Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...
Victor Henry Jaques (sometimes Jacques) CBE DSO MC & Bar (31 December 1896 – November 1955) was a British Army officer. He served during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
before becoming a lawyer in Bangkok, Siam with Tilleke & Gibbins. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
Jaques rejoined the army. In 1945 he was posted as the representative of
Force 136
Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Or ...
, a British intelligence unit, in Bangkok. One of his key roles was to liaise with the Thai official
Pridi Banomyong
Pridi Banomyong ( th, ปรีดี พนมยงค์, , ; 11 May 1900 – 2 May 1983), also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham ( th, หลวงประดิษฐ์มนูธรรม) was a Thai politician and professo ...
. The Thai government was technically at war with the
Allies but Pridi was also a leader of the anti-Japanese
Free Thai Movement
The Free Thai Movement ( th, เสรีไทย; ) was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region.
Background
I ...
and Jaques worked to co-ordinate Allied operations with the movement and to plan for future relations. Jaques was hindered by Pridi's distrust of British plans for South-East Asia in the post-war period and various diplomatic incidents. Pridi instead favoured closer relations with the Americans. Jaques remained in Bangkok after the war both as an army officer and as a civilian lawyer. He played a key role in refounding the city's
British Club in 1947.
Early life and career
The records of the
British Club note that Jaques was born on 31 December 1896, and attended
Thame School in
Oxfordshire. They also state that he joined the British Army in 1914, during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The ''
London Gazette'' records that he received training in the
Officers' Training Corps
The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...
prior to receiving a probationary commission as a second lieutenant on 16 May 1915 in the 3rd (
Special Reserve
The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...
) battalion of the
Royal Sussex Regiment
The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...
. His probationary period ended on 7 June 1916. Jaques was promoted to the
acting rank
An acting rank is a designation that allows a soldier to assume a military rank—usually higher and usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the nature of t ...
of
captain on 10 December 1916 and to the
substantive rank of
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
on 1 July 1917. On 15 October 1918 Jaques received the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC ...
"for conspicuous gallantry and dash during a raid on enemy trenches". The medal citation commends his organisation and leadership of the raid, after which he led a patrol to search
no man's land for three snipers while under machine gun and trench mortar fire.
Jaques relinquished his acting rank on 21 December 1918 but was appointed again to that rank and command of a company on 7 January 1919. Jaques received a
bar to his Military Cross on 15 February 1919 for actions in an attack on a German position north of the Ormignon River on 18 September 1918, during the
Hundred Days Offensive.
The medal citation notes that Jaques "handled his company throughout with conspicuous ability and displayed great gallantry". Once his unit had reached its final objective he reorganised his company and, under heavy machine gun fire, platoons in other companies that had lost their officers. He afterwards volunteered to lead two of these platoons forwards to exploit an opportunity and was wounded in action.[ By February 1919 Jaques was attached to the 2nd (Regular) battalion of his regiment.] He served as an aide-de-camp between 4 April and 3 November 1919. Jaques left the army on 1 April 1920, being promoted to the substantive rank of captain.
Jaques became a lawyer, being called to the bar of the Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...
in 1924 and leaving for Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
in 1925, where he joined the practice of Tilleke & Gibbins
Tilleke & Gibbins is a regional law firm in Southeast Asia, with offices in Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and Yangon. The firm's core practices are commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, disput ...
in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
. He served for more than a decade as general counsel to the Siam Electricity Company (renamed the Thai Electric Company in 1939). Jaques learnt to speak the Thai language fluently. Jaques returned to the United Kingdom once, in 1930, to marry Dora Watson. The firm carried out work for the Thai royal family
The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...
and various government agencies. In 1935 Jaques acted as defence counsel for Phraya Thephatsadin, which led to him being associated with the Thai royalist cause.
Second World War
With the coming of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Jaques left Siam in 1940 to rejoin the army and, on 26 May, received a commission as a lieutenant in his old regiment. He fought with his old regiment in Italy, India and Burma. By 11 January 1945, when he was mentioned in dispatches for his service in Italy, he had been promoted to the substantive rank of major and the temporary rank
Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...
of lieutenant colonel. Jaques was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 19 April 1945 for his service in Italy, by this time he held the acting rank of colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
.
Thailand
By early 1945 Jaques had been selected by Force 136
Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Or ...
, the Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
branch of the undercover Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...
(SOE), as their representative in Japanese-occupied Thailand (Siam had been renamed in 1939). SOE officer Andrew Gilchrist notes in his memoir that he was asked whether the job might be too demanding for Jaques. He replied "Nuts. I know Jacques, he's mad enough for anything. If he's offer this job he'll take it. There's only one thing ... is he fit enough? I believe he's got a game leg—a wound from the last war". Force 136 decided that Jaques would be selected, though his wound ruled him out of any parachute drops and meant he would be transferred in and out of the country by sea plane.
