Templer, Sir Gerald (1898-1979), was a British field marshal who served as high commissioner in Malaya (now Malaysia) from 1952 to 1954. This was at the height of the Malayan Emergency, during which Communist forces tried to seize control of Malaya.
Gerald Walter Robert Templer was born on Sept. 11, 1898, in Colchester, England. He was the son of an army officer. Templer served in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945).
When Templer was posted to Malaya in 1952, he faced a critical situation. A Communist revolt had begun in 1948, and for the first four years, the United Kingdom’s colonial administration achieved little success against the rebels. But Templer took vigorous and decisive action against the Communists. At the same time, he won much support from the Malayan people by granting them greater self-government.
When Templer left in 1954, the Communists were no longer a serious threat to the Malayan government. In 1955, Templer became chief of the United Kingdom’s Imperial General Staff. Templer was knighted in 1949. He died on Oct. 25, 1979.
