Assassination of Sir Henry Gurney

Assassination of Sir Henry Gurney
Part of Malayan Emergency
Date 6 October 1951 Location Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaya
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Malayan Communist Party
Commanders and leaders
Sir Henry Gurney	Sui Mah Chin Peng
Strength
13 police	38
Casualties and losses
2 killed several wounded

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The assassination of Sir Henry Gurney took place at the height of the Malayan Emergency. The British High Commissioner was killed by members of the Malayan Communist Party at Mile 56 ½, Kuala Kubu Road on 7 October 1951, on his way to Fraser's Hill for a meeting.^[1][2]

Gurney was riding in his Rolls Royce Silver Wraith with his wife, private secretary D.J. Staples, and his Malayan chauffeur as part of a convoy that included an armored scout car, a police wireless van, and a land rover with six Malayan policemen sitting in its open back. Eight miles from the ambush site, the wireless van developed engine trouble, and the commander advised Gurney to wait, but Gurney decided to press ahead with the rest of the convoy.

About 60 miles (97 km) north of Kuala Lumpur, as the convoy rounded a curve in the road, it was ambushed by a force of 38 Malayan Communist Party guerrillas, who opened fire on the convoy with three Bren guns, Sten guns, and rifles. Gurney and five of the six Malayan policemen in the land rover were wounded, and his chauffeur killed. Both vehicles came to a halt as bullets punctured their tyres. Gurney pushed his wife and private secretary into the footwell of the car, then got out and staggered forward towards the ambush site to draw the insurgents' fire away from the car and towards himself. The guerrillas fired in his direction, fatally hitting him.

The armored scout car pushed ahead of the Rolls-Royce with some difficulty to get help from a nearby police station. The insurgents stayed in the area for about ten more minutes, firing intermittently at anything that moved. A bugle call then sounded, and the insurgents pulled back.

When the firing eased, Lady Gurney and Staples crawled out of the Rolls Royce and discovered his body in a roadside ditch. Twenty minutes later, the officer in charge of the armored scout car arrived at the scene with reinforcements from the police station.^[3][4]

According to Communist leader Chin Peng, the ambush was routine, the killing by chance, and the guerrillas only learned the High Commissioner was among the dead from news reports.^[5]

References

External links

• Photo of the spot where Sir Henry Gurney was ambushed, from a personal account of flying Bristol Brigand aircraft with 84 Squadron RAF during the Malayan Emergency - Terry Stringer

Communism in Malaysia and Singapore
Wars and incidents	Wars Malayan Emergency Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–89) Communist insurgency in Thailand Communist insurgency in Sarawak Incidents Sungai Siput Incident Death of Lau Yew Labis Incident Penang Ambush Assassination of Sir Henry Gurney Bukit Kepong Incident Battle of Semur River Batang Kali massacre Operation Termite Pipeline Ambush Assassination of Abdul Rahman Hashim
Organisations	Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army South Seas Communist Party Malayan Races Liberation Army 10th Malay Regiment Malayan Communist Party Communist Party of Malaya/Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Malaya/Revolutionary Faction Malayan People's Liberation Front Singapore Federation of Trade Unions Sarawak People's Guerilla Force North Kalimantan People's Army North Kalimantan Communist Party
Key people	Peninsular Malaysia Chin Peng Abdullah CD Ahmad Boestamam Lai Teck Shamsiah Fakeh Rashid Maidin Mokhtaruddin Lasso Kamarulzaman Teh Ishak Haji Muhammad Abu Samah Mohd Kassim S. A. Ganapathy Suriani Abdullah Lau Yew Chen Tien Yeung Kwo Fong Chong Pik Eu Chooi Yip Lim Chin Siong Wahi Annuar Muhammad Indera R. G. Balan P. Veerasenan Devan Nair Malaysian Borneo Bong Kee Chok Yang Chu Chung Wen Ming Chyuan Yap Choon Hau Lam Wah Kwai Ang Chu Ting Wong Lieng Kui Cheung Ah Wah
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