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» 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

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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. Murai AMA KENG frontline troops. Instead, he was forced to order HQ LIM CHCHUHU KANGA an immediate retreat to Tengah Airfi eld. ROAD 2/19th Tengah Airfield S. Berih TENGAH AIRFIELD S. Pendas Bt. Panja Tengah Airfi eld was completed in 1939 as one E R CHOA CHU KANGG of the bases constructed for the air defence of O H Pasir Labab ROAD O J Singapore. Along with Seletar Airfi eld and View of Lim Chu Kang landing site, 2013 F

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Malaya and Thailand in the early morning of S 8 December 1941. These bombings intensifi ed from 29 December onwards and the air cover The planned Ama Keng-Sungei Berih defence line over Singapore was inadequate to provide much protection. Tengah Airfi eld was LG Yamashita’s fi rst main objective in the invasion of Singapore. He By the afternoon, the line was in Japanese wanted to capture it within 12 hours of landing, hands. This forced the withdrawal of all Allied but this was delayed by the dogged resistance forces in the north and east to the city of the Australian 22nd Brigade. However, the perimeter. lack of numbers, exacerbated by the ineffi ciencies and poor strategies of higher KRANJI BEACH BATTLE • HISTORIC SITE command, prevented the defenders from The Australian 22nd Brigade sector regrouping effectively once the Japanese broke included a local unit made up of Chinese through the thinly held coastal lines, and volunteers, Dalforce, which assisted the Tengah was eventually captured on the defence of the western bank of the mouth afternoon of 9 February. Thereafter, the of Sungei Kranji. The eastern bank of the Japanese were able to move their main forces, river was defended by the 2/26th Battalion including their tanks from Johore, of the Australian 27th Brigade. down Lim Chu Kang Road. Yamashita then On the night of 9 February 1942, the directed the rest of the invasion from his new Bristol Blenheims, 62 Squadron RAF, fl ying in formation Japanese Imperial Guards Division crossed headquarters at Tengah. over Tengah Airfi eld, c. 1940s the Johore Straits and attempted to During the Japanese Occupation, the Source: © Imperial War Museum infiltrate the Australians’ position. They Japanese built a new runway at Tengah encountered stiff resistance which impeded Airfi eld. After the war, the Royal Air Force their advance. Oil from petrol tanks near (RAF) returned and operated the airfi eld in the event that the Japanese forces 10 February 1942 made the problems worse. Sungei Mandai Kechil was released into until its handover to Singapore authorities overcome the coastal defending forces. Brigadier Taylor of the 22nd Australian Brigade the Straits and set alight. The blazing in 1971. However, there was a lack of preparation of misinterpreted instructions and prematurely inferno spilled into the Straits and Kranji the defence line, and the large area to be withdrew his units from the line back to the coastline, causing further casualties to the JURONG-KRANJI DEFENCE LINE • HISTORIC SITE covered meant that troops had to be spread last-ditch defensive perimeter around the city. invading forces. The Jurong-Kranji Defence Line was one of out very thinly along it. This set off other withdrawals along the line, Panicking at the heavy losses, LG Nishimura, the fall-back positions meant for the Miscommunication and uncoordinated leaving the position largely undefended against the Commanding Offi cer of the Imperial withdrawal and consolidation of troops initiatives at the senior commanding level on the advancing Japanese. Guards, wanted to withdraw his troops. 06 07

However, the Australian 27th Brigade shotguns and learned how to use explosives. of schedule. A lavish opening ceremony commander had withdrawn his troops from the Dalforce was set up to serve as the eyes and presided over by the Governor, Sir Laurence Kranji coastline to protect his western fl ank. ears of the British army and to keep them Nunns Guillemard, marked the opening of This allowed the Japanese to establish a informed of Japanese troop movements. the fi rst direct and uninterrupted rail and beachhead from Kranji to the Causeway. However, many Dalforce members ended up road connection from Singapore to the having to fi ght for the defence of Singapore. Malay Peninsula. Dalforce Some Dalforce members who survived later After the loss of Malaya to the Japanese, Dalforce was named after its chief instructor joined the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese the Causeway became a critical part of and commander, Lieutenant Colonel John Army (MPAJA) which carried out guerrilla Singapore’s northern defences. The last Dalley of the Federated Malay States Police activities against the Japanese during the Allied military unit, the Argyll and Force. It was also called the Overseas Chinese Japanese Occupation. Sutherland Highlanders, withdrew across it Anti-Japanese Army by the local Chinese on 31 January 1942. Indian sappers then set CAUSEWAY • HISTORIC SITE community. Dalforce was made up of some charges and blew a 70-foot gap in the 4,000 Chinese volunteers who came from all In order to improve transportation and Causeway in an attempt to slow the walks of life. Some were members of communication links between Singapore and Japanese advance towards Singapore. organisations such as the Malayan Communist Malaya, a causeway across the Johore The 27th Australian Brigade (comprising the Party and the Kuomintang. Despite their political Straits had been built. It was 3,465 feet long, 2/26th, 2/29th and 2/30th Battalions) was Kranji War Cemetery, 2016 differences, members of the two organisations 60 feet wide, and carried two lines of metre- tasked to defend the four-kilometre stretch of Courtesy of National Heritage Board found common ground in the war against gauge railway tracks and a 26-foot wide the Japanese. roadway. Costing the British government land between Sungei Kranji and the Causeway. Dalforce volunteers were put through a 17 million Straits Dollars, it was offi cially The 2/26th and 2/30th Battalions were KRANJI WAR CEMETERY crash course. They were equipped with completed in June 1924, three months ahead deployed along the coast. This gave the Before the war, the Kranji War Cemetery site Australians a strong position that overlooked was an ammunition depot. During the the Causeway, allowing for good fi elds of fi re Japanese Occupation, the site became a for anti-tank guns and machine guns. The prisoner-of-war (POW) camp and hospital. 2/29th was held in reserve. The prisoners from the POW hospital set On the night of 9 February 1942, the up a small cemetery in the area. After the war, Japanese Imperial Guards Division crossed the site was turned into a permanent war the Straits to attack the Causeway sector. cemetery by the Commonwealth War Graves The Australians put up a good fight and Commission (CWGC). As it was diffi cult to were able to repel the initial wave. maintain war graves in various locations, Unfortunately for the valiant defenders, Kranji became the consolidated cemetery for their commander, Brigadier Maxwell, had all Commonwealth war dead in Singapore made prior decisions to fall back. Unsettled from World War II. Graves were transferred by the Japanese attacks on the north- from areas such as Buona Vista POW Camp, western coast and fearing for his western the Changi Camp and the Bidadari Christian flank, Maxwell ordered a unilateral Cemetery. Transfers were also made from withdrawal of the 27th Brigade. His actions overseas sites such as the Saigon Military compromised the defence of the Causeway Cemetery. and the northern coast irrevocably. Kranji War Cemetery was offi cially opened With the defence of the Causeway on 2 March 1957, with offi cials from abandoned, the Japanese managed to repair Singapore, Britain and other Commonwealth the breach and more troops and equipment countries in attendance. The cemetery entered Singapore. By the end of 10 February contains almost 4,500 burials that are 1942, the Japanese had captured north- marked by headstones. The Singapore western Singapore and the Causeway, and Memorial is also located within the cemetery were closing in on the vital Bukit Timah area, and has the names of around 24,000 missing which contained reservoirs, food depots and personnel and the war dead with no known ammunition stocks. graves inscribed on its walls. The arrow shows the Kranji coastline on the eastern bank of Sungei Kranji where the Imperial Guards Division landed, 2013 Courtesy of National Heritage Board 08 09

