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Some corrections to the Sarawak Rangers entry here. Firstly, the Sarawak Rangers were formed in 1862 under the 1st Rajah Sir James Brooke. The first commandant was William Henry Rodway, who took command on Oct. 2, 1862. Secondly, Rodway was not a British officer, rather he had been a member of the Torquay Volunteers, which was a home defense volunteer force.
When Rodway took charge of the Sarawak Rangers, they were a group of about 24 men, mostly undisciplined and untrained. He was only in command of the rangers for about a year before he was transferred to Mukah.
Rodway returned to Kuching in 1872 and once again he was given command of the Sarawak Rangers. This time around, he was able to devote time to recruiting and training the rangers and it was during this time that he also supervised the building of Fort Margherita, which was the rangers' homebase.
When Rodway retired in 1883, the Sarawak Rangers, was a disciplined, uniformed force, numbering 131.
The Sarawak Rangers continued to exist until 1932 when they were absorbed into the Sarawak Constabulary. They were reformed into the Sarawak Rangers in 1941; captured and disbanded by the Japanese in 1942; in 1953, Iban trackers, who were former members of the Sarawak Rangers were employed by the British military to fight in Malaya.
Sources for this information: The Rajah's officers 1841-1946 (W. Barry-Smith), Administrators and their serive (Naimah Talib), Sarawak Gazette and Rodway Family Archives
--Eve8camp 18:10, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
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