A FORGOTTEN airman from Southend has finally received a military funeral after more than 60 years of being buried in the Malaysian jungle.

Corporal Phillip Bryant, 25, died when the RAF Dakota he was on crashed into a ravine in the Malaysian jungle on August 25, 1950, during a daring mission.

His body was among those of seven RAF men and five civilians who were lost to the jungle, after being buried in shallow graves by an initial search party. In 2008, a full-scale mission was mounted to recover them.

Yesterday, the men received a full military funeral at the Cheras Road Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur.

All 12 bodies were reburied and Elizabeth Crosses given to the deceaseds’ families.

Dennis Ward, who served in the RAF for 27 years and is chairman of the Naval and Military Club, in Royal Terrace, Southend, said: “I think it is great they are all being remembered. They are no longer the forgotten few.”

UK forces were dispatched to the country to fight communist insurgents in a conflict known as the Malayan Emergency between 1948 and 1960.

The RAF Dakota, part of 52 Squadron, was dropping smoke markers near Kempong Jendera to help Lincoln bombers pinpoint communist camps before an engine failure caused it to crash.

A rescue party reached the crash site in early September 1950 after a journey of nine days on foot.

The bodies were buried near the crash site in shallow graves because of the difficult terrain and the risk of attack.

In 2008, Dennis Carpenter, the brother of navigator Geoffrey Carpenter, asked the Malaysian tourist office in Britain for a map of the area where the plane crashed.

His request ended up at the Malaysian High Commission in London, which led to a full-scale search conducted in November 2008 to recover the bodies.

Tony Reekie, chairman of the Southend Royal Air Force Association, said it was great to see Corporal Bryant and his colleagues remembered.

He said: “I think it is tragic when servicemen get forgotten, which does happen sometimes, so holding the funeral for them is good.

“If they ever decided to hold a ceremony over here in their name, I am sure our association would supply as many members as possible to parade our standard in their memory.”

l Are you a relative of Corporal Phillip Bryant? Call the Echo newsdesk on 01702 321138.