Jaques' role was to discuss future operations and post-war relations with Pridi Banomyong
Pridi Banomyong ( th, ปรีดี พนมยงค์, , ; 11 May 1900 – 2 May 1983), also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham ( th, หลวงประดิษฐ์มนูธรรม) was a Thai politician and professo ...
, an official of the Thai government, technically at war with the Allies, but also a leader of the anti-Japanese Free Thai Movement
The Free Thai Movement ( th, เสรีไทย; ) was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region.
Background
I ...
. Jaques, codenamed Brigadier Hector, entered Thailand in Operation Panicle on the night of 27/28 April 1945. Jaques arrived in Bangkok in the company of Tan Chin (Prince , a rival of Pridi, who had been permitted to return by Pridi's pardoning of political exiles), who had been sent by insistence of the British government. Force 136 had opposed the sending of Subha as it though the presence of the unpopular royalist would harm relations with the Free Thai Movement. Upon arrival in Thailand Force 136 quickly posted Subha as liaison officer to a remote post on the Burmese border.
There were delays in getting Jaques into Thailand which mean that the American intelligence service, the Office of Strategic Services, already had a mission to Pridi in place giving them a distinct advantage. Despite the presence of Japanese forces and the official position of Thailand as an enemy state Allied intelligence agents were able to travel fairly freely across the country, in full uniform, because of the support of the Free Thai Movement. Jaques, particularly conspicuous by his height, found he was able to travel across Bangkok openly wearing his British Army uniform.
Jaques lodged in a house directly across the Chao Phraya River from Pridi's residence. He met with Pridi on 30 April, on a boat that cruised up and down the river to escape Japanese intelligence. Jaques secured an agreement from Pridi that a post-war Thai government would renounce claims on British territories annexed to Thailand by the Japanese. Pridi raised concerns over a Force 136 unit that had been parachuted into the Shan Hills
The Shan Hills ( my, ရှမ်းရိုးမ; ''Shan Yoma''), also known as Shan Highland, is a vast mountainous zone that extends through Yunnan to Myanmar and Thailand. The whole region is made up of numerous mountain ranges separated ...
without his permission. Jaques reassured him that the unit was acting only to cut off the Japanese retreat from Burma and had no interest in Thailand. Pridi also sought assurances over post-war Anglo-Thai relations but Jaques was not authorised to promise anything in this regard. His silence made Pridi suspicious of post-war British intentions in Thailand and led him to favour closer relations with the Americans.
Jaques left Thailand on 2 May, returning to India with a number of Thai liaison officers. Whilst there Jaques campaigned for closer co-operation between Force 136 and the OSS in Thai relations. He was supported in this by the OSS agent Waller B. Booth, who proposed to install Jaques as the head of a joint Allied mission to Thailand. These plans were scuppered by American suspicion of Britain's post-war intentions to the country. Within a week of arriving in India Jaques travelled to Ceylon to meet with Admiral Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander for South East Asia. Jaques pressed Mountbatten for military aid to be sent to the Free Thai Movement, to which the admiral agreed in principle. Mountbatten cautioned against any risings by the Thais at this stage, unlikely to succeed owing to their lack of equipment and training, which might provoke a strong Japanese reaction. The British government concurred with this opinion which some in the OSS thought was political in nature, denying any opportunity for the Thais to participate in their own liberation.
Jaques returned to Thailand by seaplane on 1 June and established a permanent Force 136 headquarters at Thammasat University
Thammasat University ( Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the Grand Pala ...
. He continued his efforts to improve relations with the OSS mission and to press for greater inter-Allied cooperation but faced obstruction from the Americans. As the OSS and Force 136 offices were on opposite sides of the city Allied personnel were escorted between them, past Japanese patrols, by Thai military police. The Americans and Thais were both frustrated by Mountbatten's insistence that an Allied invasion of Thailand could not be achieved before December and that any uprising would have to be postponed to suit.
Jaques' mission was made more difficult by the British Secret Intelligence Service, whose Inter-Services Liaison Department sent operatives into Thailand to report on Japanese movements, without requesting permission from Pridi. Some of the SIS agents were detected by Free Thai units and reported to Pridi, increasing his distrust of the British. Jaques attempted to intervene to ensure the SIS sent no more operatives without permission and also sought to bring the SIS operatives under his direction, to remedy a lack of staff, but was refused. This led to a further breakdown of his relations with Pridi and left the British mission behind the Americans in intelligence work.