Signifi cant Malayans who fought in the war Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial at » north-east are also commemorated. One such person its eastern end. The latter commemorates is 2nd Lieutenant Adnan Saidi, the more than 400 servicemen and civilians who courageous Malay Regiment offi cer who was died at the hospital. They were buried in a THE DEFENCE killed at Bukit Chandu. Sim Chin Foo, who mass grave on the hospital grounds that had was a member of Dalforce, was also been previously dug out to serve as an commemorated. Sim was caught by the emergency water tank. STRATEGY AND ITS Kempeitai (Japanese military police) after a The cemetery is still maintained by the battle at Bukit Timah and was tortured to CWGC. Founded during World War I, it death. Sim’s story came to light when his wife, maintains numerous cemeteries and CONSEQUENCES Cheng Seang Ho, wailed inconsolably at the memorials for the Commonwealth war dead cemetery’s opening in 1957. Cheng was 66 all over the world. Major commemorative years old when war broke out in 1942. ceremonies that are held annually at Kranji Other memorials that stand within the War Cemetery today include Remembrance cemetery include the Singapore Cremation Day, which takes place in Singapore on Memorial – commemorating those who were the Sunday closest to Remembrance Day cremated due to religious beliefs – and the (11 November), and ANZAC Day (25 April).

HMS Prince of Wales in Singapore in December 1941 Source: © Imperial War Museum

THE FLAWED PLAN The policy meant that no major fl eet would After World War I, Japan became a major be stationed in Singapore during peacetime. military player and adopted an aggressive If the enemy attacked, the defenders of expansionist policy. Britain saw this as a serious Singapore had to hold out until the main fl eet threat to its empire in the Asia-Pacifi c. However, arrived, which could be anything between six due to economic reasons, Britain could not weeks to several months. This requirement maintain a massive battle fl eet in the region. grew to dominate all aspects of defence The British came to a strategic compromise: planning and decision-making in Singapore and Malaya throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Royal Navy’s main fl eet would remain in up till the outbreak of war in 1941. the Atlantic, but would deploy to the Asia-Pacifi c in the event of a threat to British THE SINGAPORE NAVAL BASE interests. This required the building of a The construction of the Singapore Naval Base fi rst-class naval base somewhere in the started in 1928 and it was a massive project region for the fl eet when it arrived. As a result, involving reclamation works and the building of a huge naval base was built at Sembawang docks, an armaments depot, wharfs, Kranji War Cemetery, 1949 in Singapore. This policy was called the workshops and storehouses. It cost £60 million Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore Singapore Strategy. and was offi cially opened on 14 February 1938. 10 11

