No Drums to Beat - No Flags to Fly
By E. B. Parkes
Published by Minerva Press, London
ISBN 0754113353
Published 2000
As Europe and America were rebuilding after World War II and the destruction and death of
their loved ones and heroes, a small, less noticeable group of soldiers was embarking for
another conflict amid the steamy, dirty jungles of Malaya, against the new enemy of communist
guerrillas. With the country's attention fixed on problems at home and the Korean War, the
author's platoon is alone, searching for an enemy with no mercy and no rules in the midst of
leeches, disease and frightened locals - only now have they had their story told.
This is the story of 10 Platoon D Company The 1st Battalion The Worcestershires Regiment in
Malaya. No better and no worse than any other platoon and comprising Regulars and a motley
group of National Servicemen butchers, bakers and the usual troublemakers. Set in the
aftermath of the Second World War, those countries which had once been occupied by the
now-defeated Japanese were left with only one thought in mind independence. Soon, countries
such as Indo-China, Korea and Malaya were in open combat with communist guerrillas.
Malaya was a British protectorate and any defeat for Britain could prove disastrous for the
recovery of the British economy. It was into this scenario that 10 Platoon was thrust to fight
a vicious enemy who asked for no quarter and to whom none was given. This fascinating book
recounts the views and experiences of a Private Soldier of that Platoon in a very moving,
forthright and straightforward way.