Sarawak Rangers

[citation needed] The Sarawak Rangers were first commanded by William Henry Rodway, from 1862 until 1870 where Major F.A.

[2] Rodway assumed control again on Sarawak Rangers from 1872 to his retirement in 1881, and were highly skilled in jungle warfare and general policing duties, being equipped with various western rifles, cannons and native weaponry.

They were based in a number of forts constructed at strategic locations in towns and at river mouths.

Aside from protecting Sarawak's borders, they were used to fight any rebels and were engaged in a number of campaigns during their history.

After the abdication of Charles Vyner Brooke in 1946 and the creation of the Crown Colony of Sarawak, the Sarawak Rangers became a colonial unit under direct British control and saw action in both the Malayan Emergency and the Borneo Confrontation.

Sarawak Rangers badge
A line-up of armed Sarawak Rangers.
Sarawak Rangers comprising Ibans leap from a Royal Australian Air Force Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter to guard the Malay–Thai border from potential Communist attacks in 1965, two years before the Second Malayan Emergency starting in 1968.