heavily bombed and damaged by Japanese bombers in January 1942. After the fall of Singapore, the Japanese took over Sembawang Airfi eld. It was also the quarters for 300 Japanese men from the 101st Maintenance and Supply Unit who were tasked to restore the Seletar Airfi eld. Today, Sembawang is home to the RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force)’s helicopter squadrons. A mass screening centre during the Japanese Occupation, 1942 Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore SELETAR AIRFIELD • HISTORIC SITE Seletar was the fi rst aerodrome commissioned by the RAF in Singapore in 1930 and was the main base for the RAF in the Far East. The communities in the territories they occupied. airfi eld was considered by the Japanese to be Many overseas Chinese communities the best in Southeast Asia due to its responded to the war in China by raising funds sophisticated facilities. and manpower to support China’s war efforts. It also had seaplane facilities. The Catalina This was known to the Japanese offi cers who Flying Boat that tracked the Japanese convoy led the Malayan Campaign, many of whom were in the South China Sea on its way to Malaya on veterans of the war in China. 7 December 1941 was from the 205 Squadron The overseas Chinese also typically had Brewster Buffalos belonging to the 453 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Sembawang Airfi eld based at Seletar. It was shot down before it networks that spanned Southeast Asia and this Source: © Imperial War Museum could report the Japanese positions, becoming presented a threat to the Japanese. The the fi rst casualty of the Pacifi c War. During the Kempeitai conducted the Dai Kensho (“great onset of the war, Seletar operated three inspection” in Japanese) operation to screen Its presence led to Singapore being referred After the war, the base was rebuilt and squadrons comprising Vildebeeste biplanes and eliminate anti-Japanese elements in to as the “Gibraltar of the East”, an became the Royal Navy’s Far East and Catalinas. Singapore during the Japanese Occupation, “impregnable fortress” protected by the might headquarters once again in the 1950s. Today, In January 1942, Seletar was hit by fi ve heavy but in reality it was to purge the Chinese in of the Royal Navy. it is partly a commercial shipyard (Sembawang bombing raids and in February, it endured daily Malaya and Singapore. This was later known However, the Singapore Naval Base never Shipyard), as well as a naval facility for foreign raids. On 26 January, fi ghters and bombers as the Sook Ching (“purge” in Mandarin) hosted the main fl eet as it was needed more vessels that call there for diplomatic visits, from Sembawang and Seletar carried out a raid massacre. On 18 February 1942, all Chinese urgently in other theatres of war. Just before the military exercises, and repairs. on a Japanese troop convoy heading towards males between 18 and 50 years old were Japanese invasion, the base only received the Endau in Johore. They failed to stop the ordered to report to registration centres set up much smaller Force Z, comprising the INSUFFICIENT AIR DEFENCE Japanese landing there and suffered heavy around Singapore. Thousands of Chinese battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battle- It was estimated that 336 modern front-line losses instead. civilians who turned up were unaware of their cruiser HMS Repulse and a few destroyers. aircraft were needed to defend Singapore Almost all RAF personnel were pulled out of impending fates. Many even thought they It arrived in Singapore on 2 December 1941 and Malaya against a Japanese invasion. Singapore by 11 February and the Japanese would be enlisted for jobs. The uncertainty of amidst much fanfare, and the local media However, by December 1941, the Royal Air captured the Seletar airfi eld on 14 February. the situation was made worse by the reported that it would easily derail Japanese Force (RAF) could only muster 181 serviceable When the tide of battle turned later in the indiscriminate and arbitrary selection criteria ambitions. This was not the case. Force Z left front-line aircraft. war, the Allies hit back and in October 1944, that the Kempeitai used to weed out anti- Singapore on 8 December 1941 to attack the Parts of these meagre resources were American B-29 Bombers attacked Seletar. Japanese conspirators. Japanese landing forces off the coast of stationed at three military airfi elds (Tengah, The airfi eld was returned to the British after Those who “failed” the screening process Thailand, but the Prince of Wales and the Sembawang and Seletar) and the civilian the war. In 1968, it was handed over to the became victims of massacres at various sites Repulse never returned. The ships were sunk off airport at Kallang. Department of Civil Aviation. Today, various around Singapore. While Japanese estimates the coast of Kuantan on 10 December 1941 after fl ight schools operate from Seletar. numbered the victims at about 6,000, local being attacked by 85 Japanese aircraft. This SEMBAWANG AIRFIELD estimates believe the civilian death toll for this marked the failure of the “Singapore Strategy”. Sembawang Airfi eld was constructed in 1935 SOOK CHING MASSACRE operation could have been as high as 25,000. Later during the invasion, the oil dumps at the to enhance the island’s defences. During the Japanese victories during the First (1894-1895) As the massacres were carried out, Mamoru Naval Base were set ablaze by Japanese war, Sembawang Airfi eld was the home to a and Second Sino-Japanese Wars (1937-1945) Shinozaki used his position and infl uence as a bombing. The base was then partially destroyed squadron of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) led the Japanese to regard the Chinese as their Japanese civilian administrator to save more to prevent the Japanese from using it. Brewster Buffalo fi ghters. The airfi eld was inferiors and were brutal to the Chinese than 2,000 Chinese civilians. By leveraging on 12 13

his offi cial position, Shinozaki managed to fi nal resting place for other members of » central release many from Kempeitai prisons and Singapore’s early Japanese community. registration centres. Altogether, the Japanese Cemetery Park has about 1,000 graves, mostly from the pre-war BATTLE FOR PUNGGOL BEACH years. Later, the ashes of thousands of MASSACRE • HISTORIC SITE Japanese soldiers, seamen and airmen who This area is known to be one of three main sites died during the invasion of Malaya in 1941-42 THE HEART OF in Singapore where the Sook Ching massacre were also interred there. These remains came took place. The killings were carried out on a from the Syonan Chureito at Bukit Batok, and large scale and the victims killed were either were transferred to the cemetery when that SINGAPORE dumped into the sea or left on the shore. The memorial was destroyed by the Japanese remains of some victims were later discovered before the British returned at the end of the by beachgoers and fi shermen after the war. In war. The remains of 135 Japanese war criminals March 1977, a man found a skull while he was who were executed at Changi Prison are also digging a hole in the sand. In December 1997, a located within the cemetery. beachgoer’s attention was caught as a gold One of the most noteworthy graves in the tooth belonging to a victim’s skull glistened in cemetery belongs to Field Marshal Count the sun near the shore. Hisaichi Terauchi, Supreme Commander of Japanese Expeditionary Forces in the Southern JAPANESE CEMETERY PARK Region. Terauchi’s grave is in a corner at the The Japanese Cemetery Park along Chuan Hoe extreme right of the park. Due to ill health, he Avenue in Yio Chu Kang is located in the midst was unable to surrender personally to Lord of a quiet private residential estate, landscaped Louis Mountbatten and failed to attend the with lush greenery in a serene environment. At surrender ceremony which took place on 12 29,359 square metres, it is the largest September 1945 in the Municipal Building (later Japanese cemetery in Southeast Asia. renamed City Hall). He died in Johore Bahru in It was founded in 1891 by Tagajiro Futaki, a early 1946 while he was under house arrest plantation owner and philanthropist, as a pending war-crimes investigations. Some of his cemetery for the karayuki-san (Japanese for ashes were subsequently interred in the park. “people who go overseas”). These were Japanese This cemetery served as a burial ground until women who came to Singapore as prostitutes 1947 and it was designated as a memorial park Ford Motor Factory, 1942 and were some of the fi rst Japanese to arrive in in 1987, with the Japanese Association of Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore Singapore from 1871. The cemetery began as a Singapore overseeing its upkeep. It now serves burial ground for these Japanese women who as an important legacy of the history of the died in Singapore. It subsequently became the Japanese community in Singapore. ADVANCE TO THE CENTRE the 22nd Australian Brigade, and the 12th and After securing the western and northern areas 15th Indian Brigades. The counter-attack of Singapore, the Japanese turned their attempted to recapture the Jurong-Kranji attention to Bukit Timah, the centre of the island. Defence Line. However, the 22nd Australian This was an important location as the main Brigade was in a bad shape. Some of its troops trunk road to the city ran through it and vital were still trying to fi nd their way back to the British supply dumps were sited there. In brigade headquarters after the Japanese addition, the 163-metre high Bukit Timah Hill invasion of 8 February 1942. Despite little was crucial high ground that could grant the artillery support and constant attacks by Japanese a military advantage. Japanese low-fl ying aircraft, the brigade fought stoutly and destroyed a few tanks. However, the BATTLE FOR BUKIT TIMAH • HISTORIC SITE Japanese troops eventually overwhelmed the At dusk on 10 February 1942, the Japanese Allied forces. Forced to abandon the counter- Grave of Terauchi, Supreme Commander of launched simultaneous attacks towards Bukit attack, the Allied troops withdrew to the Japanese Expeditionary Timah. The 5th Division advanced from Choa Racecourse at Bukit Timah at night. Forces, at the Japanese Chu Kang Road while the 18th Division This withdrawal allowed the Japanese troops Cemetery Park, 2013 Courtesy of Singapore advanced from Jurong Road. On the same day, and tanks to advance down Bukit Panjang History Consultants LG Percival launched a counter-attack, led by junction towards Bukit Timah Village. By 14 15

