The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve (commonly referred to as the ''Far East Strategic Reserve'' or the ''FESR'') was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces. Created in the 1950s and based in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, the FESR was conceived as a forward defence point for Australia and New Zealand, while protecting

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

interests in the Southeast Asian region from both internal and external

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

threats. The FESR was made up of an infantry brigade and an aircraft carrier group, supported by squadrons of aircraft.

Creation

The FESR originated from a June 1953 letter from Harold Alexander, the British Minister of Defence, to

Philip McBride Sir Philip Albert Martin McBride, (18 June 1892 – 14 July 1982) was an Australian politician. He was a United Australia Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for Grey from 1931 to 1937 and the Australian Senate from 1937 to ...

and Tom Macdonald, his equivalents in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and New Zealand ministries, respectively.Pfennigwerth, 2008, p. 55 The letter suggested the creation of a joint military force based in South-East Asia and tasked with protecting strategically important Commonwealth interests in the region (namely Sarawak,

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

and Singapore), from the threat of attack by communist forces. The freeing up of military resources following the end of the Korean War was another factor.Dennis et al., 2008, p. 202 Correspondence between the defence ministers of the three nations and their subordinates led to a meeting in Melbourne, Australia during October 1953. From this meeting, it was decided to create the FESR: a multinational force consisting of army, navy, and air force units from the three nations' armed forces.Pfennigwerth, 2008, p. 56MacDougall, 2002, p. 352 It was not until 1955 that the Reserve was established.

Commitments

The FESR consisted of a brigade-strength infantry force known as

28th British Commonwealth Brigade The 28th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation which served during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, The Malayan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation. History 28th Brigade First World War The 28th Brigade was p ...

and a carrier battle group, supported by land- and ship-based fighter and bomber squadrons. The Strategic Reserve's primary role was to protect Malaya and other Commonwealth interests in Southeast Asia from attack by external communist forces, with operations against internal communist organisations listed as the secondary role.

Australia

The decision to participate in the FESR was formally announced by Australian prime minister

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

in April 1955.MacDougall, 2002, p. 326 Australian military units committed to the force included one

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

battalion, between two and four destroyers or frigates, and two to three squadrons of aircraft (at least one each of bombers and fighters).Royal Australian Navy, ''The RAN, the Strategic Reserve and the Malayan Emergency An Australian aircraft carrier was to make an annual visit to participate in training exercises. Australian forces remained under Australian command and control (unlike most earlier deployments in conjunction with British forces), but were to be used under the directives of the British Commander in Chief, Far East Fleet. Australian units deployed to the FESR included: ; Australian Army *

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and since ...

(1959–61), *

2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR) is an amphibious light infantry battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville. 2 RAR was initially formed as the A ...

(two tours of duty), *

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational serv ...

. ;

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

No. 1 Squadron RAAF , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , battles=World War IWorld War II Malayan Emergency , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= Egypt 1915–1917 Palestine 1917–1918 Malaya 1948–1960 , commander1= Richard Williams (1917� ...

(flying

Avro Lincoln The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed Lincoln I and ...

s and later English Electric Canberra bombers), * No. 2 Squadron RAAF (flying Avro Lincolns and later English Electric Canberra bombers), *

No. 3 Squadron RAAF No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadron, headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales. Established in 1916, it was one of four combat squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps during Worl ...

(flying

CAC Sabre The CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, is an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. The F-86F was redesigned and built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Equipping five ...

fighters), *

No. 77 Squadron RAAF No. 77 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. It is controlled by No. 81 Wing, and equipped with Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighters. The squad ...

(flying CAC Sabre fighters), ; Royal Australian Navy :(based out of Singapore Naval Base) *, *, * - anti-submarine frigate *, - light aircraft carrier * - Type 12 frigate *, *, *, *, *, *, - light aircraft carrier *, *, *, *, * * - anti-submarine frigate

New Zealand

New Zealand contributed to the FESR from 1955. New Zealand's contribution to the FESR included: Royal New Zealand Navy New Zealand would commit two frigates with another available in case of emergencies. * HMNZS ''Blackpool'' - Type 12 frigate * HMNZS ''Royalist'' - light cruiser * HMNZS ''Taranaki'' - Type 12M frigate * HMNZS ''Otago'' - Type 12M frigate * HMNZS ''Hickleton'' - minesweeper * HMNZS ''Santon'' - minesweeper * HMNZS ''Waikato'' - ''Leander''-class frigate

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

New Zealand Special Air Service, (1955 to 1957) New Zealand Infantry Battalion and support units as part of 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade Group. * 1st Battalion of the

New Zealand Regiment The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the parent administrative regiment and corps of regular and reserve infantry battalions in the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1947 with a singular Regular regiment and multiple reserve r ...

(1958 to 1959) * 2nd Battalion of the

(1959 to 1961) * 1st Battalion of the

(1961 to 1964) * 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (1964 to 1971)

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

* No. 14 Squadron (1955 to 1958) * No. 75 Squadron (1958 to 1962) * No. 41 Squadron (1955 to 1971)

United Kingdom

The British commitment was based around forces already in South-East Asia, including the Eastern Fleet, the Far East Air Force, and British Far East Command.

History

From late 1955 until 1960, FESR infantry forces operated against the Malayan National Liberation Army during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

. The Strategic Reserve was also involved in the

Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (also known by its Indonesian / Malay name, ''Konfrontasi'') was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of ...

. FESR forces participated in South East Asia Treaty Organisation exercises. In 1971 the FESR was superseded by the ANZUK Force.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * {{Refend

External links

Far East Strategic Reserve War Memorial Foundation Inc.
''(FESR)''
Far East Strategic Reserve Navy Association (Australia) Inc.
''(FESR)''
Malayan Emergency
at the Australian War Memorial Federation of Malaya Military history of New Zealand Military history of Australia Military history of Malaysia Military units and formations of Australia Military units and formations of New Zealand Military units and formations of the United Kingdom Reserve forces of Malaysia