Lancelot Alban SEARLE (aka Lance) [1915-1954]

From IWM see here

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Lancelot Alban Searle CPM, Head of Special Branch, Malay Police, Selangor Province. was born 25 February 1915, educated at the Imperial Service College and Jesus, Cambridge. Joined Colonial Police Service in 1936 in Hong Kong and worked for two years in Canton. Returned to Hong Kong in 1938 where he remained until the Japanese invasion of December 1941. He was interned until the war ended in 1945, during which time he met his future wife, Sheilah Mackinlay, who he married within a few days of peace (15 September 1945 at St. John's Cathedral). He returned to policing and by 1949 was Commandant of the Training School. In 1950 he moved to Malaya and was at once posted to the Special Branch in Johore where he joined the Communist Section. In 1952 he received his first independent command as Head of Special Branch, Selangor Province. He developed effective tactics against Communist terrorists in conjunction with the military authorities . He received the Colonial Police Medal in the New Years Honours List in 1953 and received his award from General Templer at the Queen's Birthday Parade on 6 June 1953. He was shot by terrorists in April 1954 and died at the General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, on 20 April. He was awarded the Selangor Distinguished Service Medal posthumously.

Lance Searle.

According to Wright-Nooth's book - Superintendent Searle was sent from HKP to Malayan Police Special Branch (in 1950). He was killed by 'friendly fire' in an ambush near Selangor on 20th May 1954.

See also............

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cIz9Cfk0T0MC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=l...