Knights templar

Gerald Templer

Chief of the Imperial General Staff

Sir Gerald Templer


KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE, DSO

General Sir Gerald Templer in Malaya, 1953

Nickname(s)"Tiger of Malaya"
Born(1898-09-11)11 September 1898
Colchester, Essex, England
Died25 October 1979(1979-10-25) (aged 81)
Chelsea, London, England
Buried

St. Michael's churchyard, Wilsford, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England[1]

AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1916–1958
RankField Marshal
Service number15307
UnitRoyal Irish Fusiliers
Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
CommandsChief of the Imperial General Staff (1955–58)
Eastern Command (1950–52)
6th Armoured Division (1944)
56th (London) Infantry Division (1943–44)
1st Infantry Division (1943)
XI Corps (1943)
II Corps (1942–43)
47th (London) Infantry Division (1942)
210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) (1940–41)
9th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (1940)
Battles / wars
AwardsKnight Companion of the Order of the Garter
Kn

21 July 2020

Malaysia, RAS Collections

Last week’s blog post showing some of John Cecil Cloake’s photographs of Iraq provoked a number of responses from readers. It is always interesting to read people’s reactions to the blog and to learn more about the subject matter about which I have written. In this week’s blog post, RAS President, Tony Stockwell, in response to last week’s post, takes us from John Cecil Cloake, and his role as biographer of Sir Gerald Templer, to wider issues of the history of Malaysia. My thanks go to Tony for taking the time to write this piece:

“John Cloake’s principal enthusiasm in retirement was the history of Richmond and its neighbourhood about which he published extensively.  In addition, at the invitation of Lady Templer he wrote the biography of Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer ,”Templer: Tiger of Malaya” (London, Harrap, 1983).  Cloake seemed a surprising choice.  His career had been in the diplomatic service and he had met Templer only once (lunch at the National Army Museum, Templer’s pass

Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG GCB GCMG KBE DSO

This portrait of Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer by James Gunn (1958) hangs in the Officers' Mess of The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment

Born in 1898, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Francis Templer, Gerald Templer was commissioned into the Royal Irish Fusiliers, his father's regiment, as a 17-year old in 1916. Too young to be sent to the front, he was initially posted to the Faughs' 3rd (Service) Battalion in Buncrana. In October 1917 he was sent to the Western Front, eventually being assigned as a platoon commander in the 1st Battalion, part of 107 Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division. On 20 March 1918, Templer collapsed with Diptheria while serving with C Company, 1st Faughs and was evacuated a day before the German Army launched Operation MICHAEL, which resulted in the virtual annihilation of his battalion.

Between the wars, Templer served with the 1st Battalion in Persia (Iran), Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Egypt. He was an accomplished athlete, gaining a reserve place in the 120m Hurdles for the 1924 Par

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