midnight of 10 February 1942, the Japanese surrender, failing which he threatened an had captured the village. The next target was immediate night attack. At this point, Percival straits of johore Bukit Timah Hill and Japanese troops wasted capitulated and at 6.10pm signed the causeway no time advancing towards it. On 11 February surrender document. This unconditional Map of 1942, Bukit Timah Hill was taken. surrender was the largest capitulation of Bukit Timah Allied counter-attacks were crushed by British forces in their military history, and Japanese tanks, guns, mortars and air support. was the largest loss in the history of the woodlands road sungei The Allied troops were forced to withdraw Australian forces. kranji again and the whole of Bukit Timah was now After just seven days of fi ghting, Singapore fi rmly under Japanese hands. had fallen. This marked the beginning of the mandai road On 11 February 1942, Yamashita invited the Japanese Occupation, which lasted for three British to surrender but LG Percival chose to years and seven months. ignore it. Instead, he withdrew his forces to a During the Japanese Occupation years, bukit mandai seletar new 28-mile long perimeter line enclosing the the Japanese used the Ford Factory to reservoir outer limits of the town area, setting the stage manufacture motor vehicles for the Japanese for the desperate fi nal battle for Singapore. army. choa chu kang After the war, Ford Motor Works took back road peirce • NATIONAL MONUMENT bukit reservoir FORMER FORD FACTORY the factory and used it till 1980. The building panjang In October 1941, Ford Motor Works opened was then transferred to the state in 1997. A their factory at Bukit Timah, establishing the permanent exhibition opened on 15 February bukit jurong gombak fi rst motorcar assembly plant in Southeast 2006 and the site was also gazetted as a road bukit bukit timah Asia. The factory was strategically located National Monument on the same day. The batok near the road and railway, allowing for the exhibition underwent a revamp in 2016, and effi cient transportation of goods between the reopened on 15 February 2017. It showcases factory and the docks of Tanjong Pagar. events and memories surrounding the British During the war, the factory played a key role surrender, the Japanese Occupation of sungei jurong bukit in the surrender of Singapore. By 13 February Singapore, and the legacies of war through rich timah road 1942, the Japanese commander, LG Yamashita, archival collections. had converted the factory into his forward headquarters. BUKIT BATOK MEMORIAL • HISTORIC SITE Map of Bukit Timah Meanwhile, the defending forces were in Bukit Batok Hill is the site where two llustrated by Jafri Janif shambles. At 9.30am on 15 February, LG memorials, the Syonan Chureito and the Allied Percival held a commanders’ conference at Memorial, once stood. Malaya Command’s headquarters at Fort The Syonan Chureito was a Japanese The dedication ceremonies of the above- FORCE 136 & GRAVE OF Canning Hill (today’s Battle Box). They made memorial built to honour the Japanese war mentioned memorials were held on 8 December LIM BO SENG • HISTORIC SITE the decision to surrender. dead during the battle for Singapore. The 1942 to mark the fi rst anniversary of the Force 136 was a clandestine military unit that At 11.30am, a British deputation, carrying a Japanese used 500 British and Australian commencement of the Pacifi c War and the existed from 1941 to 1946. It gathered Union Jack and a white fl ag, set out towards prisoners of war (POWs) from Sime Road Japanese “liberation” of Southeast Asia. The intelligence and conducted operations Japanese lines to invite LG Yamashita to Fort Camp to build the Syonan Chureito. dedication ceremony for the Syonan Chureito behind enemy lines in Southeast Asia during Canning to discuss surrender terms. The Allied POWs also requested a memorial was held fi rst, followed by the ceremony for the the war. The Japanese instead demanded that for their own war dead. The Japanese granted Allied Memorial, where a British commander The unit was part of the British Special gave a speech thanking the Japanese army. A Percival go to their headquarters at 4.30pm. the request and a smaller POW monument Operations Executive (SOE). The SOE was special ceremony was also held where the ashes The British delegation, now comprising was built behind the Chureito. formed in Britain in July 1940 to organise of the Japanese war dead were brought up the Percival, Brigadier Torrance, Brigadier The Syonan Chureito was a 12-metre high sabotage missions behind enemy lines in torch-lit stairs leading to the memorials and Newbigging and Major Wild, were forced to go wooden obelisk crowned with a brass cone, placed at the Syonan Chureito. Europe. The SOE formed a Malaya Country to the Ford Factory. They arrived half an hour and had the words “chu rei to” on it, which With the surrender of Japan, local Japanese Section in India and this was renamed Force late due to heavy fi ghting along the route. means “the sacrifi ce made by the fallen forces destroyed the Syonan Chureito and 136 in 1944. It also established a training Percival attempted to negotiate the terms of soldiers”. Behind it stood a small hut that removed the cross. They also transferred the school, 101 Special Training School (101 STS), surrender. One of them was that the British housed the ashes of those killed in the battle at ashes of the Japanese soldiers to the Japanese for its agents at Tanjong Balai, near the mouth Army keep 1,000 armed men to maintain order Bukit Timah. The Allied Memorial was a three- Cemetery Park at Chuan Hoe Avenue. of Jurong River. It trained local Malayans – in the city area immediately after surrender. metre high cross where the ashes of some of Returning British forces blew up the Chureito’s Indians, Chinese and Malays – in sabotage, Yamashita, however, demanded unconditional the war dead were interred. concrete foundation. small arms, explosives etc.

