land and Survey Department but local porters and guides were
hired for the longer lasting missions. When operating near the
border with Indonesia, a military escort was required and this
was usually supplied by 40 or 42 Commando RM, but I recall one
occasion when I was allocated one ban Sarawak Ranger. The
Marines were always pleased to assist and almost always showed a
keen interest in our work as indeed did other rank and file
soldiers later on. Officers however did not get over involved,
keeping somewhat aloof in case they did not understand what we
were about. 
from the UK for
a six month period to take up these duties. No. I Topographic
Troop with its more experienced personnel was transferred to the
3rd. Division and although still based in Kuching for a time its
members were employed in what is now known as the Kapit Division
of Sarawak. Initial duties included the determination of
Position Line Fixes by astronomical observations in order to
provide control for a new series of 1:250,000 scale mapping
using wide angle aerial photography. Again altimetry surveys
were carried out either by boat or helicopter to provide the
vertical control for this mapping project. Gravity surveys were
also undertaken at this time but they were mainly observed by
two American soldiers from the US Army Map Service, Far East,
based in Tokyo but seconded to 84 Survey Squadron RE whose
support they required to produce this data as part of the United
States contribution to the International Geophysical Year. A
more likely explanation was that the US required such data on
the shape of the Earth in order to advance its rocket programme
and future missions into space. All this work was carried out
along the Sungai and Ulu Baleh, the upper reaches of the Batang
Rejang and the Balui River. More remote stations were accessed
thanks to 845 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy and protection was
afforded by the Guard’s (lnd) Parachute Company and the Royal
Malay Regiment
Sarawak
Affairs. Nanga Gaat was also a forward air base operated by 845
Naval Air Squadron, (HMS Bulwark) Royal Navy whose helicopters
became invaluable to the members of No. I Topo Troop. Command of
the Troop at this time passed to Lieutenant Roy Wood RE, a
future Director General of Military Survey, attaining the rank
of Major General. The field surveyors together with their small
army of Iban labourers visited many of the highest mountains in
the region, Bukits Batu, Tasu, Mersing, Lumut, Dema, Batu Bora,
Kayu and Robertson to name but a few. The latter mountain
originally had no name but members of the troop unanimously
voted to name it after a Royal Navy pilot who was tragically
killed in a mid air collision between two helicopters which were
about to land at Nanga Gaat. The word "Kayu" in the Malay
language means wood, so there are no prizes for guessing who
this mountain was named after. The object of this exercise was
to construct a network of triangulations whereby the angles
between each mountain peak were very precisely measured both
horizontally and vertically and the distances between each point
were also measured electronically in order to co-ordinate each
Trig Station and establish a height for each point, thus
producing a rigid framework of control for a completely new
series of 1:50,000 scale maps for this virgin area of Sarawak.
Initially the surveyors roped down from the helicopters onto
these mountains and with their Iban escorts cleared the mountain
tops of all the trees in order to provide all round visibility
for their future observations. Pre-cast concrete ground marks
were then planted at the highest point and an observation tower
erected above it. The felled trees were then stripped of all
their branches and the trunks lashed together to form helicopter
landing pads enabling future re-supply missions and extractions
to be made more easily. Most of these mountains were in the
region of 5,000ft to 7,000ft high and the Wessex Mk. I
helicopters were operating at their maximum altitude limits for
tropical areas. It was often necessary for the survey parties to
be ferried up to each mountain peak two at a time but when it
was time to leave, the choppers were overloaded provided that
they could dive over the edge of the mountain sides and build up
enough speed to keep them airborne We became used to this
procedure but later when 845 Squadron was replaced by 848
Squadron with its Wessex V machines, this procedure became
unnecessary and funnily enough, a straight lift off at these
altitudes was initially unnerving to s
ay
the least. After clearing some half dozen hills, the surveyors
would return to Nanga Gaat and regroup for the next part of the
operation. A considerable amount of equipment was checked and
adjusted before being allocated to the four observation teams
who would undertake the next phase of the triangulation scheme
and it would include Geodetic theodolites, Tellurometers
(Electronic Measuring Equipment), Lamps. Heliographs, Charging
Engines, Batteries, Petrol, Radios and of course good old Compo
Rations as well as numerous other bits and bats. Once ready,
each survey team comprising two Surveyors and four lbans
together with their equipment would fly directly onto their
allocated mountain and depending on the weather conditions would
remain there for up to six weeks until all possible observations
had been completed. Some of the teams however did have the
opportunity to leap frog their colleagues and observe from more
than one station and then it was back to Nanga Gaat and the
whole cycle would start all over again.
Troop was also in Singapore having completed
its assignment in Sarawak at the end of 1966 but it was about to
undertake another Geodetic scheme on the Thai/Malay border,
working with representatives from both those countries. No. 2
Troop was still in Sabah, based in Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) and
I joined then, there in January 1968.
of British
Forces from the now secure and independent Malaysia and
Singapore. Although its life span was only some fifteen years,
its contribution in terms of providing the afore mentioned
States with modern mapping was quite significant. Indeed, even
today, some thirty years on, the current 1:50,000 scale series
of maps in Sabah and Sarawak, published by the Director of
National Mapping, Malaysia, acknowledge the field work carried
out by 84 Survey Squadron, Royal Engineers.
