The GSM 1962 w/clasps Borneo and Malay Peninsula awarded to 17322 M.E.1 D.B. McDowell for service on HMNZS Santon during the Indonesion Confrontation.

 

No biographical information regarding the recipient of this medal has been ascertained.

 

In early 1965, during the Indonesian Confrontation the government of New Zealand offered military assistance to the newly formed Federation of Malaysia. The offer took the form of the RNZN manning two Royal Navy Ton-class minesweepers Hickleton and Santon then held in reserve at Singapore. They would conduct anti-infiltration patrols to counter the increasingly aggressive Indonesian actions toward Malaysia. The Royal Navy would meet the running costs of the two ships while the RNZN paid the ship’s companies. During their deployment Hickleton undertook 173 patrols and Santon 167. Twenty incidents involved intercepting small craft and taking Indonesian infiltrators as POWs. Minesweeping and visits to Hong Kong broke up the day-to-day routine.

 

The medal is correctly impressed  McDOWELL D.B. 17322 M.E.1. HMNZS SANTON