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Auction: 11007 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 30

The Important ´Malayan Emergency´ C.B.E., Q.P.M. Group of Ten to Deputy Commissioner of Police H.T.B. Ryves, Taken P.O.W. By the Japanese at the Fall of Singapore, February 1942, and Interned at the Infamous Changi Prison; Served as Director of Special Branch, Federated Malay States Police, 1954-60 a) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 2nd type, Civil Division, Commander´s (C.B.E.) neck Badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in damaged Garrard case of issue b) Queen´s Police Medal, for Distinguished Service (Harvey T.B. Ryves, Sen. Asst. Commr. Fed. Malaya Police) c) 1939-1945 Star d) Pacific Star e) Defence and War Medals f) General Service 1918-62, G.VI.R., one clasp, Malaya (Asst. Supt. H.T.B. Ryves. Malaya Police) g) Colonial Police Medal, for Meritorious Service, E.II.R. (Supt. Harvey T.B. Ryves, Fed. Malaya Police) h) Malaya, Federation, Order of the Defender of the Realm, Companion´s neck Badge, silver and enamel, white enamel damage, in Garrard case of issue i) Malaya, Perak, Meritorious Service Medal, reverse engraved ´Harvey Theodore Blackburne Ryves 1950´, generally very fine, breast awards mounted for wear as originally worn, with the following related contemporary items and documents: - Associated miniature awards and Riband Bar - Various items of cloth insignia; four Federated Malay States Police Cap Badges, one reduced in size in 14ct. gold; 14 silver buttons and two tie-pins - The recipient´s F.M.S.P. Whistle - C.B.E. Sweetheart´s brooch, silver-gilt and enamel - Bestowal Document for the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E., dated 11.6.1960, framed and glazed - Two photographs, one of recipient being awarded his C.P.M., the other being bestowed with the Order of the Defender of the Realm, by the Sultan of Selangor - Congratulatory letter on the occasion of the award of Ryves´ C.B.E. from Lieutenant General Sir Rodney Moore, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., Chief of Staff, Armed Forces, Kuala Lumpur, dated 8.6.1960 - Congratulatory telegram from the High Commissioner on the occasion of the award of Ryves´ Q.P.M.; letter to the same effect from Lieutenant General Sir Roger Bower, K.B.E., C.B., General Officer Commanding and Director of Operations for Malayan Command, dated 14.6.1957 - Letter from the same correspondent at the end of his appointment expressing thanks to Ryves for his assistance during his tenure, dated 18.9.1957; similar letter from Commissioner C.H. Fenner, dated 23.3.1960 - Copy of a "White Paper", co-authored by Ryves and Desmond Palmer for the Federal Legislative Council, called The Communist Threat to the Federation of Malaya- Statement of Service, together with a typed ´C.V.´ written by Ryves - Typed Secret Report ´Meeting of S.E.A.C.D.T. Committee to Counter Subversion at Bangkok´, in which Ryves is praised, dated 14.5.1955 - Typed transcript of Farewell letter from Ryves on the occasion of his retirement, dated 15.4.1960, and later printed in the Police Magazine - Letter from Harvey Miller, author of Menace in Malaya and Jungle War in Malaya, consulting with Ryves for details for his book, dated 28.3.1971, with other ephemera (lot) Estimate £ 3,000-4,000 C.B.E. London Gazette 11.6.1960 Harvey Theodore Blackburne Ryves, Esq., formerly Deputy Commissioner of Police, Federation of Malaya Q.P.M. London Gazette 13.6.1957 Harvey Theodore Blackburne Ryves, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Federation of Malaya C.P.M. London Gazette 1.1.1953 Harvey Theodore Blackburne Ryves, Superintendent, Special Branch, Johore, Federation of Malaya Police Force The recommendation states: ´Mr. Ryves is an officer with a wide range of experience in police work and since 1946 has been identified with Special Branch duties. From 1946 to 1950 he worked in the Special Branch, Perak, and through his efforts and organising ability the Perak State Registry was built up ahead of any state in the Federation. The smooth and efficient running of the Perak Special Branch in the early days of the Emergency was responsible for many telling blows against the bandit organisation, and Mr. Ryves´ valuable work was recognised by the State award for meritorious service. On his return from leave at the end of 1951, Mr. Ryves was transferred to Johore as Superintendent, Special Branch, where he has faced a bigger task with the same energy as he displayed in Perak. It is clear that his initial efforts in the past 6 months are being successful and the efficient functioning of the Branch is largely due to Mr. Ryves´ hard work.