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	Comber then worked for more than twenty years in book publishing. First based in Singapore, later in Hong Kong, he was the regional representative of Heinemann Educational Books of London.<ref name="PatkeHolden2009">{{cite book\|author1=Rajeev S. Patke\|author2=Philip Holden\|title=The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT160\|date=10 September 2009\|publisher=Routledge\|isbn=978-1-135-25761-3\|pages=160–}}</ref> In 1966 he founded Heinemann Education's [[Writing in Asia Series]]. He became managing director of local Heinemann subsidiary companies established in Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, he was Publisher and Director of Hong Kong University Press.<ref name="InghamXi2003">{{cite book\|author1=Michael Ingham\|author2=Xu Xi\|title=City Voices: Hong Kong Writing in English 1945 to the Present\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2f3IAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA20\|date=1 March 2003\|publisher=Hong Kong University Press\|isbn=978-962-209-604-2\|pages=20–}}</ref>		Comber then worked for more than twenty years in book publishing. First based in Singapore, later in Hong Kong, he was the regional representative of Heinemann Educational Books of London.<ref name="PatkeHolden2009">{{cite book\|author1=Rajeev S. Patke\|author2=Philip Holden\|title=The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT160\|date=10 September 2009\|publisher=Routledge\|isbn=978-1-135-25761-3\|pages=160–}}</ref> In 1966 he founded Heinemann Education's [[Writing in Asia Series]]. He became managing director of local Heinemann subsidiary companies established in Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, he was Publisher and Director of Hong Kong University Press.<ref name="InghamXi2003">{{cite book\|author1=Michael Ingham\|author2=Xu Xi\|title=City Voices: Hong Kong Writing in English 1945 to the Present\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2f3IAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA20\|date=1 March 2003\|publisher=Hong Kong University Press\|isbn=978-962-209-604-2\|pages=20–}}</ref>

	Comber was involved{{how\|date=March ~~2022~~}} with the [[Asiaweek]] Short Story Competition, which was run annually between 1981 and 1988. He edited and wrote an introduction for ''Prizewinning Asian Fiction'', an anthology of prizewinning short stories from the competition. Throughout this period, he also wrote and edited a large number of books and articles, including several about Malayan policing and intelligence.<ref name="Duyvesteyn2013">{{cite book\|author=Isabelle Duyvesteyn\|title=Intelligence and Strategic Culture\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2cvhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT48\|date=31 October 2013\|publisher=Taylor & Francis\|isbn=978-1-317-96703-3\|pages=48–}}</ref>		Comber was involved{{how\|date=March 2017}} with the [[Asiaweek]] Short Story Competition, which was run annually between 1981 and 1988. He edited and wrote an introduction for ''Prizewinning Asian Fiction'', an anthology of prizewinning short stories from the competition. Throughout this period, he also wrote and edited a large number of books and articles, including several about Malayan policing and intelligence.<ref name="Duyvesteyn2013">{{cite book\|author=Isabelle Duyvesteyn\|title=Intelligence and Strategic Culture\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2cvhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT48\|date=31 October 2013\|publisher=Taylor & Francis\|isbn=978-1-317-96703-3\|pages=48–}}</ref>

	In 1991, he moved to [[Melbourne]], Australia, with his second wife, Takako Kawai, and their daughter. Subsequently, he became an Honorary Research Fellow at Monash Asia Institute, [[Monash University]]. At the age of 76, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Asian Studies.{{citation needed\|date=March ~~2022~~}}		In 1991, he moved to [[Melbourne]], Australia, with his second wife, Takako Kawai, and their daughter. Subsequently, he became an Honorary Research Fellow at Monash Asia Institute, [[Monash University]]. At the age of 76, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Asian Studies.{{citation needed\|date=March 2017}}

	Comber is now a visiting senior fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore.		Comber is now a visiting senior fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore.

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'''Leonard Francis Comber'''<ref name="Tan2008">{{cite book|author=Kevin Tan|title=Marshall of Singapore: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH88kpvyrdYC&pg=PA296|year=2008|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=978-981-230-878-8|pages=296–}}</ref> (born 20 September 1921) is a British military and police officer, and later book publisher, operating in British India, Malaya, [[Singapore]], [[Hong Kong]] and Australia. He was also an editor and author of books relating to South-East Asia.<ref name=star>[http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=/2008/11/30/lifefocus/2658667&sec=lifefocus "The officer who loved Malaya"]. ''The Star'', November 30, 2008 By MARTIN VENGADESAN</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Singapore|last=Corfield|first=Justin|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0810873872|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000corf/page/66 66]|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000corf/page/66}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Comber, an only child, was born in [[London]] in September 1921. His mother was married to a master bookbinder and typesetter. He was reading law at King's College, London, in 1939 when the Second World War began.

== World War II ==
During World War Two, Comber served as a British officer in the [[Indian Army]]<ref name=ahmad>[http://web.usm.my/km/34(1)2016/km34012016_06.pdf "BOOK REVIEW: Templer and the Road to Malayan Independence: The Man and His Time"]. ''Kajian Malaysia'', Vol. 34, No. 1, 2016, 135–138. Abu Talib Ahmad, Penerbit University Sains Malaysia</ref> and took part in military operations in Assam and Burma.<ref name="Corfield2010">{{cite book|author=Justin Corfield|title=Historical Dictionary of Singapore|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000corf|url-access=registration|date=2 December 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7387-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000corf/page/66 66]–}}</ref> At the end of the war, he was among those who landed at Morib Beach, [[Selangor]], on the west coast of Malaya, and witnessed the surrender of Japanese forces in [[Kelantan]].

== Malaya ==
Following service with the British Military Administration of Malaya (BMA), he was appointed to the British Colonial Service (Malayan Police) when the army handed over administration of the country to the civilian government in April 1946. Leon Comber, a Chinese speaker, spent most of his police service with the [[Special Branch]], the organisation responsible for political, security and operational intelligence.<ref>Si Ying Tan. [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2828486 "Book Review: Templer and the Road to Malayan Independence: The Man and His Time"]. ''Asian Journal of Public Affairs'', Volume 9 (1): 43-46, 2016.</ref> Special Branch participated in the [[Malayan Emergency]] (1948-1960), when counter-insurgency operations were launched against the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and its guerrilla force, the MNLA ([[Malayan National Liberation Army]]).<ref name=star />

Comber left Special Branch after his wife, author [[Han Suyin]], whom he married in 1952, wrote a novel, ''[[And the Rain My Drink]]'' (1956), which was viewed as being anti-British in its depiction of the guerrilla war of Chinese rubber workers against the government.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/world/asia/han-suyin-dies-wrote-sweeping-fiction.html?_r=0 "Han Suyin Dies; Wrote Sweeping Fiction"]. ''International New York Times'', MARGALIT FOX. NOV. 5, 2012</ref> They divorced in 1958.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/han-suyin-chinese-born-author-of-a-many-splendoured-thing-dies-at-95/2012/11/04/55d11efe-e887-11e0-9660-be84fb24c979_story.html "Han Suyin, Chinese-born author of ‘A Many-Splendoured Thing,’ dies at 95"]. ''Washington Post'', Alison Lake. November 4, 2012</ref>

Comber then worked for more than twenty years in book publishing. First based in Singapore, later in Hong Kong, he was the regional representative of Heinemann Educational Books of London.<ref name="PatkeHolden2009">{{cite book|author1=Rajeev S. Patke|author2=Philip Holden|title=The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT160|date=10 September 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-25761-3|pages=160–}}</ref> In 1966 he founded Heinemann Education's [[Writing in Asia Series]]. He became managing director of local Heinemann subsidiary companies established in Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, he was Publisher and Director of Hong Kong University Press.<ref name="InghamXi2003">{{cite book|author1=Michael Ingham|author2=Xu Xi|title=City Voices: Hong Kong Writing in English 1945 to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2f3IAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|date=1 March 2003|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-604-2|pages=20–}}</ref>

