Mervyn Sheppard was born in Ireland on June 21, 1905. He received his early education at Marlborough College before continuing on to Cambridge University. He joined the Malayan Civil Services (MCS) in 1928, a year after passing his qualification exam in London. During his time there, he developed a strong attachment to the country and its people.[4] He married Rosemary Oakeley in Singapore's St Andrew's Cathedral on 27 January 1939. Lavender, their daughter and his only child, was born in October 1941. Their union lasted until their deaths.
World War II
From 1941 to 1942, he served as a Company Commander in the 1st Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force (FMSVF), earning the rank of captain and becoming a prisoner of war during WWII.[5] In 1945, he retired as a major from the FMSVF.
Post-WWII
He chose to remain in the civil service until his total retirement in 1963. He converted to Islam in 1957, adopting the name Abdul Mubin Sheppard and performing the Hajj.[4]
In 1957, he was appointed as the first Keeper of Public Records, an office that would eventually become the Arkib Negara, or National Archives.[4] One year later, he became the first director of the then-Federation of Malaya's own national museum, where he assembled a team tasked with retrieving Malayan artefacts from cities such as Lisbon and London to be displayed there.[4][6][7]
He also a founder of Malayan Film Unit (now known as Filem Negara Malaysia) when it was established in 1946.[8]
Death
He died on 11 September 1994 at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Subang Jaya, Selangor. He was buried in Jalan Ampang Muslim Cemetery with military traditions and national honours.[9]
The Mubin Sheppard Memorial Prize was established under his name in 1996 by the Malaysia Heritage Trust to stimulate students' awareness of "the need to conserve Malaysia's built heritage and to encourage research and writings on various aspects of conservation and preservation".[12]
He was the founding father of the Malaya Association of Youth Clubs (EST. 1954), a youth association inspired by the National Association of Boys' Club.[13]
Honours
Among the honours and awards he has received including:[13][14]
He was awarded a title of Dato' Jasa Purba Diraja (transl. Royal Historian) by the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan for his services as a historian. - Dato'[14]
^Noraini Abd. Razak (3 April 2011). "Muzium jadi darah daging". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^Zainuri Misfar (23 June 1993). "Bangsal kilang jadi bangunan pertama FNM" [The factory shed became the FNM's first building] (in Malay). Berita Harian. Retrieved 14 December 2021 – via KLiK. Pengasas MFU ialah Mubin Sheppard (sekarang Tan Sri) yang ketika itu bertugas di Jabatan Perhubungan Raya selepas tamat Perang Dunia Kedua. Dia dengan inisiatifnya sendiri membeli peralatan filem dari pasukan filem tentera British yang hendak dilelong di Singapura. [The founder of MFU was Mubin Sheppard (now Tan Sri) who was then working in the Public Relations Department after the end of the Second World War. He on his own initiative bought film equipment from the British military film team to be auctioned in Singapore.]
_Ribbon.svg){kind=small}
_-_SMN.svg){kind=small}
