A councillor who fought in a Commonwealth conflict in Asia has been awarded a medal by the Malaysian government.

Councillor Nigel Petrie, long-standing councillor for Nonsuch Ward, was presented with the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal on Wednesday, February 3, at a special ceremony at the Malaysian High Commission in Belgrave Square.

He received the medal from the High Commissioner for Malaysia for distinguished service in the Malaysian emergency and confrontation between 1948 and 1964.

Coun Petrie, who was made a military MBE in 1979, joined the Conservative Party last year after several years as a member of the residents’ association group.