I figured this is a topic which would appeal to my fellow Australian readers. and it serves as a nice intro to a series of posts on Australian Army Lightweight/Patrol rations from the 1940s to the present day. Chin Peng, the Communist guerrilla leader who worked with Chapman, had this to say in his excellent book MY SIDE OF HISTORY:

The Jungle Is Neutral Book Review - 1119 Words | Internet The Jungle Is Neutral Book Review - 1119 Words | Internet

If you don't want to read it for the war or the jungle it equally works as a rather insane example of victory snatched from the jaws of defeat...... We live in an era when thousands of utterly rank books are published every year claiming to offer 'inspirational' or 'motivational' advice, churning out the same pap trash. If you want to read something truly inspiring, "The Jungle is Neutral" may not necessarily be an easy read, but it's certainly an inspirational one. It will help put into perspective any problems or adversity you face. Anyway, onto the review. Chapman's story is focused entirely on the three years he spent in the Malayan jungle just before and during the Japanese occupation of Malaya (Malaysia today). During that time, he trained and lived with Chinese guerillas, was captured by and escaped from the Japanese, collected plant and flower samples, wrote training manuals and newsletters and most of all, gives us a very real account of the jungle being your home. It is, perhaps, a bit dated in its language and attitudes, it is nevertheless an extraordinary testament to the human capacity for survival. Rather than present war as heroic, he portrays it as exhausting, frightening and chaotic spells interspersing the tedium and routine. These army patrol ration dehydrated meals were developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s Food and Nutrition section in Scottsdale in Tasmania and are available to ADF personnel in a wide range of flavours in the different PR1M menus.Perentie Land Rovers are more than just an offroad vehicle; they’re a versatile platform that can be adapted to a wide range of uses. Its rugged construction, off-road capabilities, and modular design make it an ideal choice for anyone looking for a dependable and adaptable 4WD. Whether you’re planning an overland expedition, a weekend camping trip, or simply need a robust vehicle for work, the Perentie has you covered. And with the wealth of spare parts and upgrades available, you have the freedom to tailor your Perentie to meet your specific needs and preferences. It’s a vehicle that invites you to engage with it, to make it your own, and to explore the world on your terms. After his return from Lhasa, Chapman obtained permission to lead a five-man expedition from Sikkim to the holy mountain Chomolhari, which the British group had passed on the way from Sikkim to Tibet in July 1936. Chapman and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama succeeded to become the first mountaineers to climb the 7314 m high peak, which they finally reached from the Bhutanese side after finding the route from the Tibetan side impassable. The mountain would not be climbed again until 1970. The Mission to the Tibetan capital departed from Gangtok (Sikkim) in late July 1936 and left Tibet just over six months later in February 1937. The aim of the Mission was to advise the Regent of Tibet and his Cabinet, to persuade the Panchen Lama to return from China where he had fled, and, if possible, to establish permanent British representation in Lhasa. The mission personnel, under the leadership of Gould, included Hugh Richardson, the British Trade Agent at Gyantse, and Lieutenant Evan Nepean, one of two telegraph operators sent from the Royal Signal Corps. Commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders as a lieutenant on 6 June 1939, [11] Chapman was chosen for a mission in Australia to train Australian and New Zealand forces in guerrilla warfare and eventually to join what was then Special Training School 101 (STS 101) in Singapore. One of the main objects of this school was the organisation of parties to stay behind in areas the Japanese might overrun. In August 1941, a plan for stay-behind parties that would include local Indians, Chinese and Malays was proposed, but this was rejected by the British colonial governor, Sir Shenton Thomas, as extravagant and defeatist. Had permission been granted, Chapman speculated that the effect of the trained guerrilla forces would have delayed the Japanese invasion long enough for British reinforcements to arrive in Singapore, and Singapore might not have fallen. [12] The decisions and outcomes of these groups were not predetermined by destiny nor fate nor lottery. It was the investors’ actions that led to the results they got. That’s it. Actions that were under their control. Actions that are freely available to any market participant, if they choose.

Freddie Spencer Chapman - Wikipedia

Chapman's main role in the Mission was to decipher telegraphs, but in reality he did much more than this. 'I have to take film and still photos, do bird, plant and bug work, some survey, and personal work for Gould''. He was also responsible for keeping the Mission Diary, which was accompanied by photographs and sent off to the Government of India each week. Chapman spent his spare time bird-watching (an interest shared with Richardson), hill-climbing, and taking and developing photographs. He was also a major exponent of the British Mission's entertainment programme. He spent many hours editing and sorting cine film (much of which he had made himself in Tibet) to show to Tibetan audiences at the British Mission house, the Dekyi Lingka. He was also one of the keenest players in the 'Mission Marmots' football team. It was due (in part) to these activities that the Mission made a favourable impression on the residents of Lhasa and in particular Chapman's 'open, cheerful friendliness went down well with the Tibetans'. After his return from Lhasa in 1937 Chapman secured permission to lead a small climbing expedition to the Tibetan holy mountain, Chomolhari. Chapman and a Sherpa named Passang Dawa succeeded in becoming the first mountaineers to reach the 24,000ft. summit. Tibet also provided Chapman with material for two new books ' Lhasa: The Holy City (1938) and Helvellyn to Himalaya (1940). After the fall of Malaysia to the Japanese, the unflappable F. Spencer Chapman survived for years in the jungle as a guerilla fighter. The Jungle is Neutral is his amazing tale of survival and valor against all odds. After the war, Chapman was asked to form a school in Germany for the sons and daughters of British Forces and Control Commission Civilians resident in the British Zone of occupied Germany. This school, the King Alfred School, Plön, for children 11 to 18 years of age, used the German naval establishment at Plön in Schleswig-Holstein where Admiral Dönitz had resided during the last days of World War II. Chapman, as headmaster, set up the school, organised the teachers, arranged for the alterations to accept both boys and girls, and then in one day in 1948 accepted 400 young boys and girls into what was possibly the first successful comprehensive, co-educational boarding school in the world. His dynamism and understanding of the requirements of young people were the guiding influence in setting up the school to become a first class success story which lasted for 11 years. He was relieved after its successful commencement, at which time he continued in educational work as Headmaster of St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, South Africa [17] (1956–61) Then Warden at the Pestalozzi Children’s Village Sedlescombe between (1962–66) and Warden of Wantage Hall at the University of Reading (1966–71).Chapman was attached as "ski expert and naturalist" to Gino Watkins' 1930–31 British Arctic Air Route Expedition. Expedition members included John Rymill and Augustine Courtauld. He also joined Watkins' subsequent fatal Greenland Expedition of 1932–33, which was led by Rymill after Watkins' death. [7] [8] Chapman experienced cold of such intensity that he lost all his finger and toe nails. He spent twenty hours in a storm at sea in his kayak and at one point fell into a deep crevasse, saving himself by holding onto the handles of his dog sled. He later led a three-man team across the desolate Greenland ice-cap. The first European to do this since Nansen, he became fluent in the Inuit language and was an able kayaker and dog sledger. Chapman, with the other expedition members, was awarded the Polar Medal, with the clasp Arctic 1930–1931, after the successful first expedition. [9] My Perentie FFR in “expedition” mode at Normanton in Queensland’s Gulf Country on my way from Darwin to Cape York Memoirs of a Mountaineer (combined reprint of Lhasa: The Holy City and Helvellyn to Himalaya ). London: The Reprint Society and Chatto & Windus, 1945. However, not all soldiers capitulated. Some soldiers viewed the jungle opportunistically, with supplies and cover available for all: