The 17th Gurkha Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces (Malaya) was a British military formation that saw active service 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 ...

History

The Division was formed on 1 September 1952 at Maxwell Road Camp, Malaya, as part of the army response to the

.Queen's Gurkha Signals History
Ministry of Defence It was a redesignation of Headquarters South Malaya District. It perpetuated the traditions of the former

17th Indian Infantry Division The 17th Infantry Division is a formation of the Indian Army. Indian Army during World War II, During World War II, it had the distinction of being continually in combat during the three-year-long Burma Campaign (except for brief periods of refit ...

which had used a Black Cat as its emblem. Headquarters 17th Gurkha Division was the operational headquarters for all British and Gurkha units in Malaya. It controlled the 26th, 48th and 63rd Gurkha Brigades, and 99th Gurkha Brigade which formed about 1952 also came under command. Maxwell Road Camp was renamed Lamjung Camp in 1953. In 1957, upon the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

gaining independence from British colonial rule, the Division was redesignated as the 17th Gurkha Division/Overseas Commonwealth Land Forces (Malaya). It was based at Lamjung Camp in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

until 1966 when it moved to

Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Soghomban'', ''Somban''; Jawi: ) is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban City Council. Sere ...

where it remained until the Division disbanded in 1970.Army Commands
The final order of battle included 63rd and 99th Gurkha Brigades.

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included: *1952–1955 Major-General

Lancelot Perowne Major General Lancelot Edgar Connop Mervyn Perowne, (11 June 1902 – 24 March 1982) was a British Army officer who commanded the 17th Gurkha Division during the Malayan Emergency. Military career The son of John Thomas Woolrych Perowne and E ...

*1955–1958 Major-General

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in b ...

*1958–1961 Major-General Jim Robertson *1961–1964 Major-General Walter Walker *1964–1965 Major-General Peter Hunt *1965–1969 Major-General Arthur Patterson *1969–1970 Major-General

Derek Horsford Major-General Derek Gordon Thomond Horsford CBE DSO & bar (7 February 1917 – 5 October 2007) was a British Army officer who commanded the 17th Gurkha Division. Military career Educated at Clifton College and the Royal Military College, San ...

References

Bibliography

*Pocock, Tom (1973). Fighting General – The Public & Private Campaigns of General Sir Walter Walker (First ed.). London: Collins. . {{British Army Divisions Infantry divisions of the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1952 Military units and formations disestablished in 1970