Mutiny of the 13th Lancashire Bn Parachute Regt.
 

I have just seen a reference to the "Mutiny of the 13th (Lancashire ) Battaliion, Parachute Regiment " on a medal website.

Something I have never heard of before and I wonder if someone can give some background to the event and a description of what actually took place please.

Thanks

P.B.

found this online

Mutiny and disbandment
On their return from Java, the 13th Parachute Battalion was stationed at Muar Camp in Malaya. The camp consisted of tents with no electricity, and no facilities for washing, cooking or recreation. Unhappy with the conditions, at 07:00 on 14 May around 260 privates grouped together and refused to disperse when ordered to do so by the orderly officer. The commanding officer then spoke to the men and ordered them to return to duty, which they again refused to do. That afternoon the commanding general arrived and spoke to them. They were then ordered to fall in and when they failed to comply, 258 men were taken into military custody.[97] A Court of Inquiry was held which decided the 258 men were to stand trial for mutiny. In the trial, three men were acquitted, eight were sentenced to five years' penal servitude and discharged from the army, and the rest were given two years imprisonment with hard labour and discharged.[97] Two days after sentencing, the Secretary of State for War quashed all the convictions, stating that the Judge Advocate-General had advised him that there were, "a number of irregularities of a substantial nature which may well have prejudiced the accused individually. These irregularities in his opinion rendered the trial as a whole so unsatisfactory that the convictions ought not to be allowed to stand."[98]
The brigade spent two months in Malaya, before being ordered to rejoin the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine.[99] The 13th Parachute Battalion was disbanded before leaving Malaya, and the remainder of the brigade arrived at Nathanya in Palestine on 5 August 1946. Shortly after disembarking, orders were received that the brigade was to be disbanded. Of the two remaining parachute battalions, the 7th was amalgamated with the 17th Parachute Battalion, retaining the number of the senior battalion, and the 12th Parachute Battalion was disbanded. Any men not immediately demobbed were distributed among the other battalions in the division. On 13 September, the 22nd Independent Parachute Company, no longer part of the brigade by this time, was also disbanded.[100]

Thanks Lionel.

P.B.

I was told many years back that because of this mutiny it was decided that the title `Royal ` would not be awarded to the Parachute regt as had been planned ?? cant proove this but heard it off a lot of old sweats .

I am curious to know how many of the members of 13 Bn The Parachute Regiment were conscripts.

Phil

Trevor Laker (Oldguern)
 

I was there. One of the 50 new recruits flown out to join the 13th on their return from Java. Now 95 years old.How many of us still here?

Sorry. 93 not 95 years old.
Oldguern.

How fascinating. Welcome to the forum. Can you tell us your side and what you saw please?

Would you know what the ‘number of irregularities of a substantial nature’ were at the trials that saw all the convictions quashed?

Before today I’d not heard of this story but am intrigued.

Mutiny
 

My Dad was part of this mutiny, I remember him telling me about it when I was young. I also have news paper cuttings he kept from the time. How would I find out the names of the soldiers initially charged please? Thank you.

I arrived in Muar as part of 50 (just finished our training) reinforcements for the 13th para's who were yet to arrive from Java and who arrived approx a week or two later. (To me, conditions did not appear to be too bad, but this was the reasons quoted for some of the discontent)
They were a seasoned lot having fought their way through the ardennes and other battles and there were a number of them that you would not want to cross.(A good reason to keep quiet when later we were asked if we were opting out or staying with the regiment)A rumour started doing the rounds that we were about to go on two weeks of "Intensive Jungle Training". That started things off!. The word Strike was heard and things developed to the point that a regiment of, I think it was The Cameroons were called in and took control.We were all shipped across west to Kluang, an abandoned Japanese air strip on which there were a series of tented compounds to house 265 of us and the Hangers there were used for our Court Marshall.
When the sentences were all Quashed, we got our back pay and leave in Singapore and were then disbanded. I found myself in the Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry and shipped to Cypress.