Malayan Emergency Official album 1, NZ Army, SAS no 17

A Mr Peter Cooper was sent to Malaya during 1955-1957 as an official photographer, he may have taken the photographs in this album.

Album consists of snapshots and passport-style photographs (6 x 6 cm) showing members of the New Zealand Special Air Service in Malaya between 1955 and 1957. Most captions handprinted in the album. Many personnel names are listed above, but there are over 100 more individual passport-style photographs in the album which have not been listed.

Subjects covered include Eban (Iban) trackers from Borneo; life in the jungle including camping with hammock and ground sheet, and erecting a "Basha" or overnight shelter; jungle training; rubber & canvas jungle boots with an average life of 7-10 days; details of food and equipment needed for long periods on patrol in the jungle; cutting tracks through bamboo; checking for CTs (Communist terrorists); fording rivers.

Views of Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malay villages; families of the SAS in their army houses; leave in Kuala Lumur; shopping; an Indian temple; the 22 SAS Museum in Kuala Lumpur with examples of Malaysian tools and weapons including CT guns and hand-made saws; and a parade at Coronation park in Kuala Lumpur; various sporting activities.

The bulk of the album shows paratroopers in action with NZ SAS members boarding a naval helicopter; practice helicopter landing drill; practice loading of casualties (helicopters being used chiefly for casualty evacuation); guiding helicopters to land; native people wathcing helicopters land; clearing in the jungle for landing strips.

Troops preparing for parachute jumps; parachute packing hangar; donning parachutes; troops inside Vickers Valetta transport aircraft; aerial views from plane; jumping at 800 ft.

Later in the album there are more images of parachute training indoors from a "FAN" trainer (so called because harness was attached to a wind fan which gave resistance equal to a parachute on a jump) from a platform about 30 ft high.

Earlier training was taken at Takapau and Waiouru; use of camouflage nets; field cookhouse; wading a creek; night exercise; jeep ambush; "Angus" the goat (the squadron mascot); flying fox training; Bren gun training; paratrooper training in a gym; clothes and weapons; volunteers for the Special Air Service; followed by parades and farewell march through Wellington before leaving for Malaya.

Note that the NZSAS departed from Malaya in Dec 1957 and were replaced by the NZ Regiment

Quantity: 1 album(s).

Physical Description: Album with blue buckram cover, entitled "N.Z. Army Dept. S.A.S. No. 17"; 36.0 cm x 23.5 cm