Johor Military Force, Johore Bahru, Johore

Side gates to Johor Military Forces(JMF) HQ, Bukit Timbalan Johore Bahru

An array of cannons in front of the HQ

JMF HQ, Johore Bahru

JMF HQ Front gates, with the JMF Crest

The Johor Military Force ( JMF) – Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri Johore, was raised as an independent army formation in 1885. Johore is the first state and only state to have an army under the sultan. It was not only a private army, but it served to protect the state and assisted the existing police constabulary that was already established in Johor in 1855 to maintain law and order. The founder of the force was Sultan Sir Ibrahim Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Sir Abu Bakar ( 1873 – 1959). Its first commandant was an English officer by the name of Captain Newland, while the first Malay to be commissioned as an officer was Captain Daud Sulaiman.
The JMF was accorded royal colours on May 11, 1916. As such, the JMF was established much earlier than the Royal Malay Regiment ( Askar Malayu).

During WW2, the JMF was not included in the defence of Singapore ( they were under the command of the AIF in the operations area of Johore though) – However, a JMF Head dress Badge ( similar to the one on the gates of JMF HQ, see pictures above) was found in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral, Singapore as part of the excavation finds exhibition located in the Welcome Centre of the Church. Probably, some JMF men assisted with the ambulance companies to transfer the wounded ? from the battle in Malaya to Singapore as St Andrews Cathedral then was a makeshift hospital during the war.