Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire

by Caroline Elkins

Early that month, Gurney climbed into the back of his Rolls-Royce together with his wife and private secretary and settled in for the ride to Fraser’s Hill, a resort town nestled in the highlands north of Kuala Lumpur, for a weekend of colonial leisure. His Rolls was fitted out for a man in his position, complete with a crown insignia and a Federation flag, which flapped in the breeze as the vehicle climbed the narrow road that wound through mile after mile of dense thickets. Unbeknownst to Gurney or his single escort vehicle, hidden within the jungle brush was a Communist platoon of thirty insurgents who had been waiting, on and off, for nearly two days for a suitable target. In their most opportunistic strike of the insurgency, Chin Peng’s men opened fire with Bren guns as Gurney’s vehicle rounded a sharp bend.