General templer and counter-insurgency in Malaya: hearts and minds,intelligence, and propaganda

General Sir Gerald Templer's period as High Commissioner for Malaya (1952–54) has provoked considerable and enduring controversy. To his admirers, he turned the tide of the Malayan Emergency in Britain's favour by combining a more vigorous prosecution of the war against the communist insurgents with a well-judged civilian campaign designed to win ‘hearts and minds’. To his detractors, he arrived with the turning tide, benefiting from the policies of his predecessors, particularly in the field of population control and rural resettlement. This article scrutinizes recent contributions to the debate which attempt to downgrade Templer's importance, and seeks to reach a balanced judgement on his role in defeating communist insurgency in Malaya.