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Templer: Tiger of Malaya
520 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 9, 2012
One of the few occasions where the exit from colonial rule was handled well.
Malaya was at the height of the communist insurgency, and getting worse. Gerald Templer was parachuted in and within a couple of years enabled a stable handover to self rule. A remarkable man whose legacy is still feted in Malaya today.
May 26, 2023
As I have mentioned in other reviews of books about the Malayan Emergency, I have a personal interest in this subject. My late father was a a career doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) of the British Army, commissioned as a Lieutenant in July 1933 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in October 1962. He was posted to the Far East from March 1952 to June 1954 in the capacity as a Radiologist but took over as the Commanding Officer of the Alexander British Military Hospital in Singapore before his return to the UK.
The Malayan Emergency began in 1948 and concluded in 1960. During that time in 1952 when there seemed no conclusion to this debacle, Winston Churchill appointed Gerald Templer Commander-in-Chief of Far East Land Forces and High Commissioner of Malaya giving him extraordinary powers, on both military and political fronts.
However, this is a biography of a man that achieved the very highest position in the British Army, as the Chief of Imperial General Staff (CIGS) and retired as Field Marshall Sir Gerald Templer. The author has done some incredible research on this book since Templer had left no written notes on his life. While my interest was the Malay Emergency, I found it a fascinating, if not very long read but I did find it difficult to put down.
This is a fascinating book of a soldier, not without his faults but who got on with what he felt he had to do almost with a tunnel vision. As a result, he succeeded on so many levels not least of which is reaching the pinnacle of his career as a Field Marshall and C-in-C of the British Army. His greatest achievement is undoubtedly his success in helping Malaya to gain its independence from the United Kingdom despite being involved in the "Emergency".
The Malayan Emergency began in 1948 and concluded in 1960. During that time in 1952 when there seemed no conclusion to this debacle, Winston Churchill appointed Gerald Templer Commander-in-Chief of Far East Land Forces and High Commissioner of Malaya giving him extraordinary powers, on both military and political fronts.
However, this is a biography of a man that achieved the very highest position in the British Army, as the Chief of Imperial General Staff (CIGS) and retired as Field Marshall Sir Gerald Templer. The author has done some incredible research on this book since Templer had left no written notes on his life. While my interest was the Malay Emergency, I found it a fascinating, if not very long read but I did find it difficult to put down.
This is a fascinating book of a soldier, not without his faults but who got on with what he felt he had to do almost with a tunnel vision. As a result, he succeeded on so many levels not least of which is reaching the pinnacle of his career as a Field Marshall and C-in-C of the British Army. His greatest achievement is undoubtedly his success in helping Malaya to gain its independence from the United Kingdom despite being involved in the "Emergency".
July 14, 2025
Exhuastive? Certainly exhausting. One for completists only.
First one third interesting, particularly WW1 (Dunsterforce adjacent) but from then on increasingly hard going.
An interesting glimpse of Templer during his spell at SOE headquarters is given by Leo Marks in his 'Between Silk and Cyanide'.
First one third interesting, particularly WW1 (Dunsterforce adjacent) but from then on increasingly hard going.
An interesting glimpse of Templer during his spell at SOE headquarters is given by Leo Marks in his 'Between Silk and Cyanide'.
February 11, 2025
"a man of genius, an Elizabethan character, full of romance and charm, mixed with command." said prime minister Harold MacMillan about Sir Gerald Templer. Templer led a life which was only possible when the British empire was at its most prestigious and extensive in the first half of the twentieth century. He saw service in the trenches of the First World War, he served in Iraq and in Palestine between the wars and under Montgomery in World War II. He ruled the British sector of West Germany after the war and then was High Commissioner in Malaya where he successfully tackled the threat of the communist terrorists in the 1950s.
His sheer competence led to rapid promotions through the ranks, and in all his roles he inspired and motivated all around him. He was energetic, incisive, effective, canny and kind. And happily married to boot to an endlessly patient and supportive wife who was to prove to be an effective partner during his time in Malaya. An army man to the very tips of his fingers, Templer was passionate about his regiment and its traditions to an extent which seems faintly silly when set alongside his immensely more important activities. He was not an egotist and did not write a memoir so the biographer had to pore over official papers and letters and interview contemporaries to piece together his astonishingly rich and intense life. John Cloake does an excellent and detailed job, and he clearly admires his subject. And so will you by the end. Sir Gerald Templer was a man of his time, whose career spanned the vast canvas of the British Empire and through this biography you get a sense of the awesome scale and scope of responsibilities the rulers of this empire undertook. Whatever you think of the empire, here was a man who was manifestly decent and compassionate, remembered fondly by all who knew him. Truly a great man.
His sheer competence led to rapid promotions through the ranks, and in all his roles he inspired and motivated all around him. He was energetic, incisive, effective, canny and kind. And happily married to boot to an endlessly patient and supportive wife who was to prove to be an effective partner during his time in Malaya. An army man to the very tips of his fingers, Templer was passionate about his regiment and its traditions to an extent which seems faintly silly when set alongside his immensely more important activities. He was not an egotist and did not write a memoir so the biographer had to pore over official papers and letters and interview contemporaries to piece together his astonishingly rich and intense life. John Cloake does an excellent and detailed job, and he clearly admires his subject. And so will you by the end. Sir Gerald Templer was a man of his time, whose career spanned the vast canvas of the British Empire and through this biography you get a sense of the awesome scale and scope of responsibilities the rulers of this empire undertook. Whatever you think of the empire, here was a man who was manifestly decent and compassionate, remembered fondly by all who knew him. Truly a great man.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews