Sir Henry Gurney (1898-1951)

Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney KCMG K.St.J. (27 June 1898–6 October 1951) was a British High Commissioner in Malaya in the post-war, 13 Sept/1 Oct 1948-6 Oct 1951. His story is also covered in Wikipedia on Kuala Kubu Bharu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gurney
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Kubu_Bharu
Hospital Kuala Kubu Bahru

The Henry Gurney School for juvenile delinquents was established in Malacca and was named in his honour. The Gurney Drive in Penang was named after him.

He was assassinated by communist insurgents while on a weekend trip from Raub to Fraser's Hill during the Malayan Emergency. His silver Rolls Royce was ambushed and had 35 bullet holes. He stepped out into the firing squad so his wife and his secretary could escape unhurt. His tombstone has this inscription:

'Greater Love Hath No Man Than This That A Man Lay Down His Life for His Friends' 

His Rolls Royce was later used by Raja Sir Tun Uda Al-Haj bin Raja Muhammad, the first Governor of Penang 1957-1967. The Rolls Rice is now part of the open display at the Penang Museum in George Town, Penang.

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Mokhtar Petah wrote a different story about Sir Henry Gurney's death. He wrote that Sir Henry Gurney did not die in the hands of communists. Sir Henry Gurney was shot by a Malay independence activist and soldier named Awang Ali from the 10th Malay Regiment, Pahang. He was shot while on his way from Kuala Kubu to Fraser's Hill. Sir Henry Gurney died on 5 October 1951, at the height of the Malay uprising following the dissolution of the Malayan Union, during the Malayan Emergency.
http://mokhtarpetah.blogspot.com/2008/04/sejarah-di-sebalik-bukit-fraser.html

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FUNERAL PROCESSION OF SIR HENRY GURNEY 1951
From Facebook

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HENRY GURNEY SCHOOL IN TELOK EMAS, MELAKA
13-19 September 1953
Photo from my grandfather's & father's collection.

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HENRY GURNEY JAIL (prison)
Rumah Pasong