Major Tom Harrisson, the Commando who Gave the Order to Take Heads in Borneo

Tom Harrisson first set foot in Borneo in the year 1932.  Charles Elton, chairman of the Oxford Exploration Club, asked Harrisson to lead an expedition to explore the flora and fauna of Sarawak, a 50,000 square mile state on the island of Borneo.  Within a few week of their arrival in Borneo, the expedition of mostly young men journeyed inland and met the headhunters of Borneo.

Harrisson fell in love with the headhunters.  Harrisson said, “I found in these people something I had been looking for without success in the west.  Answers to an unhappiness I had not learnt to analyse and offset on my own.”   Among the natives, the restless and unhappy Harrisson found acceptance and forgiveness.  For the first time in his life, he felt that he belonged to a society.  In December of 1932, the expedition departed Borneo and Harrisson soon left for another expedition to New Guinea.

Mass Observation Project and World War II

Harrisson led another expedition, this time living with cannibals in the New Hebrides.  After a few years, he arrived back in England and became part of a group called the Mass Observation project.  The purpose of the Mass Observation project was to “provide the first comprehensive and sophisticated account of British opinion in a time of rapid flux.”  Harrisson successfully led the Mass Observation project until April 1942 when the military called him up to active duty.  He enjoyed life as an ordinary soldier until June 1943.  That month saw Harrisson’s selection to the Officer Cadet Training Unit and his successful graduation as a second lieutenant.

Colonel E. Egerton Mott summoned Harrisson to his office in early 1944 and told Harrisson that the Colonel’s organization, Special Operations Executive, need a few good men to go to Borneo and cause trouble for the occupying Japanese.  Harrisson leapt at the chance to go back to the country and people he loved.

Major Tom Harrisson Arrives Back in Borneo

Now a Major, Tom Harrisson and seven members of SEMUT 1 went to Borneo in April of 1945 to organize resistance against the Japanese.  SEMUT 1 was part of the Australian “Z” special unit and the members of his team were battle-hardened commandos.  Harrisson fought is superiors for an airdrop into central Borneo, his superiors wanted to do a seaborne insertion.  Harrisson conducted an airborne reconnaissance mission and the results convinced his superiors of the Harrisson’s plan.
Harrisson and his commandoes parachuted into the clouds above the Plain of Bah, about ninety miles southeast of Brunei.  Three dark men in loincloths and carrying a white flag greeted the team and then escorted them to their longhouse.  The men were members of the Kelabit people, a people that Harrisson would come to call his own.  The Kelabit told Harrisson of the Japanese invasion and occupation of their area.  They told of the atrocities the Japanese had committed against the missionaries and against anyone that resisted their occupation.  The Kelabit had not dealt much with the Japanese because they were inland and the Japanese preferred to occupy the coastal areas.  Nonetheless, the Kelabit suffered because the Japanese had cut off trade with the interior peoples of the island.

Major Tom Harrisson

Harrisson Contacts Downed American Airmen

The Kelabit told Harrisson of other men that had floated down from the sky.  Harrisson asked for help in contacting the men and soon a letter arrived from Phil Corrin, one of a group of American airmen shot down over Borneo and rescued by the Dayak headhunters.  Harrisson sent chocolate, whiskey, and cigarettes to the Americans and made plans to move to Dutch Borneo where the Americans were located.

Harrisson gave orders to his men not to wear shoes.  The natives did not wear shoes and Harrisson knew that if a Japanese soldier saw a boot print they would know that allied soldiers were in the area.  The newly arrived SEMUT senior medical officer, Doc McCallum protested to Harrisson about the order and Harrisson told the doctor he would have him shot if he countermanded the order.  McCallum decided to get away from Harrisson and journey to local villages to dispense medicine to the natives.

Harrisson spread his men thin and they suffered greatly.  Most of the men caught malaria and scrub typhus, went without eating for days at a time, suffered from dysentery and skin sores, and lost a tremendous amount of weight. Despite the hardships, all the members of Harrisson’s team survived the operation.

SEMUT 2 and the Americans

In the middle of April another commando team, SEMUT 2 appeared and almost simultaneously three of the downed American Airmen arrived in the village.  One of the Americans, Tom Capin, had lived with the Lun Dayeh for ten weeks, and was fluent in their language.  Capin and Harrisson became friends as they recovered from injuries together.  Harrisson asked Capin to teach the natives how to use the commando supplied Enfield rifles and later assigned Capin to Doc McCallum.  Later Harrisson would nominate Capin for the British Empire Medal for services rendered.

Harrisson moved his headquarters to the Dutch side of Borneo and met with the rest of the downed airmen and some Navy airmen who were also stranded.  By this time, the training of the natives to be commandos was paying off and Harrisson wanted the rescued airmen to begin their journey home.

The Americans Leave Borneo

Harrisson put the Dayaks to work at making a landing strip in the jungle; before long, a British Auster flew in to start taking the Americans home.   The landing strip was barely long enough for the two-man plane to take off.  The natives celebrated the building of the strip by lining the strip with poles adorned with Japanese heads.  Capin described the decaying odor of the heads as he boarded the Auster.  After seven months living with headhunters, one at a time, the airmen began their journey home.

Harrisson and his men fought on, even after the war ended.  During his brief time in Borneo, the commandos and guerillas of Harrisson’s team killed over 900 Japanese and provided valuable intelligence before the Australian invasion of Borneo. The successful harassment and fight against the Japanese earned Harrison the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) from his homeland.

References:

Heimann, Judith M., The Airmen and the Headhunters, Harcourt, Inc., 2007
Heimann, Judith M. The Most Offending Soul Alive, Tom Harrisson and His Remarkable Life, University of Hawaii Press, 1997
Interview with Betty Capin.