Source: Mr Ron Bridge, British Historian

The Volunteers in the Malayan Region were:

Straits Settlements Volunteer Force SSFV:

1st & 2nd Bn raised from the business community in Singapore
3rd Bn raised in the Colony of Malacca
4th Bn raised in the Colony of Penang

Federated Malay States Volunteer Force FMSVF:
    (Raised in the States of Malay which were loosely federated under British Protection)

1st Bn raised in Perak
2nd Bn raised in State of Selangor
3rd Bn raised in the State of Negri Sembilan
4th Bn raised in the States of Kuantan and Kedah

There was also a FMSVF Armoured Car Battalion and FMSVF No 3 Field Ambulance and the State of Johore Volunteer Engineers.

Service numbers were four digit (Except the JVE who had 3 digit) until the outbreak of War September 1939 when a unified number system was introduced of six digits beginning 13 for both the SSVF and the FMSVF. Regular Officers, especially the CO and Adjutant, were seconded as were senior NCOs keeping their own numbers.