Supported by a heritage trail CONTENTS » north-west » city 01 Sarimbun Beach Landing & 26 Sook Ching Inspection Centre Lim Chu Kang Landing ___________p.3 (Hong Lim Complex) _____________p.23 02 Ama Keng Village _______________p.3 27 Fort Canning Command Centre ___p.24 03 Tengah Airfi eld _________________p.4 28 Former Cathay Building __________p.25 04 Jurong-Kranji Defence Line _______p.4 29 Kempeitai East District Branch 05 Kranji Beach Battle ______________p.5 (YMCA) _______________________p.26 06 Causeway ______________________p.6 30 National Museum of Singapore ___p.26 07 Kranji War Cemetery ____________p.7 31 Former St Joseph’s Institution (Singapore Art Museum) _________p.28 32 Padang _________________________p.29 » north-east 33 Former City Hall ________________p.29 08 The Singapore Naval Base ________p.9 34 St Andrew’s Cathedral ___________p.29 09 Sembawang Airfi eld _____________p.10 35 Lim Bo Seng Memorial ___________p.30 10 Seletar Airfi eld__________________p.11 36 Cenotaph ______________________p.30 11 Punggol Beach Massacre _________p.12 37 Indian National Army ____________p.30 12 Japanese Cemetery Park _________p.12 38 Civilian War Memorial ___________p.31 39 People’s Defence Force Headquarters » central (Beach Road Camp) _____________ p.32 The Koneo Imperial Guards Division of the Japanese army under Lieutenant-General Nishimura crossing the Johor 40 Kallang Airfi eld _________________p.32 Causeway into Singapore after completing repairs, 1942 13 Battle for Bukit Timah ____________p.13 Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore 14 Former Ford Factory _____________p.14 15 Bukit Batok Memorial ____________p.14 » east 16 Force 136 & Grave of Lim Bo Seng ____________________p.15 41 The Changi Museum _____________p.35 INTRODUCTION signifi cance of the sites in relation to the war. 42 Changi Prison ___________________p.35 The Second World War came to Malaya and Fourteen of the plaques were unveiled in 1995 43 Johore Battery __________________p.36 Singapore on 8 December 1941, more than two to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the » south 44 India Barracks __________________p.37 years after it broke out in Europe. After war while the remaining six plaques were 17 Pasir Panjang Machine-Gun Pillbox _p.17 45 Selarang Barracks _______________p.37 Singapore fell on 15 February 1942, the island unveiled in February 2012 as part of a series 18 Kent Ridge Park _________________p.17 46 Roberts Barracks ________________p.37 was renamed Syonan-To (“Light of the South” of national events marking the 70th anniversary 19 Refl ections at Bukit Chandu ______p.18 47 Kitchener Barracks ______________p.39 in Japanese) and it spent the next three years of the Fall of Singapore. 20 Alexandra Hospital ______________p.19 48 Changi Beach Massacre __________p.39 and seven months under the Japanese The sites in the booklet are organised into six 21 Labrador Battery ________________p.20 49 Pulau Ubin ______________________p.39 Occupation (1942–45). The war ended in regions with the following themes: 22 Siloso Battery __________________p.20 Singapore with the signing of the Instrument of • North-west: Invasion and the First Battles 23 Sentosa Beach __________________p.21 Surrender on 12 September 1945. • North-east: The Defence Strategy and its 24 Keppel Harbour _________________p.21 Credits _____________________________p.40 This booklet contains information about the Consequences 25 Execution of Captured historic sites and events associated with the battle Rimau Commandos ______________p.22 • Central: Battle for the Heart of Singapore Map _______________________________p.41 for Singapore and the Japanese Occupation. The • South: Final Battles and the Consequences booklet identifi es 50 war sites all over the island. Each site marks either a battle area, such as the • City: Remembering the Japanese Occupation invasion sites at Sarimbun Beach, or • East: The Guns of Singapore and Captivity cover image: Sarimbun Beach Landing: A party of Japanese troops land on commemorates a signifi cant event during the The information, while interesting, has been Singapore. © MAINICHI SHIMBUN. Brewster Buffalos, 453 Squadron Royal Australian Japanese Occupation, such as the Sook Ching kept succinct. It is intended purely as an Air Force (RAAF) at Sembawang Airfi eld. © IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM. (“purge” in Mandarin) massacre sites. introductory guide highlighting signifi cant war www.nhb.gov.sg There are permanent plaques placed at sites. We hope the booklet will be a useful guide NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, 20 of the 50 sites. These plaques were installed RECORDING OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT THE PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER. FOR ALL COPYRIGHT MATTERS, PLEASE CONTACT THE NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD. EVERY EFFORT HAS as you explore these World War II sites on an BEEN MADE TO ENSURE THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS BROCHURE IS ACCURATE AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION. NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD SHALL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LOSS, INJURY OR INCONVENIENCE ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONTENTS OF THIS BROCHURE. REPUBLISHED BY NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD IN DECEMBER 2016. by the National Heritage Board to mark the island once feted as an “impregnable fortress”. 