16 17

» south FINAL BATTLES AND THE CONSEQUENCES

Force 136 member Lim Bo Seng’s funeral service at MacRitchie Reservoir, 1946 Tham Sien Yen Collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore

Some of these trainees joined Dalforce, a died in captivity at Batu Gajah Prison in Perak volunteer army made up of local Chinese, and in 1944. others formed Force 136. After the war, his remains were brought Force 136 was headquartered in Kandy, back to Singapore. Hailed as a war hero, a Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and was further organised special funeral service was conducted on the into three groups to conduct covert operations steps of the Municipal Building (later in different parts of Asia. Group A took charge renamed City Hall). He was then laid to rest Pasir Panjang Pillbox, 2013 of Burma and French Indochina; Group B at MacRitchie Reservoir. Courtesy of National Heritage Board oversaw Malaya and the East Indies; and Group C was responsible for China. Force 136 recruited both local Chinese and HERITAGE TREE SOUTHERN SINGAPORE The Pasir Panjang machine-gun pillbox was Malays who had escaped to China and India as Bachang (Mangifera foetida) The southern sector held key installations, within the area that was defended by the Malay agents. Their local knowledge was critical as such as ammunition depots and the British Regiment. They might have used it in their covert operatives in Malaya. Located near Lim Military Hospital (today’s Alexandra Hospital). fi erce resistance against the Japanese 18th Force 136 groups infi ltrated Japanese- Bo Seng’s burial After the fall of Malaya, LG PercivaI Division in February 1942. occupied Malaya initially by sea, aided by site at MacRitchie established an all-round perimeter defence Dutch and British submarines. These Reservoir Park is a plan for Singapore. KENT RIDGE PARK • HISTORIC SITE operations were codenamed Gustavus. 22m-tall Bachang The southern sector was assigned to local Kent Ridge Park is part of what was formerly Airborne infi ltrations followed later and these tree. A native to military units, such as the Malay Regiment and known as Pasir Panjang Ridge. had various codenames such as Carpenter, Singapore, this tree the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force. Fighting broke out in Pasir Panjang as the Oatmeal, Hebrides and Beacon. can grow up to Japanese 18th Division advanced towards the Some of the Force 136 agents involved in the 30m in height. Its PASIR PANJANG city via Reformatory Road (today’s Clementi infi ltrations into Malaya later became the crown is dense and MACHINE-GUN PILLBOX • HISTORIC SITE Road), Ayer Rajah Road and Pasir Panjang Road. pioneers of the post-war Malayan Armed Forces. dome-shaped, and The southern sector was one of the most The Malay Regiment was deployed on Pasir its bark is light heavily fortifi ed areas of Singapore. Panjang Ridge, which overlooks these key Lim Bo Seng brown in colour Concrete pillboxes were built along the roads. The intent was to deny the enemy the One of the operatives from Singapore who and exudes a southern coastline as part of the defence of use of these roads. The ensuing Battle of Pasir trained in India was Lim Bo Seng. He led the whitish sap. Its leaves are large, stiff and the island. Equipped with machine guns, they Panjang Ridge witnessed some of the most Gustavus V Operation in October 1943. leathery, and the tree’s fl owers are reddish- were positioned at intervals of 600 yards along ferocious fi ghting in Singapore. However, Lim was betrayed by triple agent Lai pink and occur near branch tips. the beach. Land mines and barbed wire fences The Japanese had numerical superiority in Teck, and was captured by the Japanese. He reinforced these coastal defences. both troops and weapons. However, in the 18 19

face of a determined, well-trained and highly company’s courageous defence of Bukit disciplined Malay Regiment, the Japanese faced Chandu cost the Japanese many lives. strong resistance and suffered many casualties. The fi nal assault on Bukit Chandu resulted in The Japanese attacked the ridge in full force desperate hand-to-hand fi ghting and only few on 13 February 1942. They managed to push members of the regiment managed to escape. back most of the Malay Regiment’s frontlines In the Battle of Pasir Panjang Ridge, the on the ridge with the help of continuous mortar Malay Regiment lost 159 men (six British and artillery fi re, as well as air and tank support. offi cers, seven Malay offi cers and 146 other An exception was “C” Company of the Malay ranks) and suffered heavy casualties. Regiment’s 1st battalion. The battalion LG Percival paid the Malay Regiment this defended Pasir Panjang Village and engaged the stirring tribute: “These young and untried Japanese stubbornly. soldiers acquitted themselves in a way which The battered but resilient company bore comparison with the very best troops eventually withdrew to a new defence position in Malaya... [setting] an example for near the eastern edge of the ridge. The new steadfastness and endurance which will position was on a low hill called Bukit Chandu become a great tradition in the Regiment and Refl ections at Bukit Chandu, 2013 Courtesy of Singapore History Consultants (Malay for “Opium Hill”), named in reference an inspiration for future generations”. to the nearby Government Opium Factory.

