IT was a war that raged for 12 years but is now almost forgotten, except by those who fought in it.

The Malayan War has been all but erased from British history, but for soldiers like Keith Swift it was a formative experience.

"Today people don't know anything about it," said Keith, 65, from Ribchester, who has just penned a book about his experiences in Malaya in 1957.

"They've never heard of it before, yet over 3,000 soldiers were killed and 12,000 were wounded. When I was researching the background I got some information from the New York Central Library that isn't available in this country. America is far more honest about its history than we are. It's not a great moment in British history, principally because we adopted such an oppressive attitude towards the Malayan people."

Certainly today's politically correct ruling powers would be far from proud of their predecessors' rule in Malaya.

War broke out when the country's communist party, having helped the British to drive out the Japanese during World War Two, suddenly found the Labour government backtracking on Malayan independence and social reform and instead siding with the traditional Malay rulers.

Britain's main motivation in the conflict was both fear of communism and the economic lure of Malaya's tin mines and rubber plantations. In the jungle warfare that followed, Keith tells of 400,000 Malayan villagers being forcibly resettled away from the jungle and some Scots Guards displaying the heads of dead terrorists as trophies. He said: "We contravened the Geneva Convention in Malaya. On the other hand, though, we did the job.

"Heaven knows what it would have been like if we hadn't. At least we didn't end up with a Vietnam on our hands."

Indeed, military historians often contrast Britain's successful tactics in suppressing the rebellion with America's less successful stance in Vietnam.

However, Keith's book, entitled Swifty's War, does not dwell on the politics of war, but rather on the human aspect.

He said: "I wanted to give the reality of the experience. I wanted to show how a young man, who was really totally naive, was drawn into the Army and sent into the Malayan jungle. As a young person thrown into that area, together with people from some of the roughest areas in Britain, you are like putty and you take on different characteristics. It was quite an experience. I've tried to make it funny, but I wanted to show the reality of war by not having a hero. I'm not sure exactly what the word hero means. It's just a lot of men trying to cope as best they can."

The fact that Keith, an 18-year-old butcher's lad from Preston, ended up in the conflict at all was as a result of having to do National Service. He said: "I went into the Army, did my National Service, and came out. They tried to persuade me to sign on, but no chance!

"I hear a lot of people from my generation talking about bringing back National Service. They don't know what they're talking about.

"The Army brutalises people. It attracted a lot of people who would never get in there now."

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This colourful cast of characters certainly makes for entertaining reading, as Keith vividly sketches personalities like the bungling Lieutenant O'Silvan, ferocious sergeant "Big Mick" and the Boys' Own-style Major Coker, who reprimands a platoon for being a "dastardly bunch of low men" when they disobey orders.

Alongside these he includes much of the humorous banter that was swapped between the lads from Lancashire and Liverpool who suddenly found themselves in the jungle.

Keith also had fun revisiting the hot-headed, naive young boxer who was himself in his Army days.

He said: "You suddenly realise who you are. I have a lot more empathy with people growing up in today's society. I don't think most adults are very sympathetic with teenagers.

"When I was that age I was quite physical and I wasn't scared of anything, but some of the things that happened to me in Malaya just threw me."

Some of the gruelling incidents Keith describes include a two-day patrol waist-deep in a swamp, a brief trip as an escort to the barbaric military prison and dozens of nights spent crawling through the menacing jungle terrain.

Keith said: "I once read a book called The Jungle is Neutral, but the jungle was never neutral for me. It was hell on earth, particularly for people brought up in towns and cities.

"It was a horrific experience. A few of the men died of jungle fever and one guy was killed by lightning. The fighting was all about night ambush and being eaten alive by mosquitoes and white ants."

Upon his return to Preston, Keith worked as a butcher for 12 years before he quit his job to take a history degree at Lancaster University.

He followed this with a post graduate diploma from the University of Central Lancashire and moved into the teaching profession.

He is now a happily married father-of-four who, in spite of his reservations about National Service, feels his experiences opened up new opportunities for him. "Following my time in Malaya, I realised I had options. It freed me from the constraints of staying in one job. I think it gave me a much bigger view of the world."

Buy 'Swifty's War' on-line now...