Respected officer travelled world
BALCLUTHA man Jim Taylor spent much of his early adulthood in Britain’s rapidly changing postwar territories.
Beginning professional life as an apprentice electrician in the Glasgow dockyards of his native Scotland, the young Mr Taylor soon decided he needed to see the world, and joined the Palestine Police Force in 1945, aged 19.
There he remained ‘‘dodging bullets’’, until, in 1948, Britain relinquished its mandate for the territory.
While on leave, he took up an offer of a sergeant’s position on a twoyear tour of thenBritish colony Malaya, arriving in September the same year.
It was the beginning of the Malayan Emergency, which pitted the British authorities against an insurgent militia of socalled ‘‘communist terrorists’’.
Although Mr Taylor was to experience the bloody end of military policing during his eventual 15 years in Malaya, his own account of his arrival — as detailed in the book Operation Sharp End: Smashing Terrorism in Malaya 194858 — was somewhat more humorous.
‘‘[In 1948] I was posted to Perak almost immediately, where I remember that all was in a great state of confusion, and equipment was seriously lacking.
‘‘An MCS [Malayan Civil Service] officer assisted by a Scots doctor ran the local jungle squad, but their ‘kill’ rate had not been impressive. I took over ...
‘‘I was issued with jungle green. The mismatch between my 6’2’’ frame and the garments made for a WRAC [Women’s Royal Army Corps] 5’4’’ was bizarre, so I resorted to the local tailor.’’
The young policeman’s great height was variously a boon and a curse, as it added to the confidence he gave to those around him, but also spotlit him as an easy target during sorties, towering as he did above his far shorter Malay colleagues.
He was given the nickname ‘‘Da Gou’’, or ‘‘ Big Dog’’, eventually rising to become an assistant superintendent, and officer in charge of No 1 Field Force, where he fought alongside British and New Zealand forces.
His own account of an ambush during this period illustrates the daily dangers to which he and his men were exposed.
‘‘It was a trap and halfway to the police station the trap was sprung; my superior and his driver were killed instantly and all the passengers in his vehicle were wounded. Not a shot was fired from the lead vehicle and noone fired from my vehicle except me. I was down to my last four rounds when the CTs departed, carrying off with them all the arms and ammunition from the lead vehicle.’’
His courage was rewarded with several commendations for bravery and medals, among them the General Service Medal 19391945; the Service in Palestine with bar from Malaya; the Malay Service Medal; and the End of Malay Confrontation Medal for Distinguished Chivalry, Gallantry, Sacrifice or Loyalty during Period of Emergency and Confrontation.
MR Taylor, of West Kilbride, married his teenage sweetheart Julia Macpherson, known as ‘‘Stella’’, in Glasgow, on May 3, 1952.
Their eldest son Tom was born in February the following year, and the young family was reunited in Malaya that June, where two siblings were eventually to follow, and a third later in Nelson.
Mr Taylor’s relations with proGovernment Malay were very positive, as Mrs Taylor recounts.
‘‘Being Scots — he never lost his accent — I believe the locals regarded Jim as a bit more neutral than his English counterparts, so he quickly became trusted by officials.
That led to Special Branch jobs looking after visiting dignitaries like [former Indonesian president] Sukarno.
‘‘He immersed himself in the culture, and learnt the language. He liked and respected Malaya and its people.’’
Malaya achieved independence from Britain in 1957, before becoming Malaysia in 1963, but the communists continued to trouble the interim Government following Britain’s departure.
It is a mark of the respect in which he was held that Mr Taylor remained in Malaysia training the succession police force at the new government’s behest, before finally migrating to New Zealand in 1963.
Here he joined the Justice Department, working and relieving at courts around the country to become a registrar before, in 1968, receiving a formal posting to Balclutha.
Enjoying South Otago’s hunting and fishing opportunities, Mr Taylor and his young family were to remain there permanently.
Son Tom recalls a stoical, quiet and goodhumoured man of tidy military habits, occasionally frustrated by the ‘‘chaos’’ of his sometimes unruly offspring.
‘‘As a man of his time, he didn’t display much emotion and could even seem a bit aloof. But he was warmhearted and had a wonderful, colourful way with words when he’d occasionally lose his temper with us kids.
‘‘We’d pull his leg and get him laughing on our hunting trips to Twizel. I remember Dad’s room in the crib with everything laid out neatly for the following day, and ours in total chaos. We must have been a terrible disappointment sometimes.’’
Hobbies included railways of all sizes from model upwards, and cryptic crosswords.
‘‘He could do it before you’d turned round,’’ Tom said.
Tom believes his father was ‘‘quietly pleased’’ when he followed in his footsteps, before retiring from the New Zealand Police in 2018.
In the meantime, a further generation has also stepped up.
‘‘Our son Edsel graduated into the police in 2017.
‘‘Dad was able to be there. He was proud to see a family tradition continue.’’
Born on April 26, 1926 to Alexander and Helen (‘‘Jean’’) Taylor (nee Stewart), and educated at Ardrossan
Academy, James Porteous Taylor died peacefully at Balclutha Hospital after a short illness, on December 28, aged
93.
He is survived by wife of 67 years Stella, and children Tom, Barbara, Alan and Ian.
— Richard Davison