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Sgt. Samuel Orr, PO/X 127316
Royal Marines.
" Please inform Charlie Sammy Killed in Malaya" . Samuel Orr was born 28 November 1924, son of Robert and Robertina Orr of Belfast. One of eight children, he was the third son to join the regular forces. His elder brother Charles was a pre war regular and retired after over 21 years with the colours, as a Captain Quartermaster, 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles. A brother, Harold Smyth Orr, just one year older than Sam and a private in 1 Bn RUR/ 17 London Irish Rifles, was killed in action on the Anzio Beach Head, 1 March 1944. Another brother Robert (Bobby) also served with the Royal Ulster Rifles (1939-1946). Sam was killed according to official records, on 27 December 1950 while leading a patrol in support of local Police against Communist Terrorists in North Perak, Malaya. Information (below) suggests that he was in fact killed on Boxing Day, 26 December 1950.
Decorations: 1939-45 Star Atlantic Star France & Germany Star Burma Star War Medal 1939-45 GSM Palestine 1945-8 GSM Malaya. Elizabeth Cross 2009. For many long years, over thirty, Sam lay in a
grave in the jungle of Malaya and not until the mid 1980s was he re
interred with his parents in Belfast. Fifty years later the story of how
he died has come to light. I am grateful to Ken Guest, son of the police
officer in overall charge of the district, for information about that ill
fated day. The information comes from notes compiled by Peter J. D
Guest, Royal Federation of Malaya Police, at the time officer in charge at Grik, North Perak, Malaya. If anyone has knowledge of or worked with
Peter Guest his son would like to hear from you at The story began with an enquiry from Ken Guest if I was the nephew of a Samuel Orr RM , killed in Malaya, who was mentioned in an article called "The Orrs at War " published on a web site. This was written for the Journal, the magazine of the Guild of One Name Studies (Vol.6 Number 10, April 1999). Ken wrote on 14 August 2001 that " My Father, Peter J. D. Guest, also served in the RM (1945-47) and later (1948-63) with the Royal Federation of Malay Police. In 1950 he was the OCPD in Grik, an end of the road frontier town in N. Perak. In that capacity he led the jungle burial service near Kampong Temenggor for Sgt Orr when he was buried alongside Police Lieutenant M. R. Livingstone. It was the death of Livingstone in an ambush the previous day, Xmas day, that led the RM/Police follow up patrol on which Sgt Orr lost his life." Ken later wrote 15 August 2001. "Many thanks for your prompt response and offer to help source more information about Sgt. Orr. My father was actively involved in the campaign with Royal Federation of Malaya Police jungle squads from 1948 until his last jungle patrol in 1959. He remained in Malaya on other duties until 1963. Before my Father passed away I was slowly helping him put down notes about his experiences in Malaya during the Emergency. As I result of that effort I have known something of the story of Sgt Orr for many years. I am only too pleased to be able to pass back to the Orr family something of what happened all those years ago. I have transcribed the following from the my Father’s note covering the period he was based at Grik in N. Perak (Sep 1950- Mar 1952). From Peter J. D. Guest’s unpublished notes: The Death of Police Lieutenant Livingstone ( with permission). About two months after the big 10th October 1950 ambush the Frontier Branch garrison out at Temenggor was changed or rather rotated. This time a European Police Lieutenant was sent up there as the O/C of the post. On 24th Dec 1950 the CTs. stopped and burnt a bus on the road out to Titi Gantong. I took a party out there and studied the scene. We found the tracks of the departing Communists and we followed these up to the top of an adjoining slope before the light failed. We then walked the four miles back to Grik that evening. I was approached by a chap named `Jock’ Storrier, who was at that time in charge of the Frontier Branch. He showed me a signal that had just come in from P/Lt. Livingstone, the Lieutenant out at Grik and a good friend. It was transmitted from their post in kampong Temenggor, to where the post had been moved after the Tin Mine was closed by Government order. The signal said that he had just had a report that the Mine (about six miles away) was burning, and that he would go out the next morning to visit the scene. Both Storrier and I agreed that an isolated non-working Mine going up in flames was highly suspect and reeked of the bait with an ambush set. We endeavoured to signal back a message saying, "Don’t go near the scene, suspect CT involvement and possible ambush". But the radio set at Temenggor had closed down and wasn’t scheduled to open up again the next morning at about 8am. On our instructions the night operator at Grik was told to try and raise Temenggor through the night to put the message across. The next day was Christmas Day and I was called (on request) at 5am to get geared up and have a breakfast snack before returning to the scene of the burnt bus at first light. We picked up the tracks and managed to follow them for about three more miles heading north. This was within three or four miles of the Siamese frontier. After we lost the tracks I did a square search of the area until we gave up and marched back to Grik. I reckon we had covered about fourteen or fifteen miles that morning and felt I had earned my Xmas lunch in the Rest House. As I arrived at Grik there was frenzied activity going on. The message we had tried to send to Temenggor all night, had finally been passed at 8am, when Temenggor came on air. The operator at Temenggor replied that a patrol under Lieutenant Livingstone had already left for the mine to investigate the fire. Storrier sent a message telling them to send a man after the patrol and recall them. The next message was that the patrol had been ambushed. Livingstone and four men had been killed and the remaining eight men all wounded. A patrol under another P/Lieutenant, David "Jock" Auld, was formed up and they were just leaving when I returned. I gathered up my gear, organised an escort party and got away in mid afternoon to follow on after the others. I reckoned that they would get as far as