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book review 67 Book Review Romen Bose, Singapore at War: Secrets From The Fall, Liberations & Aftermath of WWII, (Singapore, Marshall Cavendish), 2012, 463 pages By Joshua Foo INTRODUCTION of the Battlebox. Since then, he has led teams of reporters in an In a literary genre that consists international news organisation, primarily of military strategies, Agence France-Presse, spearheaded death of the innocents, and cold projects in the Singapore Tourism hard truths of World War Two Board and covered analysis on (WWII) in Singapore, Romen Bose’s social media at IHS. His repertoire three-part volume, Singapore At of books written includes research War, falls squarely in the latter of similar areas—namely WWII and category. This may frustrate some the history of Singapore.1 readers who, seventy years on, are still struggling to make sense Many of the secrets discussed in the volume Singapore At War: of the mixed bag that caused the Secrets From The Fall, Liberations suffering of their ancestors. & Aftermath of WWII were not declassified by various authorities For the first time, three of until recent years. These include Romen Bose's ground-breaking the highly confidential Battlebox— works have been brought located nearly 30 feet beneath together in one volume— Fort Canning Hill, the complex providing a panoramic account of was constructed as an emergency Singapore's experience in WWII. bunker for the Combined These all help to piece the jigsaw Operations Headquarters for the of the past in Romen’s insightful, Malayan Campaign in the war. tightly focused and fresh analysis The 29-room bunker was fortified of three significant problems in with one metre thick reinforced our history. concrete walls to withstand direct hits from bombs and shells. It was Romen Bose, born and bred into fully equipped with a telephone the world of journalism, begins exchange connected to all military his career as an intern in the and most civilian switchboards in Singapore Press Holdings where he Malaya, including a cipher room for first finds out about the existence coding and decoding messages.2 POINTER, JOUrnAL OF THE SinGApore ARMED ForCES VOL.42 NO.4 book review 68 TARGETED AUDIENCE manifest in his unwavering search Commanding (Malaya), constructs to uncover the hidden truths of another Combined Operations Romen Bose’s ground-breaking WWII in Singapore and Malaya HQ at Sime Road, adjacent to work is targeted at both the decades after. the Royal Air Force HQ. The casual reader filled with curiosity construction of the new HQ and also at dedicated research SECRETS OF THE BATTLEBOX barely finished before the war in specialists who want to have a good fundamental understanding Sealed off and undiscovered Singapore began, in December about the war in Singapore. The until the late 1980s, Bose provides 1941. Despite the movement of Battlebox during the Malayan an account of his discovery of the many major operations to the new Campaign is thoroughly discussed Battlebox when he first began as HQ in Sime Road, the Battlebox in the first volume—Secrets From an intern in the Singapore Press was still office to Major General The Fall. In the second part of Holdings. As a young and curious Keith Simmons, responsible for the the volume, The End Of The War: journalist, he wandered into the defence of Singapore’s mainland, Singapore’s Liberation And The extensively damaged underground and other officers from the Navy Aftermath Of WWII, readers explore headquarters (HQ) together with a and Air Force.5 the few months in 1945 when the fellow photographer. The pictures, This first edition begins with war had ended and Britain decided appropriately used throughout the a narrative of 15th February 1942, to regain Malaya and Singapore, book, garner the interest of the the day when Lieutenant General shedding light into wartime hero readers, similar to how Bose felt Percival signed the inglorious Lim Bo Seng. The third and final whilst first exploring the place. The surrender papers in the Ford Motor part of the volume, Kranji: The Battlebox beneath Fort Canning Factory in Bukit Timah. The hard Commonwealth War Cemetery and served as the British Command truths of the day were described in The Politics Of The Dead, covers the HQ in the last days before the grim detail, casting a dark shadow fall. Through the author’s research cemetery, discussing how it came over the events that happened in using the archives in the United about and examines some of those Singapore and Malaya over the 70 individuals buried there. Kingdom and Asia, he carefully days of the Campaign. arranged the pieces of the puzzle The two dominant characters of what could have happened in Bose brings readers back to 8th in this memoir by Romen Bose are the underground nerve centre of February, 1942, when Japanese Bose himself, and arguably the Malayan Campaign. troops crossed the Straits of Johor Singapore’s