Beschreibung:

A well-documented post-War ‘Malaya Emergency’ M.C. pair awarded to Second Lieutenant J. C. Dunton, Green Howards, for gallantry and leadership while commanding a composite patrol from Support Company in an attack on the jungle camp of Phang Ngen, the Communist District Committee member for Ayer Kuning, Perak, during which they killed three M.P.L.A. terrorists (including Phang, who had a price of $13,000 on his head) and captured three other bandits, two rifles, hand grenades, ammunition and a Luger pistol Military Cross G.VI.R., 2nd issue, reverse officially dated 1952; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya, G.VI.R. (2/Lt. J. C. Dunton, M.C., Green Howards) surname partially officially corrected, nearly extremely fine (2) £3,000-£4,000 Footnote Provenance: J. B. Hayward, 1968 M.C. London Gazette 10 October 1952. The original Recommendation states: ‘On 7th August 1952 Second Lieutenant Dunton was ordered to take a patrol consisting of himself and 8 Other Ranks to investigate an area where terrorists had been reported. He entered the jungle at about 0400 hours and by 0600 hours had found what appeared to be a bandit track. He therefore deployed his patrol in an ambush position. At about 0950 hours an armed bandit entered the ambush area and as he appeared to be alone was engaged and slightly wounded. Second Lieutenant Dunton immediately seized the bandit before he could escape and persuaded him to give information which divulged the location of a camp occupied by 5 other bandits. Second Lieutenant Dunton then led his patrol stealthily but with all possible speed to within 200 yards of the camp. Here he halted and despatched half of his men to form a stop in the rear of the Camp. At 1130 hours by which time the stop had been ordered to be in position Second Lieutenant Dunton worked his way forward to the edge of the camp. The 5 bandits in the Camp at this stage became aware of the patrol but before they could take action Second Lieutenant Dunton engaged them with fire, killing three and wounding and capturing one other. The fifth was captured attempting to escape. A search of the Camp produced several arms, a quantity of ammunition, clothing, food and numerous documents. This National Service Officer by complete disregard for his personal safety, and by outstanding leadership, thus ensured the annihilation of an entire bandit camp which included a District Committee Member. His conduct in continuing the action after capturing the first bandit was most praiseworthy, as an officer of less initiative might well have returned to base flushed with success.’ John Charles Dunton was born in Hounslow on 31 July 1932, the only child of a railway clerical officer, and was educated at Bloxham School, Banbury, where he was Captain of Swimming and a member of the Cricket XI. After his eighteenth birthday he was called up for two years of National Service in the army. He attended a War Office Selection Board at Barton Stacey in September 1950 and was among the approximately one third of those appearing before the Board who were passed as suitable for officer training. Dunton arrived at the Yorkshire and Northumberland Brigade Training Centre at Strensall, Yorkshire on 7 December 1950, badged as a private in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment. After four months he was posted to Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School in Chester to begin a tough 16-week training course as a candidate for commissioning. He met the performance requirements, and in November 1951 Dunton was commissioned as a Temporary Second Lieutenant. He was posted to the Green Howards in Malaya, where he was appointed to command the [Vickers] Machine Gun Platoon in Support Company. Dunton had just turned twenty when Support Company was shifted to take over a new operational area from a new base at Temoh Hill Camp at Tapah, Perak. This Camp was a collection of attap huts which rose in serried ranks up the hillside. On 4 August 1952, ‘high-grade’ information was received that there was a