the 10th mile on the track and would camp there overnight. Darkness arrived as we moved down the track but I kept my patrol going. I knew that Lieutenant Auld didn’t know we were coming so as we approached the 10th mile I got my guys to call out in identification. We made contact to the surprise of the others and I asked my escort if they wanted to stay in the camp overnight. To my surprise they elected to go back in the dark and promptly left! After sleeping overnight we set off at first light to march out to Temenggor. About half way we had to swim across the width of the Sungei Perak, making bamboo rafts to carry our weapons and gear. We got across OK and went on the last lap of about ten miles. Again, it went dark on the track but we pushed on to reach Kampong Temenggor after dark. I was dead beat, having done about fourteen to fifteen miles the previous day, followed by over ten miles extra the previous evening. Then twenty miles on this days march. We camped overnight in the Frontier Branch base of bamboo huts with palm leaved roofs. Xmas Day 1950 The following morning a party under P/Lt. Auld’s command was sent off whilst I remained to recover and brief the Marine party who were following up. I also had to arrange for the wounded men, some of whom had made their own way back to the kampong. In the course of the day our party came back with Livingstone’s body and those of the four men killed in the fight at the ambush. The Marines arrived and sent out a patrol. Horror of horrors, their patrol returned with the body of their Sergeant (PO/X 127316 Sgt. Samuel Orr RM), a well known and liked character. As burials are conducted fairly swiftly in the tropical climate for obvious reasons, we had to have graves dug for two Europeans (Police Lieutenant Livingstone and Sgt. Orr RM) and four Malayas Policemen. We arranged to hold the funerals the following morning and it was agreed with the Marines that should conduct the burial service for the Europeans. We weren’t sure of the denominations of the two chaps, so a signal was sent to the Marine Padre at Grik asking for appropriate guidance for a service acceptable to both Catholic and Protestant denominations. He duly signalled one out to us. The following morning I conducted the funeral service for the two Europeans. The Marines provided a guard of honour. Everybody gathered around and I read out the text supplied by the RM Padre and lead the lords Prayer. The Marines fired three volleys and we left a party to fill in the graves, which we marked with two crosses made from planked wood with the names inscribed on them. We also set up a fence around the graves fashioned from bamboo. Just after that I lead the Marines to the Muslim funeral of the four Policemen at a nearby location. We remained to do patrols and help restore the morale of the kampong. After that came the long march back to Grik to complete our Xmas season. (end of noted about this). More than forty years later the Royal Marines repaid this debt of honour by sending Bugler Hill in full blues uniform to play the last post at the funeral of my father. In slowly researching events in areas my Father served in, I also heard from a former member of the Marines who was in the same Commando unit as Sgt. Orr in N. Perak. He knew him and had this to say, "Sgt. Orr was a well known character in the Corps, a well liked SNCO" . A few months later on another operation in the same area Marine R.H.V.Eames (7792) also lost his life and my Father buried him to, next to Sgt. Orr and P/Lieut Livingstone. Some time later the graves were relocated. I believe P/Lt. Livingstone was later buried in Kumunting Rd Christian Cemetery, Taiping, Perak, West Malaysia. I do not at this point know the final location of Sgt. Orr’s grave but am sure, as you have suggested, that the War Graves Commission should be able to resolve this. For your additional information my Father also had photographs both of the jungle burial service itself and the twin graves of Sgt Orr and Police Lieut. Livingstone. In the service photograph my father stands at attention centre frame back to camera looking over the graves, on the other side, facing the camera, stand the honour guard of Marines from Sgt. Orr’s platoon dressed in their jungle green field uniforms. It might take me a while to track the print down but if you would like one for your own research archives or for Sam Orr’s brother I will begin the search. The burial party at Temenggor led by Inspector P J D Guest.
A note from fellow Marine, James Robinson. RM Having served with 40 Commando RM in Malaya, I can
remember 'Paddy' very well, He was not in my Troop, A troop, He was well
known and respected Member of the Commando with a wealth of experience
under his belt and a credit to his unit, as with most of the casualties at
that time, we did not have time to reflect, only to mourn the passing of
another Good Marine, With the Commando units being widely dispersed and
each Troop being out of touch for Months on end, it was a sad case when
the casualty list's came through, And I have to say the only thoughts of
most Marines at the time was 'lets get out there and finish it'. The Royal
Marines have finally decided to erect a monument to all Marines who have
been killed in Action since 1945 to the present day it's sad to say a
total of 527 Marines have been killed since 1945,the monument stands by
the Admiralty Arch, and his called 'The Graspan Memorial'. If I can be of
any assistance please let me know .All the best, ex Royal Marine James
Robinson 1947-1972.
A few facts - from "Conflict and Violence in Singapore and Malaya 1945-83" by Richard Clutterbuck provides the statistics for 1950, the bloodiest year of the entire campaign when the kill ratio of guerrilla to security force personnel was 2.5. In that dreadful year 314 police officers and 79 soldiers were killed and 1145 civilians killed or wounded. A further 905 security force personnel were wounded.
Sunset over Singapore. Photo the author.
I can at last close Sam`s story by having obtained for him the Elizabeth Cross, the recognition by H M Queen Elizabeth II of those who gave their lives for their country in the many "small" wars since 1948.
Further details about the Malaya campaign , and a memorial to those killed is to be found at |
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