Malaysia produced two extraordinary fighter pilots during World War II, Henry and Cyril Talalla, who flew Spitfires, Typhoons, and Mustangs over occupied Europe. Born in Kuala Lumpur to a Sinhalese immigrant, they became the first Asian and non-European pilots in the RAF, facing extreme danger in low-level missions against German forces.
MALAYSIA has given the world many things: the best food on the planet, a building that was briefly the tallest on Earth and, as it turns out, at least two of the most extraordinary fighter pilots of the Second World War.
The Talalla brothers of Kuala Lumpur flew Spitfires, Typhoons and Mustangs over occupied Europe at a time when most Malaysians had never even seen an aeroplane. Henry Conrad Benjamin Talalla and Cyril Lionel Francis Talalla were the two eldest sons of a Sinhalese immigrant who became one of Kuala Lumpur's most respected businessmen and, crucially, an early aviation enthusiast who passed his love of flying on to his boys.
Both Henry, known as Sonny, and Cyril, known as Jimmy, attended the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, joined the Kuala Lumpur Flying Club and had each obtained their pilot's licence before leaving school. When Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, their father told both brothers he would like them to join the Royal Air Force, and the pair simply complied.
The local Malayan press reported proudly in January 1941 that Cyril had become the first Asian and non-European to pass the rigorous RAF entrance tests, selected from almost two dozen applicants. Cyril made his way to Europe via Perth, Sydney and Canada before arriving in Britain as a Sergeant Pilot. Henry, who had initially failed his medical due to his slight build, spent six more months in Malaya building up his strength before following his brother.
As Henry took the last seat on the aircraft out of the old Kuala Lumpur airport in Sungei Besi Road, it was the last time his family would ever see him. Henry was eventually posted to 182 Squadron, Second Tactical Air Force, flying Typhoon fighter-bombers, aircraft capable of exceeding 400 miles per hour and assigned to the most dangerous low-level missions against German Panzer columns.
Cyril, meanwhile, was posted to No. 118 Squadron flying Spitfires, and his first kill was reported in a British newspaper, though without any mention of his Malaysian identity.
"My fire burst sent pieces flying off it," Cyril said of the Focke-Wulf he downed over the Dutch coast. In June 1943, Cyril was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Both brothers took part in the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, but tragedy however, followed seven weeks later. At 11.45am on July 25, Henry's Typhoon was one of four planes attacking German tanks at Fontenay-le-Marmion, six miles south of Caen, when intense anti-aircraft fire struck his aircraft.
His plane came down in the field of a French farmer named Louis Brée between the towns of Airan and Moult, where his body was found and buried by members of the Maquis, the French Resistance. Cyril obtained permission to fly over the area to search for the crash site but was unable to locate it among the mangled, smoking landscape below.
By Christmas Eve 1944, Cyril had completed his 250th and final sortie, and was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace in March 1945, officially credited with destroying four enemy aircraft. Henry's remains were later reburied at the Banneville-la-Campagne British Cemetery, and on Sept 29, 1996, the mayors of Airan and Moult named the road between the two villages Route Henry Talalla in his honour.
Cyril returned to Malaya in October 1945 as a flight lieutenant, later ferrying Tunku Abdul Rahman and cabinet ministers around the country for the Federation Air Services before joining Malayan Airways. He retired to Wales in 1963, ran a popular pub in Llangerdeine and passed away on Aug 18, 1973, at the age of 53. QuickCheck: Has a crocodile been sighted near Penang's Pulau Rimau? QuickCheck: Is there a flaw in the Health Ministry's safety labelling system?
World War II Malaysia RAF Fighter Pilots Aviation
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