Charles Vyner Brooke of Sarawak
Sarawak's thriving economy attracted unwanted Japanese attention
The one hundred year rule of the White Rajahs of Sarawak was about to come to an abrupt end.
James Brooke had laid the groundwork, his nephew Charles was the builder and Vyner Brooke was left to face the oncoming Japanese invasion.
Early Years
Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke was the eldest son the the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke. He had been born at Albermarle Street in London on September 26, 1874 and educated in Sarawak and later at Cleveden and Magdalene College Cambridge. On July 31, 1891 he was declared heir apparent to the throne of Sarawak with the title Rajah Muda and became Aide-de-camp to his father, the Rajah.
While in England he served as a 2nd lieutenant in the 3rd County of London Yeomanry. Here also, he met and married Sylvia Leonora Brett on February 21, 1911 and returned to Sarawak with her.
Off to War
After serving in a number of positions under his father, Charles Vyner became Administrator of Dyaks in 1916. No long afterwards, wanting to do his bit for the British war effort during the Great War, he returned to England and enlisted incognito as a private in Anti-Aircraft Defence and later worked in Shoreditch as a fitter at the aircraft manufacturing plant there. When his father died in 1917 he returned to Sarawak and was proclaimed Rajah at Kuching in May. His wife, Sylvia was named Ranee.
The Last Rajah
Sarawak’s economy continued to prosper under the White Rajah as rubber and oil production boomed. The rise in the economy enabled Charles Vyner to modernize the public service and other institutions. He was granted a knighthood in 1927. Brooke’s administration was popular with the people and he continued to keep Christian missionaries out and foster most local traditions with the exception of head-hunting and cannibalism.
By the early 1940’s it was becoming apparent that the Japanese Empire had ambitions in his direction. Before the Japanese arrived Sir Charles Vyner evacuated himself and his family to Australia. It was well he did for on December 25, 1941 the Japanese invaded. The Sarawak Rangers vainly attempted to defend the island but were overrun. The Rajah remained in exile in Sydney for the duration of the war. In time the Japanese were driven back from their conquests in the Pacific and Australian troops liberated Sarawak on September 11, 1945. Sir Charles Vyner returned to Kuching in April 1946.
His tenor as Rajah was near an end, however, for on July 1 he ceded Sarawak to Britain as a crown colony in exchange for a continuance of his styles and titles and a large pension.
The Rajah and Ranee returned to England with their three daughters, Leonora, Elizabeth, and Nancy to reside in London. Here Sir Charles Vyner died on May 9, 1963. He was buried with the other Rajahs of Sarawak at Sheepstor churchyard. Four months later his beloved Sarawak was incorporated, despite opposition from portions of the populace, into the Federation of Malaysia.
Bibliography:
Barley, Nigel. White Rajah. London:Time Warner, 2002
Pybus, Cassandra, The White Rajahs of Sarawak, Douglas McIntyre 1997
Reece, R.H.W., The Name of Brooke: The End of White Rajah Rule in Sarawak, 1993
Reece, R.H.W., The White Rajahs of Sarawak: A Borneo Journey, Archipelago Press 2004
Runciman, Steven, The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946,Cambridge University Press, 1960
Encyclopedia Britannica
Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia
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