General Service Medal (1962 -): Leading Aircraftsman G O Penny, RAAF

General Service Medal (1962 - ) with clasp 'MALAYA PENINSULA'. Engraved around edge with recipient's details.

Associated with the service of A17162 Leading Aircraftman Graham Owen Penny. The medal, with the clasp 'Malaya Peninsula', was awarded for the completion of 30 or more sorties by aircraft crews engaged in operational patrols over the waters surrounding the Malay Peninsula / Singapore during the period 13 June 1965 to 11 August 1966.

Penny was born on 30 January 1935. In the 1950s he enlisted in the Australian Army and served at Korea from 15 February 1955 to 6 February 1956 with 1 Royal Australian Regiment (RAR). The Korean War had ended before Penny was sent to Korea. The end of the war came with the signing of an armistice on 27 July 1953, but Australian forces remained in Korea for nearly four more years in a peacekeeping role. Between 1953 and 1956 the Australian battalions in Korea were primarily involved with fortifications, rehabilitation and training. 1 RAR was withdrawn from Korea in March 1956. Other Australian personnel remained with the Commonwealth Contingent, until it was dissolved in August 1957.

By 1963 Penny had enlisted into the Royal Australian Air Force. In 1963 Penny was injured in a service transport accident while serving with No 1 Control and Reporting Unit . He later served in the Malayan Peninsula / Singapore area between June 1965 and August 1966. Between 1962 and 1966 Indonesia and Malaysia fought a small, undeclared war which came to involve troops from Australia and Britain. The actual war began when Indonesia launched a series of cross-border raids into Malaysian territory in early 1963.

Australian units which fought during Confrontation did so as part of a larger British and Commonwealth force under overall British command. Australia's commitment to operations against Indonesia in Borneo and West Malaysia fell within the context of its membership in the Far East Strategic Reserve. Altogether, two infantry battalions, two squadrons of the Special Air Service, a troop of the Royal Australian Signals, several artillery batteries and parties of the Royal Australian Engineers were involved in Borneo. Ships of the Royal Australian Navy served in the surrounding waters and several RAAF squadrons were also involved in Confrontation. Continuing negotiations between Indonesia and Malaysia ended the conflict, and the two sides signed a peace treaty in Bangkok in August 1966.