REFLECTIONS AT BUKIT CHANDU HERITAGE TREE Ignoring the fact that it was clearly marked Located in a restored colonial bungalow, Penaga Laut (Calophyllum inophyllum) as a hospital and claiming that Allied troops Refl ections at Bukit Chandu is a World War II Next to Refl ections at Bukit Chandu is another had earlier fi red at them from the hospital Interpretative Centre that commemorates heritage tree, the area, the Japanese troops embarked on a and celebrates the history and spirit of the Penaga Laut, an murderous rampage. Malay Regiment, and its defence of Pasir evergreen tree that The Japanese soldiers rushed into the wards Panjang Ridge. can grow up to 25m and bayoneted about 50 unarmed patients and In particular, the centre pays homage to the in height. Its crown medical personnel. They even broke into an heroism of “C” Company, 1st Battalion Malay is widely spread operating theatre and killed everyone, including Regiment in their battles against the Japanese and its trunk is the patient undergoing surgery. Some of those at Bukit Chandu. The story of 2nd Lieutenant usually short and thick. The Penaga Laut has Painting of the Malay Regiment by Hoessein Enas Adnan Saidi is also highlighted. many uses: oil from the seeds can be used to heal attacked escaped by pretending to be dead. at Refl ections of Bukit Chandu, 2013 After the initial rampage, some 200 patients Lt Adnan foiled Japanese attempts to a multitude of skin ailments, and the resin, leaves Courtesy of Singapore History Consultants disguise themselves as Punjabi troops and and roots also have various medicinal uses. and staff were then locked up overnight in the inspired his men to fi ght to the very end. The nearby servants’ quarters. They were deprived of food and water and many men died that ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL • HISTORIC SITE night. The survivors were brought out and shot Alexandra Hospital was opened in 1940 as the the next day. Only a few managed to escape to main hospital for British military personnel in tell the tale. Singapore. Known as Alexandra Military News of the massacre reached the Hospital or British Military Hospital, it was commander of the 18th Division, LG described as “one of the largest and most Mutaguchi. On 17 February 1942, he toured the up-to-date military hospitals outside Great hospital and offered apologies for the atrocities Britain” and was established to cater to the committed by Japanese troops. He reportedly increased number of troops due to the buildup ordered the soldiers who were responsible to of fortifi cations in Singapore in the 1930s. It be punished. was also the site of a terrible massacre.

Map of Pasir The Japanese Invasion Post -war Panjang Ridge After the war, the British reoccupied and Source: On 14 February 1942, after the Battle of Pasir S. Woodburn Panjang, Japanese troops swept down continued to use Alexandra Military Hospital. Kirby, with Alexandra Road and were at the gates of the It was handed over to the Singapore modifi cations hospital. This medical facility was government by the British forces when they by Singapore pulled out from Singapore on 15 September History overcrowded, with almost twice as many Consultants patients as there were beds. 1971, and was renamed Alexandra Hospital. 20 21

Replica of the 6-inch guns at Siloso Battery, 2013 Keppel Harbour overlooking Pulau Brani, c. 1920s Courtesy of National Heritage Board Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore

Today, the architecture of Alexandra of 6-inch guns and was manned by gunners approach to Keppel Harbour, providing a a resident living in the nearby Pulau Sekijang Hospital evokes a sense of its rich history and from the 7th Coast Artillery Regiment. This deadly fi eld of fi re through their combined use. (today’s St John’s Island and Lazarus Island) heritage. Plaques installed in the garden (in was a multi-ethnic unit. Local Malays operated Siloso fi red on the same targets as Labrador. claimed to have seen Japanese soldiers front of the main entrance) commemorate the the searchlights, Indians operated the guns, It maintained continuous fi re on Pulau Bukom shooting Chinese civilians at sea and massacre victims. and British artillery regulars served as the and Pulau Sebarok, islands located on the tossing their bodies into the water. It is Non-Commissioned Offi cers (NCOs) and south of Singapore, even after the destruction possible that the bodies of other Sook Ching THE GUNS OF SINGAPORE offi cers. The Indians and British were from the of Labrador’s guns. victims from other beach sites drifted over to The Singapore Naval Base at Sembawang was Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion, Royal The guns destroyed the oil installations on Sentosa Island. protected against enemy attacks from the sea Artillery (HKSRA). Bukom as part of the policy to deny the by 29 coastal artillery guns. Together with Siloso Battery, it sank a Japanese the use of these facilities. The fi res KEPPEL HARBOUR • HISTORIC SITE Comprising 6-inch, 9.2-inch and 15-inch Japanese ammunition vessel travelling west that ensued contributed to the pall of black Early History guns, they were organised into two fi re on 12 February 1942. The next day, it fi red on smoke that hung over the war-torn island. Keppel Harbour’s history stretches back commands. The Changi Fire Command Japanese soldiers coming from West Coast Today, both Labrador and Siloso retain their centuries before the arrival of the British. guarded the eastern approach to the Naval Road and Jurong River. The guns of the military heritage, educating tourists and locals The area was originally a base for pirates Base. The Faber Fire Command protected battery were later destroyed to deny their use alike on the guns of Singapore. during the 14th century and later on, a Keppel Harbour and prevented landings on the by the Japanese. location where nomadic tribes of Orang Laut southern coast. SENTOSA BEACH • HISTORIC SITE (literally “sea people” in Malay) settled SILOSO BATTERY Pulau Blakang Mati (today’s Sentosa Island) before Sir Stamford Raffl es’ arrival in 1819. LABRADOR BATTERY • HISTORIC SITE Siloso Battery was the twin battery of Labrador is believed to be one of the sites where mass In the 1850s, the British developed Keppel Labrador Battery (now part of Labrador Park) and similarly had two 6-inch guns. Together executions were conducted by the Japanese Harbour to bolster Singapore’s growing was under Faber Fire Command. It had a pair with Labrador, the guns protected the western during the war. An eyewitness account from maritime commerce. 22 23