´ Perak M.S.M. London Gazette 12.12.1950 Harvey Theodore Blackburne Ryves, Esq., Assistant Superintendent, Colonial Police Service Deputy Commissioner of Police Harvey Theodore Blackburne Ryves, C.B.E., Q.P.M., born Bungsar, Kuala Lumpur, 1916; educated King´s College School, Wimbledon, where he was Captain of Cricket; briefly employed with the Mercantile Bank of India before being employed as a Junior Master at the South Kensington Preparatory School, 1937; was one of four Cadets out of 350 applicants to be appointed to the Federated Malay States Police Force; attended an intensive Malay language course at the School of Oriental Languages, August-December 1937, from which he passed out first in the final examination; posted to Malaya the following month and undertook training at the Police Depot, Kuala Lumpur; promoted Passed Cadet, December 1938, and served as Personal Assistant to the Chief of Police of the State of Selangor, November 1938-September 1939; served as Officer-in-Charge of Police District in several different parts of the country and was responsible for the maintenance of law and order, crime investigation, court work and internal security, September 1939-January 1942; during this period Ryves was seconded to the Immigration Department for 9 months, for specialist duties including security intelligence work on the Malayan/Thai frontier; advanced Assistant Superintendent of Police, January 1941, and was one of the two most senior policemen left behind in Singapore when it was captured by the Japanese, February 1942, ´the Japanese authorities arrested and detained him with his friends in Changi Prison. But his wife, who was also born here, managed to escape to England. Ryves still remembers the incidents when he was detained in Changi and then at the detention camp in Sime Road. As it was known at that time, cigarettes were not obtainable and people made their own cigarettes with local tobacco leaves. In Changi, Ryves found several boxes of ´Jeys´ paper. Although he used it secretly, the Japanese officer who was in charge there, however, came to know about it. The Japanese officer was suspicious, and took the paper.... He suspected there was some secret document there. Eventually he found several lines of writing´ (personal tribute to Ryves by Bala Chandran refers); the writing was eventually translated to show nothing suspicious other than instruction to the smoker that the paper was nearly finished and not to replace it with a new one; Ryves was interned until September 1945, after which he was reunited with his wife in the UK; he returned to Malaya in April 1946, and was appointed Assistant Officer-in-Charge of the C.I.D. for the State of Perak; promoted Officer Commanding Special Branch, State of Perak, August 1946; held the latter post for the next four and a half years (awarded Perak M.S.M. 1950); promoted Superintendent, March 1951, and posted as Officer Commanding Special Branch, State of Johore in December of the same year; in this capacity Ryves was responsible for the internal security of the States concerned and for the creation and running of an efficient intelligence gathering organisation to counter the outbreak of Communist armed rebellion in Malaya; Assistant Commissioner of Police, January 1953; appointed Senior Assistant Commissioner in Charge of the Federation Special Branch, November 1954; the title changing to Director Special Branch, Federation of Malaya Police, September 1957; his duties from 1954-1960 encompassed responsibility for all security matters affecting the internal security of the country; the Federation Special Branch was the sole security intelligence organisation for the Federation of Malaya and Ryves had a staff of approximately 1,500 under him including a Senior Assistant Commissioner and seven Assistant Commissioners of Police; during this period he ´pulled the strings´ of his organisation eliciting the following praise from Lieutenant General Sir Roger Bower, K.B.E., C.B., General Officer Commanding and Director of Operations for Malayan Command, ´Although I sent an official farewell signal to the Police as a whole, I thought I would like to add to you personally my grateful thanks for your help and advice in Special Branch matters. As you know, I regard this war as largely a Special Branch war and I often wonder if the Special Branch gets due credit for the efforts they make, and the risks they run. I would not like to leave this country without making quite certain that you realise how much I appreciate all this and I would like to add my grateful thanks to you personally for the help and support you have given me whilst I have been here.´ In April 1960 Ryves, having been at the forefront of promoting ´Malayanisation´ of the force, retired after 22 years service and Commissioner C.H. Fenner wrote the following: ´By the time you read this I shall have said goodbye to you in person, but I would like to write and thank you for all the excellent support and help you have always given me since I have been Commissioner of Police. I would also like to place on record the very great debt that this country and this Force owes to you. Special Branch´s contribution to the successful prosecution of the Emergency needs no elaboration from me. You have headed it for some five momentous years, during which period you have guided it successfully through a most difficult and delicate period caused by changing Communist tactics and fresh political activities, brought about by constitutional developments. I have no doubt that you will have very mixed feelings when you come to leave Malaya, but you can console yourself with the thought that you are leaving behind for your successor a well conceived organisation, based on sound principles -and, what is more, it works.´ During the Emergency Ryves was a wanted man by Chin Peng, as was revealed whilst examining some captured Communist documents which gave personal details of him including his car number plate.

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£3,600