Comber was involved{{how|date=March 2022}} with the [[Asiaweek]] Short Story Competition, which was run annually between 1981 and 1988. He edited and wrote an introduction for ''Prizewinning Asian Fiction'', an anthology of prizewinning short stories from the competition. Throughout this period, he also wrote and edited a large number of books and articles, including several about Malayan policing and intelligence.<ref name="Duyvesteyn2013">{{cite book|author=Isabelle Duyvesteyn|title=Intelligence and Strategic Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2cvhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT48|date=31 October 2013|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-96703-3|pages=48–}}</ref>

In 1991, he moved to [[Melbourne]], Australia, with his second wife, Takako Kawai, and their daughter. Subsequently, he became an Honorary Research Fellow at Monash Asia Institute, [[Monash University]]. At the age of 76, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Asian Studies.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Comber is now a visiting senior fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore.
<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/about-us/researchers/regional-strategic-political-studies/visiting-researchers/item/1136-dr-leon-comber |title = Dr Leon Comber - ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute}}</ref>

==Selected publications==
===Books===
*''Chinese Ancestor Worship in Malaya'' (1954).<ref name="Kiong2004">{{cite book|author=Tong Chee Kiong|title=Chinese Death Rituals in Singapore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evLF6mCnrBMC&pg=PT158|date=1 March 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-79843-7|pages=158–}}</ref>
* ''Chinese Temples in Singapore'' (1958).<ref>[http://www.chinatownology.com/chinese_temples_in_singapore.html "Chinese Temples in Singapore"]. ''Chinatownology'',</ref>
*''Chinese Secret Societies in Malaya: A Survey of the Triad Society from 1800 to 1900'' (1959).
*''Favourite Chinese Stories'' (1967; 1975; 1988).
*''The Strange Cases of Magistrate Pao: Chinese Tales of Crime and Detection. Translated from the Chinese and Retold by Leon Comber [with] Illustrations by Lo Koon-chiu'' (1970; 1972; 2010).
*''The Golden Treasure Box: Favourite Stories From the Orient'' (1979).
*''Malaya's Secret Police 1945-1960: The Role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency'' (2008).<ref name="Murfett2012">{{cite book|author=Malcolm H. Murfett|title=Cold War Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfCIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|date=16 July 2012|publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|isbn=978-981-4382-98-4|pages=37–}}</ref>
*''The Triads: Chinese Secret Societies in 1950s Malaya and Singapore'' (2009).
*''Through the Bamboo Window: Chinese Life and Culture in 1950s Malaya and Singapore'' (2009).<ref>[http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2005156/ghost-marriages-still-alive-hong-kong "Ghost marriages still alive in Hong Kong"]. ''Post Magazine'', Jason Wordie, 19 Aug 2016</ref>
*''Singapore Correspondent: Political Dispatches from Singapore, 1958-1962'' (2012).
*''Templer and the Road to Malaysian independence: The Man and His Time'' (2015).<ref name=ahmad />
*''Dalley and the Malayan Security Service, 1945-48: MI5 vs. MSS'' (2018).

===Articles===
*"The Origins of the Cold War in Southeast Asia: The Case of the Communist Party of Malaysia (1948–1960): A Special Branch Perspective", in: ''Kajian Malaysia'', vol. 27, nos. 1 and 2 January 2009), pp. 39-60.<ref name="Murfett2012" />

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*Monash University Asia Institute https://web.archive.org/web/20120326004227/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/staff/lcomber.php
*ISEAS https://www.iseas.edu.sg/about-us/researchers/regional-strategic-political-studies/visiting-researchers/item/1136-dr-leon-comber

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Comber, Leon}}
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:University of Macau alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London]]
[[Category:Monash University alumni]]
[[Category:British emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:British publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Alumni of King's College London]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Malaysia]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Hong Kong]]

Leon Comber - Revision history

NereidaMccurdy5: Improved article clarity and structure

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