The Japanese Invasion EXECUTION OF CAPTURED RIMAU » city During the invasion of Malaya, Keppel Harbour COMMANDOS • HISTORIC SITE was amongst the fi rst targets of Japanese The area near the Dover Road entrance to bombing on 8 December 1941. University Town (U-Town) was the execution REMEMBERING THE Large numbers of soldiers arrived in site for ten members of Operation Rimau. This Singapore via Keppel harbour to bolster the was a daring raid undertaken by 23 British and defence of Malaya and Singapore. This Australian commandos from Z Special Unit. JAPANESE OCCUPATION increased the number of troops dramatically The team was led by the newly-promoted from 88,000 in December 1941 to 137,000 in Lieutenant-Colonel Ivan Lyon, who had led the DOWNTOWN SINGAPORE SOOK CHING INSPECTION CENTRE February 1942. One such group was the last earlier successful raid, Operation Jaywick, in The Japanese Occupation in Singapore lasted (HONG LIM COMPLEX) • HISTORIC SITE section of the British 18th Division which September 1943. from 15 February 1942 to 12 September 1945. During the Japanese Occupation, the arrived on 29 January 1942, shortly before The team left Australia for Singapore on 11 Many signifi cant events of that period took Kempeitai used the junction at Hong Lim the surrender. September 1944 on board the submarine place within the city area. Facilities such as Complex as a Sook Ching inspection centre. On the other hand, the harbour also HMS Porpoise. Sailing into heavily patrolled the Fort Canning Command Centre and the This was where the mass screening of the witnessed the desperate evacuation of enemy waters, they commandeered a Malay YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) Chinese male population was held. thousands, particularly in the last few days of prahu, Mustika, on 28 September 1944 and Building were taken over and used by the Instructions for civilians on the screening the battle for Singapore. Unfortunately, many continued the rest of the journey posing as Japanese. The city area also witnessed the exercise were widely distributed and of the ships were sunk while departing local sailors. historic Japanese surrender ceremony at the broadcasted. Although only Chinese men the harbour. The mission was aborted when the men Municipal Building (later renamed City Hall) between the ages of 18-50 were summoned, were discovered by local auxiliary forces just and Padang in 1945. many children and women had also headed Under Japanese Rule off Kasu Island near Batam, Indonesia around Adjacent to the Padang are the war towards these inspection centres. During the Japanese Occupation, Keppel 6 October 1944. According to Japanese memorials bearing testimony to the pain and The primary task of Sook Ching appeared Harbour was the target of Operation Jaywick sources, the men fi red at a local patrol vessel suffering caused by the war: the Cenotaph, to weed out anti-Japanese elements. on 27 September 1943, one of the most the Lim Bo Seng Memorial and the Civilian The Kempeitai were originally instructed to thinking that it was Japanese. One man successful commando raids in World War II. War Memorial. A marker locating the historic screen for fi ve main categories of priority escaped and reported the incident, and the The raid was led by Major Ivan Lyon of the site where the former Indian National Army suspects: those whose names were listed by Japanese went searching for the party. Gordon Highlanders. The men from Jaywick memorial once stood is also located nearby. military intelligence authorities as anti- Over the next few days, the commandos sank 37,000 tonnes of Japanese shipping in The city area is thus marked with many sites Japanese suspects, Straits Settlements were hunted down by the Japanese. Ten out of one night. that tell the story of invasion, occupation, Volunteer Force (SSVF) members, the 23 men were captured and transferred Jaywick’s success was followed by the liberation and remembrance. communists, agents of social unrest such as back to Singapore. The remaining commandos ill-fated Operation Rimau in 1944 which were killed while attempting to escape back sought to cause damage similar to the earlier to Australia. operation at Keppel Harbour. Operation Rimau was a failure and all of the commandos The captured commandos were imprisoned involved, including Lyon and fi ve others from at Outram Prison, infamous for its dire Jaywick, were killed, or captured and later conditions and brutal punishments. executed by the Japanese. The ten men were put on trial on charges of irregular warfare and spying on 3 July 1945. All Japanese Surrender were sentenced to death. On 4 September 1945, HMS Sussex and the On 7 July 1945, they were driven to their lead elements of the 5th Indian Division execution site near Pasir Panjang. They were became the fi rst Allied forces to return to to be executed by beheading. The youngest Keppel Harbour after the defeat of Japan. member was Lance Corporal Jon Hardy, who Senior Japanese offi cials went onboard HMS was only 23 years old. The men faced their Sussex to coordinate the landing of Allied deaths bravely, even refusing to be blindfolded. troops on the docks and begin the All ten were buried nearby in three graves. reoccupation of Singapore. In November 1945, their remains were exhumed and eventually transferred to Kranji Today War Cemetery. While a section of Keppel Harbour remains Today, 17 of the 23 commandos are interred part of one of the world’s busiest ports, most at the cemetery. The remains of the other six The Battle Box, 2013 of it has been transformed for recreational use. men were never found. Courtesy of Singapore History Consultants 24 25

secret society members and looters, and those who possessed fi rearms. In reality, the screening was conducted in an arbitrary manner. Hong Lim Complex stood at the epicentre of a large cordoned area where the Sook Ching screenings took place. Barbed wire stretched from South Bridge Road to New Bridge Road, and the peripheries of Elgin Bridge, North Bridge Road and Kreta Ayer were also bound by this enclosure. This was to ensure that suspects could not escape. Those who “passed” the screenings were released while those who “failed” were loaded into trucks and transported to remote areas to be executed.