02 03 S. Skudai ST RA IT S OF JO H O R E P. Sarimbun DALFORCEE 2/20th S. Kranji S. Sarimbun 2/18th W o o S. Murai d l Tg. Murai AMA KENG a n d HQ s LIM CHUCHHU KANGA R o a ROAD d 2/19th Tengah Airfield S. Berih S. Pendas Bt. Panjang E HQ R CHOA CHU KANGG O H Pasir Labab ROAD Bt. Timah O J 8th AUSTRALIAN F O HQ S T I A R T S A party of Japanese troops land on Singapore, February 1942 Source: © Mainichi Shimbun. Reproduced with permission » north-west SARIMBUN BEACH LANDING • HISTORIC SITE The numerical superiority of the Japanese & LIM CHU KANG LANDING forces soon overwhelmed the Australians; The 22nd Australian Brigade had to cover the Japanese forces enjoyed a seven to one INVASION AND coastline from Sungei Kranji to Sungei Berih numerical advantage against the Australians. (Sungei means “river” in Malay). The brigade’s Despite being overstretched and three battalions (2/18th, 2/19th and 2/20th) outnumbered, the Australian Brigade fought THE FIRST BATTLES did not have suffi cient troops to defend this valiantly and suffered their highest number of broad sector in depth and found themselves casualties in the entire Malayan Campaign. FIRST CONTACT… AND LOSSES combined with the potential ease of crossing, overstretched. The gaps in their defences Within two hours of the attack, the Following the loss of Malaya to the Japanese, convinced LG Tomoyuki Yamashita, the proved fatal during the invasion. Australians were forced to retreat to new the last Allied army unit withdrew into commander of the Japanese 25th Army, that On the night of 8 February 1942 at around defence lines. The Japanese then advanced Singapore across the Causeway on 31 January his troops would face less diffi culty if they 10.30pm, the Japanese approached the coastline down Lim Chu Kang Road to capture Tengah 1942. The retreating units were redeployed invaded through this sector. between Lim Chu Kang Road and Sarimbun Beach Airfi eld, their fi rst objective. The advance of along the entire coastline of Singapore in an The Japanese 5th Division was to land and launched a massive 15-hour artillery barrage the Japanese was so rapid that LG Yamashita all-round perimeter defence of the island. at the Lim Chu Kang sector while the 18th of Singapore’s north-western area from concealed was able to come ashore at Lim Chu Kang Road Lieutenant-General (LG) Arthur Percival, Division was to attack further south-west positions up the Skudai and Melayu Rivers of before sunrise on 10 February 1942. General Offi cer Commanding (GOC) in (beyond Pulau Sarimbun). The Japanese Johore. Under the cover of darkness and using Malaya, believed that the Japanese would Imperial Guards Division was to advance on assault boats and barges, the Japanese 5th and AMA KENG VILLAGE invade Singapore from the east. Thus, his the Causeway sector. 18th Divisions then crossed the Straits of Johore. Ama Keng Village was just north of the 22nd defence strategy allocated a bigger The Australian 8th Division, comprising the The Australian artillery and searchlight units Australian Brigade headquarters. concentration of troops to the north-eastern 22nd and 27th Brigades, was the main force were slow to react, and only the fi rst wave of The Brigade’s commander, Brigadier Harold part of Singapore, while the north-western half defending this whole area. the invasion was repelled. The Australians Taylor, was forced to deploy all his battalions was assigned relatively fewer troops. North-western Singapore therefore became managed to sink several Japanese barges. along the long coastline and had none in Japanese fi eld intelligence just before the the initial battleground between the However, defence efforts by the Australians reserve. Anticipating that the Japanese would invasion revealed the lack of depth in the Allied army and the Japanese in the battle were hampered as communication lines were penetrate this thin line of defence, Taylor defences of north-western Singapore. This, for Singapore. damaged during the artillery barrage. planned for an organised retreat to a new 04 05 defence line stretching from Ama Keng Village to Sungei Berih. This would have been only four S. Skudai kilometres long, making defence of the north- ST west more tenable. However, the speed of the RA IT S O Japanese advance shattered this plan. Rapid F JO Japanese infi ltration and high Australian losses P. Sarimbun DALFORCEE on the coast made it impossible to have an 2/20th orderly movement to the Ama Keng defence S. Kranji S. Sarimbun line. In addition, damaged communication lines 2/18th made it diffi cult for Taylor to reorganise his S. Murai Tg.