In the early 1960s, Malaya sought to bring together Singapore, and the Borneo states of Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and itself under the Federation of Malaysia, an idea fully supported by Britain. The Indonesian President Sukarno, however, vehemently opposed the move as it threatened his own designs on the rest of Borneo. The first sign of trouble came in 1962 in the Sultanate of Brunei, when a small Indonesian backed, anti-Malaysian element rebelled. The British forces, however, quickly ended this revolt. By early 1963, the situation had worsened, with well-trained Indonesian insurgents infiltrating over the border from the Kalimantan regions. In response, Britain raised a force of Malaysian, Commonwealth, and British Troops, including the SAS, to deal with the situation. Unfortunately the force was only a small one and the border stretched for 1,120km (700miles) trough thick jungle. Not only did they face a threat from the Indonesians, but also for the internal terrorist element, the Clandestine Communist Organization or CCO, who were made up mainly of Chinese settlers from Sarawak. SAS Dedication The British Commander in Borneo, Major-General Walter Walker, initially wanted the SAS to parachute into the jungle, as they had in Malaya, and recapture helicopter landing areas that had fallen into rebel hands. The commander of 22 SAS at the time, Lieutenant-Colonel John Woodhouse, remembering the high casualty rate of tree-jumping, persuaded walker that the SAS would be better suited to patrolling the border instead. A Squadron consisted of only 70 men, a small number to patrol such a long stretch of border, especially in such hostile jungle conditions. However, by operating in 21 patrols of two or three men, and staying in the jungle for long periods of time, they were able to provide early warning of any Indonesian military or Communist incursions. As well as patrolling the border, the SAS took on another very important task - that of winning the 'hearts and minds' of the native people. By gaining an understanding of their lifestyle and language, by living with them and dispensing medical aid when needed, the SAS gained important allies in intelligence gathering. The local people, who still crossed the border freely into Kalimantan to trade their goods, often brought back valuable information on Indonesian troop movements. The SAS also recruited some of the local people as border scouts. Their role was primarily of gathering intelligence as they proved to be unsuited in conventional combat roles. Another group recruited and trained by the SAS from 1964 onwards, however, was known as the Cross-Border Scouts and they took part in raids across the border into Kalimantan. So, when the Indonesian incursion started in earnest in 1963, A Squadron were already prepared to repel them. They knew the best amsuh and helicopter LZs, and the 'hearts and minds' campaign was working well. By 1964, attacks by the Indonesian military were becoming more frequent, and Walker authorized the first top secret 'Claret' raids across the border into Kalimantan. B Squadron SAS reformed in January 1964 (G Squadron would be formed in 1966 from guardsmen who had been undertaking SAS-type patrols with the Guards Independent Parachute Company on the central Sarawak border) and, together with A Squadron, conducted a number of 'Claret' missions. During late 19 patrols from B Squadron were concentrated in the Pueh range of hills of western Sarawak, a favourite route for CCO agents making their way into Lundu where a number of Communist cells were located. After a short break, D Squadron returned in May 1965, commanded by Major Peter de la Billière. He continued the cross border raids with the aid of the Ghurkhas, but the enemy often proved elusive. The patrols established likely ambush sites and potential Helicopter LZs. They made notes of all the likely places the Indonesians would try to infiltrate, and chartered a previously unexplored region known as 'The Gap'. All intelligence collected was relayed back to SAS HQ on HF radios. In August working closely with the Ghurkhas, the SAS launched a series of cross-border raids which met with varying success. The search for an elusive foe often ended in frustration; in September 1965, fro example, twelve four man patrols from A Squadron conducted a three week search for a CCO camp in the area between the headwaters of the Sempayang and Bembam rivers, but nothing was found. SAS activity, which continued until 1966 did, however convince the Indonesians that Britain would continue to support Malaysia. The Indonesian military leadership began to lose faith in their president, and, in march, Sukumo was overthrown in a coup. Five months later, Indonesia made peace with Malaysia. The campaign in Borneo is an outstanding example of the tenacity, resourcefulness and skill of the individual SAS soldier, and illustrates that a small number of well-trained and motivated men can achieve results out of all proportion to their numbers. Walker himself stated. 'I regard seventy troopers of the SAS as being as valuable to me as 700 infantry in the role of 'hearts and minds', border surveillance, early warning, stay behind, eyes and ears with a string.' 'We were very good at our job.' - Jock Thompson. 'It was a hell of a challenge, that's why we did it' - Lofty Large