RAF Noblefield, located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur was the Head Quarters of number 656 Squadron and operated Auster AOP Mk 9 aircraft in the "Recce Liaison" role. The Squadron was made up of several semi autonomous flights, each with their own area of responsibility located between Singapore and the Thai border. Consisting of a mixture of Army and RAF personnel, the flights undertook a wide variety of tasks in support of ground forces during the Malayan "Emergency". Typical of those tasks were locating terrorist camps, target marking for rocket and bombing attacks, supplies and leaflet dropping and providing communications. The aircraft frequently operated from small jungle airstrips and rubber plantations. During the period of the Malayan Emergency 656 Squadron Austers flew over 150,000 hours. More than any other squadron. Personnel posted to the squadron usually spent a few weeks at Noblefield on aircraft familiarisation before being posted to their respective flights. In my case it was to 1911 Flight at RNAS Sembawang on Singapore Island.