most important in a successful landing on the strategist during the war— Drawing on first-handnorth-west coast of Singapore Lieutenant General Arthur investigation, accounts of Island, followed by a second Percival. Bose believes ”that survivors and top-secret landing near the Kranji River. the understanding of history is documents, the author reveals As communications between formed on the basis of a disparate the fascinating inner workings of personnel at the Sime Road collection of facts and details, the Battlebox. The Battlebox was headquarters was poor and layout from differing viewpoints and deemed too small for its intended proven to be impractical, the new 3 headquarters had to be abandoned periods.” Though he does not use even before the war.4 Lieutenant after the Battle of Kranji. expound on this theology, it is General Percival, General Officer POINTER, JOUrnAL OF THE SinGApore ARMED ForCES VOL.42 NO.4 book review 69 Details of the campaign unfold dangerously low fuel reserves and forces in Malaya and Singapore as Lieutenant General Percival ammunition. As no viable options are also discussed in detail. This orders a movement of the Combined for launching a counterattack book also describes Operation Operations Headquarters back to were available, the decision Zipper in Malaya, Operation the Battlebox on 11th February, was finally made to surrender to Tiderace in Singapore as well as 1942. By the latter stages of the Japanese.7 the official Surrender ceremony of th the campaign in Singapore, the 12 September, 1945 in Singapore. Bose aimed to let readers Japanese were sending aerial The final chapter gives readers understand the history, the use attacks on all of Singapore, a good insight of the post-war and the final role of the Battlebox and anti-colonial social climate. including Fort Canning which was in the Malayan Campaign. In the appendix of the book are within range of the Japanese Throughout the book, it addresses official documents, biographical artillery, forcing personnel into the gap in knowledge on one of summaries, bibliography and index.8 the Battlebox. Bose brings readers the most crucial venues of WWII right down to the site of the in Singapore and Malaya, as the Operation Zipper—a British Battlebox with his descriptions of plan to capture either Port secret underground command how poor living conditions were Swettenham or Port Dickson, headquarters in the campaign. To underground. With 500 officers and Malaya as staging areas for the a certain extent, Bose criticises men in the Battlebox during that recapture of Singapore was never how the military headquarters period, conditions were extremely fully executed due to the end of tried to manage three different uncomfortable as ventilation the war in the Pacific. Operation things at once, resulting in the systems broke down, causing the Tiderace—the plan to recapture failure of managing even one. underground headquarters to be Singapore—was instead put into hot and drowning in the stench of THE END OF THE WAR action following the surrender of sulphur from the latrines.6 Japan. The Allied fleet departed After the fall of Singapore, Rangoon on 27th August, 1945, One of the most key moments effectively losing their as part of Vice Admiral Harold in the Battlebox was the meeting ‘Impregnable Fortress’, the British Walker's force. Sailing for Penang that allowed Lieutenant General diverted their attention to the was designated Task Force 11, Percival to come to a decision European theatre of war. The End Of consisting of the battleship HMS to surrender Singapore. Drawing The War: Singapore’s Liberation and Nelson and escort carrier HMS on recently declassified archives, The Aftermath of WWII is an account Attacker, amongst others. HMS the meeting was held in the of the ending of WWII in Malaya Nelson was the flagship of the Commander, Anti-Aircraft Defence and Singapore. Using recently- fleet, and the articles of surrender Room on the morning of 15th released classified documents, were signed aboard the battleship February, 1942. With senior archival photographs and first- on 2nd September, 1945.9 officers Generals Heath, Simmons hand recollections, insight is But what went on behind and Bennett in attendance, they given into the string of events and the scenes as they prepared to came to the conclusion that personalities which surrounded return to the region and, when the war could not carry on with British official policy in the Pacific area. The clandestine resistance the Japanese surrendered, to the diminishing water supplies, POINTER, JOUrnAL OF THE SinGApore ARMED ForCES VOL.42 NO.4 book review 70 re-establish their authority? After KRANJI The War Memorial represents the Japan surrendered to the Allies three branches of the military— A picture of serenity today, on 15th August, 1945, there was the war cemetery at Kranji is the Air Force, Army and Navy.

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