Efforts to have disturbed remains of RAF crew that crashed in jungle of Malaysia in 1948 recovered turned down
Ex-servicemen's campaign to have the remains of victims who died when their plane crashed in Malaysian jungle rejected by defence chiefs
The graves of the crew of an RAF Dakota that crashed into the Malaysian jungle in 1948 have been disturbed and their contents scattered by looters, triggering a campaign by former British servicemen for the remains to be recovered and reinterred in a recognised war cemetery.
Their requests to the Ministry of Defence in London have been turned down, however, on the grounds that the department charged with historic casualties "does not have the remit" to go into the field to recover remains.
"This disgusts me," said Arthur Lane, 94, who spent more than three years as a prisoner of war after being captured by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore in 1942.
"This is a betrayal by the British government of its servicemen - all we are asking for is that these men receive a proper Christian burial in a place where their relatives can visit their graves," Lane said.
The aircraft, registration number KN633, was from 110 Squadron and based at Sungao Besi, close to Kuala Lumpur, during the communist insurgency. The three-strong crew of the Dakota was ordered to carry out a search for a Spitfire that had crashed during an attack on rebel forces on November 12, 1948.
Squadron Leader Donald Hayes, Signaller Maurice Tyson and Navigator Frank White were assisted in the search by Flight Lieutenant Dennis Ballard and Major RQ Gaitley of The Kings Regiment.
