Sir Edward James Gent (28 October 1895 – 4 July 1948) was the first appointed Governor of the

Malayan Union The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administratio ...

in 1946. He was most famous for heading early British attempts to crush a pro-independence uprising in Malaya led by the

Malayan Communist Party The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore from 1 ...

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 ...

, before dying during the first year of the war in an aviation accident.

Life

Gent was born in 1895 was the son of John Gent (1844–1927) and Harriet ( Frankland) Randall. His original name was Gerard Edward James Gent, but he changed it to Edward James Gent, the reasons for which were unknown. He was educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

, and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. Gent married Guendolen Mary Wyeth in 1923, and they had four children, Marcus James Gent, Gerard Nicholas Gent, Ann Monica Gent and Janice Mary Gent.

Military career

Gent served with the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

in 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 ...

in Flanders and Italy. He was wounded twice and was awarded 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 i ...

in 1917 and 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, typ ...

in 1919.

Diplomatic career

He was the first appointed Governor of the Malayan Union, Sir Edward also became the first Colonial Administrator to discuss openly to form a better government for the future of Malaya, where later 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 ...

was established. He was an instrumental figure in the formation of the

which was established on 1 April 1946 in

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

, and the first Governor of the Malayan Union. When

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

achieved independence (

Merdeka ''Merdeka'' is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or " free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term ha ...

) from the United Kingdom, his widow Lady Gent, together with Lady Gurney, were invited to the ceremony as guests of honour.

Malayan Emergency

Gent remained as the High Commissioner for Malaya when the Malayan Union was dissolved and replaced by the

. But he did not remain at his post for long. He was sacked by the Colonial Office and recalled to London on 29 June 1948 at the onset of the

after

Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle U ...

, the British Commissioner-General for Southeast Asia, lobbied Whitehall. Gent disbelieved the communists were of any threat and refused to act. When the communists first launched its attacks on Malayan rubber estates, Gent on 16 June declared emergency in parts of

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

and

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

only, much to the rubber planters' disappointment whom demanded for a nationwide declaration. Gent was only forced to widen the declaration to the whole of Malaya the next day when the ''

Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establishe ...

'' wrote "Govern or Get Out" on its front page and thus galvanising public sentiment against him.

Death

Gent was returning to the United Kingdom in an

Avro York The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of L ...

transport aircraft of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

when it collided with a

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with th ...

Scandinavian Airlines System Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...

near Northwood, north London, a week after he was recalled to London. , ,

Notes

References

Gent Family History
1895 births 1948 deaths Colonial Administrative Service officers Administrators in British Malaya Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Kingston upon Thames British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from London {{Malaysia-politician-stub