The Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps (

Abbr. An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

: P&PWVC), also known as Penang Volunteer Corps and Penang Volunteer Rifle was a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit in Malaya. It was established on 1 March 1861 and together with

Singapore Volunteer Corps The Singapore Volunteer Corps or the Singapore Special Constabulary, was a militia unit established in 1854 as the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps. The Corps underwent several reorganisations and was known by various names throughout its histor ...

and Malacca Volunteer Corps, they were a part of the Crown Colony of the

Straits Settlements Volunteer Force The Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF) was a military reserve force in the Straits Settlements, while they were under British rule. While the majority of the personnel were from Singapore, some lived in other parts of the Settlements, inc ...

(SSVF). The Penang Volunteer Rifle was the 3rd Battalion SSVF while Singapore is 1st and 2nd Battalion SSVF and Malacca was the 4th Battalion SSVF. After the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, the Penang Volunteer Rifle became the oldest military unit established in Malaysia.

History

The British, facing their biggest conflict of 19th and early 20th Century—the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

—established the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1854 ( Hong Kong Volunteer Corps was also established at the same time) thus forming the SSVF. The SSVF later expanded to other Straits Settlements territories including Penang, Malacca and Labuan, and on 1 March 1861, the Penang and the Province Wellesley Volunteer Rifle was formed. In 1879, the Penang and the Province Wellesley Volunteer Rifle was disbanded and later revived as the Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps in 1899 thanks to the effort of three Penang residents, Dr Brown, M.L.C. and Mr P. Kennedy, then President of the Penang Municipal Commissioners. In the beginning, Penang Volunteer Rifle and other units in the SSVF were fully European military units. They did not accept other races into the unit until 1899 (for the Penang battalion) and 1901 (for the Singapore battalions). The

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

(1899–1902) further stimulated the volunteer movement with the formation of the volunteer rifles in Malay states (the

Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...

Volunteer Forces (FMSVF) and the

Unfederated Malay States The term Unfederated Malay States () was the collective name given to five British protected states in the Malay peninsula in the first half of the twentieth century. These states were Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu. In contras ...

Volunteer Forces (UMSVF). With the Malay States Volunteer Forces, Malayan Volunteer Forces were formed and the SSVF was one of its military components. The SSVF's last battle was the

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

before being overrun and defeated by the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

on 15 February 1942.

Timeline

* 1 March 1861 – The Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Rifle (P&PWVR) was established. Only open to European descendant. * 1879 – P&PWVR was disbanded. * 1889 (before the Boer War) – P&PWVR was revived as Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps (P&PWVC). The Headquarters was moved from Kampong Bahru to Northam Road. * 1889 – Opens its membership to European and Eurasian descent . * 1910 – Opens its membership to

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

descendant. * August 1914 – World War I. Immediate and rapid increase in the enrolment of volunteers. * 1915 – Took part in the suppression of the

Sepoy Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

. * November 1933 – The P&PWVC get the first place after won almost all of the categories offered in 1933 Malaya Command Rifle Meeting. * November 1934 – The P&PWVC placed at the first place back-to-back after won two of four main categories offered in 1934 Malaya Command Rifle Meeting. Others Top 5 teams are:

Burma Rifles The Burma Rifles were a British colonial regiment raised in Burma. Founded in 1917 as a regiment of the British Indian Army, the regiment re-used the name of an unrelated earlier unit, the 10th Regiment (1st Burma Rifles) Madras Infantry, which evol ...

(Runner-Up), Selangor Battalion FMSVF (2nd Runner-Up),

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. The r ...

(4th Place) and Johore Military Forces (5th Place). * 1936 – The P&PWVC get the first place in 1936 Malaya Command Rifle Meeting. Others Top 5 teams are: Selangor Battalion FMSVF (Runner-Up), Johore Military Forces (2nd Runner-Up),

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

(4th Place) and

Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment ( ms, Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; Jawi: ) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, three battalions are parachute train ...

(5th Place). * 1939 – World War II. Increase in the enrolment of volunteers * December 1941 –

Battle of Penang The Battle of Penang occurred on 28 October 1914, during World War I. It was a naval action in the Strait of Malacca, in which the German cruiser sank two Allied warships. Background At the time, Penang was part of the Straits Settlements, a Br ...

. The battle starts on 9 December 1941 with air battle between Japanese and allied forces over Penang Island. By 13 December, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Shenton Thomas, ordered the evacuation of the European community on Penang Island to Singapore. On 15 December, most of British and Commonwealth forces withdraw from Penang. By 19 December, Penang completely falls to the Japanese. * 15 February 1942 – Last stance at

. All 4 battalions of SSVF including the Penang Volunteer Corps were defeated by the Japanese Forces. Members were taken as

Prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

(POW) and were sent to Japanese war prisons throughout the Far East. * Late 1945 – World War II ends. POW survivors was released in England and later return to their home.

Organisation

The soldiers and officers of Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps (P&PWVC) were divided by ethnic. The strength of P&PWVC by the WWII is 916 men.

References

{{Reflist British colonial regiments