A further incident that affected Anglo-Thai relations was an article in a British Ceylon newspaper that advocated annexation of the Kra Isthmus
The Kra Isthmus ( th, คอคอดกระ, ) in Thailand is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula. The western part of the isthmus belongs to Ranong Province and the eastern part to Chumphon Province, both in Southern Thailand. The ...
by Britain after the war. A clipping of this article was provided to Pridi by the Americans and it was shown by him to Jaques, as an indication of why he distrusted the British. Jaques suspected that the clipping had been provided by the Americans. The incident led the OSS to ask Pridi not to share any information they had supplied with the British unless it also came from another source. Anglo-Thai relations were also affected by the cancellation of a meeting between a Thai liaison officer and Mountbatten. Though he acknowledged the difficulties present in Anglo-Thai relations Jaques was hopeful that Pridi thought the British might be useful in supporting Thai claims to retain territories annexed from French Indo-China
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
in 1941 and in opposing any southward expansion of China.
At noon on 18 June 1945 the Americans staged an air drop of supplies for the Free Thai Movement in Bangkok as a display of strength. Packages of medical supplies were dropped from three B-24 bombers from an altitude of just . The supplies were collected by the movement and Thai civilians despite attempts by Japanese soldiers to seize them. The action greatly embarrassed the Japanese military who had been unable to prevent the drop and also helped to demonstrate to Pridi that the Americans were capable of providing greater practical support to the Thais than the British. As part of the demonstration four P-38 fighters buzzed low over the watching crowd while another five aircraft strafed the Japanese forces. Four Japanese soldiers were killed and five Thai civilians wounded. Jaques was among the crowd and one of the cannon shells struck within of him. In July Jaques was summoned to meet Pridi who had received news that a British invasion of Phuket
Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...
had been foiled by Japanese forces; he was concerned that he had not been forewarned. Jaques explained that this was a mistake by the Japanese and that they had actually attacked a British minesweeping force, preparing for Operation Zipper, the anticipated liberation of British Malaya. Jaques left Thailand soon afterwards and was in India at the time of the 6 and 9 August atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Jaques returned to Thailand in mid-August, accompanied by officers detailed to help with the rescue of British prisoners of war in the north-east of the country. Jaques continued to meet with Pridi and advised him not to formally renounce the Thai declaration of war on the Allies for fear of antagonising the Japanese. Jaques later horrified Pridi by visiting British internees at Vajiravudh College
Vajiravudh College is a private all-boys boarding school located at 197 Rajvithi Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300 Thailand. The school was established by Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua - King Rama VI who is also known as King Vajiravudh. It was originall ...
openly and in full uniform.
Jaques relinquished his commission on 20 May 1946, holding the war substantive
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...
rank of lieutenant-colonel and being granted the honorary rank of colonel. On 13 June he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for his service on the staff of the Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia (Mountbatten). Jaques received the Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...
on 7 November 1946 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services while engaged in Special Operations in South East Asia".
Post-war
In the immediate post-war period Jaques served as political advisor to General Geoffrey Charles Evans, who had entered Thailand at the head of Allied forces to supervise the disarming of the Japanese. Jaques was replaced in this role on 7 October by Hugh R. Bird of the Foreign Office, who had been consul at Chiang Mai in the pre-war years.
After the war Jaques returned to legal practice in Bangkok, being retained by many British firms who were opening offices there. He was one of first two British lawyers to return to the city. Jaques attempted to reform Bangkok's office working hours, which were set on a British pattern of 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. For around a year Jaques worked from 7.00 am to 1.00 pm, before being obliged to conform to the traditional hours to match those of his clients. He reopened Tilleke & Gibbins in 1946, now its only remaining partner, but retired from the firm the following year. He assigned its trademark business to his secretary Ina Jorgensen, who had safeguarded the firm's interests during the war, and sold the rest of the business to Albert Lyman in 1951.
Jaques also served as director of the Thai Electric Company and the International Rice Company. He helped refound the city's British Club in 1946 and served as its first post-war chairman. As the club's records were destroyed during the Japanese occupation Jaques wrote the club's new rulebook largely from memory. He became an honorary member of the British Club in 1951 for his "invaluable and distinguished service". He and his wife, Dora, returned to Britain in 1955 and he died soon afterwards that November.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaques, Victor
British Army personnel of World War I
British Army personnel of World War II
British Special Operations Executive personnel
20th-century British lawyers
British expatriates in Thailand
1896 births
1955 deaths
Officers' Training Corps officers
Royal Sussex Regiment officers
Recipients of the Military Cross
British Army brigadiers