FORT CANNING • HISTORIC SITE The Cathay Building, 1947 COMMAND CENTRE Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore Fort Canning Command Centre occupied the top of Fort Canning Hill. It included an offi ce building that housed the headquarters, with supply of food and ammunition, and the The 17-storey building was then 79.5 metres in barracks sited on the other side of the hill. An defenders and civilians in the city no longer had height, making it the fi rst skyscraper in underground complex, also known as the access to water supplies. Singapore, and the tallest in Southeast Asia at Battle Box or Fort Canning Bunker, was located On the afternoon of 15 February, Percival and that time. It used to house Singapore’s fi rst between both buildings. The Battle Box was a a delegation of senior offi cers left for the Ford air-conditioned cinema, lavish apartments, a bomb-proof underground bunker. Factory in Bukit Timah, headquarters of LG restaurant and a hotel. At the time of completion, the Fort Canning Yamashita. They signed the surrender The Cathay Building also housed the British Command Centre was the largest military document that marked the start of the Malaya Broadcasting Corporation, from which operations complex in Singapore. It served as Japanese Occupation in Singapore. it transmitted updates on the progress of the the headquarters of Malaya Command and had war. In addition, the building’s ground fl oor was an area of responsibility that covered many Under Japanese Rule used as a bomb shelter for nearby residents. regions including Singapore, Malaya, North The Japanese took over the Fort Canning Borneo and Hong Kong. Command Centre, converting it into the Under Japanese Rule headquarters for Major-General Saburo The building was hit by an estimated 14 shells The Japanese Invasion Kawamura. The underground complex was in February 1942, and was subsequently taken LG Percival was forced to shift his command largely abandoned with the possible exception over by the Japanese when the British centre from Sime Road to Fort Canning on of the signals room. surrendered. 11 February 1942. This was because of the It then housed the Japanese Broadcasting increased machine-gun fi re near Sime Road End of War Department, the Japanese Military Camp during the battle for Singapore. From Although the British military reoccupied Fort Propaganda Department and the Japanese the Battle Box at Fort Canning, Percival Canning Command Centre when the war Military Information Bureau. Syonan-To (the ended, the Battle Box was eventually sealed off Japanese name for Singapore) was continued to plan military operations until the and abandoned. subsequently declared the media centre for all British surrender. Today, the Battle Box is a museum that newspapers in Syonan-To and Malai (the narrates the events leading to the fall of Japanese name for Malaya). Decision for Surrender Singapore during World War II. The cinema in the Cathay Building was The decision to surrender in Singapore was renamed Dai Toa Gekijo (“Greater East Asian fi rst made by the Allied commanders in the FORMER CATHAY BUILDING • NATIONAL MONUMENT Theatre” in Japanese) and screened mainly Battle Box. They gathered at the Battle Box on The fl agship Cathay cinema with 1,300 seats Japanese movies and propaganda fi lms. the morning of 15 February to reassess their was housed in the Cathay Building on Handy Cinema-goers had to sit through propaganda ability to resist the Japanese. Surrender Road. It was designed by architect Frank Brewer clips showcasing Japan’s power as well as Entrance to the Battle Box, 2013 seemed like the only option for Percival and his and inaugurated on 3 October 1939 by Loke newsreels of Japanese military forces in action Courtesy of Singapore History Consultants senior commanders in view of the depleting Wan Tho, the founder of Cathay Organisation. and their victories in Southeast Asia. 26 27

South East Asia Command (SEAC) After the war ended, the fate of the YMCA With the Japanese surrender on 12 September building became a subject of much discussion. 1945, the building served as Admiral Lord Louis The British wanted to demolish it and designate Mountbatten’s Southeast Asia Command the open space as a memorial to those who had (SEAC) headquarters in the postwar period. It suffered under the Japanese. It was used for a was returned to the Cathay Organisation in while as a Forces Centre for the Salvation Army November 1946. In February 2003, the Cathay Services Welfare team from India. In Building was gazetted as a National December 1946, the YMCA reclaimed the Monument. Extensive renovations headed by building and resumed operations there. In Paul Tange were completed in 2006 for the 1981-82, they received approval and raised the launch of the new Cathay Cineplex and required funds to have it demolished and to Raffl es statue in shopping mall. Today, a history gallery called construct a new nine-storey building in its front of Victoria place, which stands on the site today. Memorial Hall, 1919 The Cathay Gallery is located on the second Courtesy of fl oor of the Cathay Building. National Archives NATIONAL MUSEUM of Singapore KEMPEITAI EAST DISTRICT BRANCH OF SINGAPORE • NATIONAL MONUMENT (YMCA) • HISTORIC SITE The National Museum of Singapore had its The Kempeitai was established in 1881 in beginnings in 1849 as a small extension to the Japan. During World War II, it was responsible library reading room of the Singapore for maintaining internal security in Japanese- Institution (later Raffl es Institution) located at occupied territories. Beach Road. In Singapore, the Kempeitai came under the The museum started as a private collection jurisdiction of the Ministry of War and was with just two gold coins contributed by the headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Masayuki Oishi. Temenggong of Johore and later grew to house Its headquarters was the Art Deco-styled a wide range of ethnographic and zoological former YMCA building. Serving under Oishi collections. were 200 regular Kempeitai offi cers and 1,000 In 1874, the institution was offi cially auxiliaries from the army, deployed for established under the colonial government as the Young Men’s Raffl es Library and Museum. The museum Christian operations in Singapore and Malaya. Association The Kempeitai were responsible for many of building was completed at Stamford Road in 1887. (YMCA) Building, the atrocities that were conducted during the 1923 Japanese Occupation in Singapore and an Courtesy of HERITAGE TREE National Archives unknown number of people died or suffered Indian Rubber (Ficus elastic) of Singapore terribly at their hands. The YMCA building was at the heart of much of this and came to be An Indian Rubber regarded with dread by the general population. tree stands next Among the numerous internees there were to the National The War Years internees were even released to help maintain Elizabeth Choy and her husband Choy Khun Museum of After the fall of Singapore in 1942, Governor the Gardens. The preservation work also Heng. They were arrested in October 1943 and Singapore. An Shenton Thomas wrote a letter to the Japanese included the statue of Sir Stamford Raffl es. The accused of relaying messages to Allied evergreen tree, offi cials to propose the preservation of the statue, sculpted by Thomas Woolner, was fi rst prisoners of war (POWs). this species is scientifi c collections of the museum. The unveiled in 1887 at the Padang to During their imprisonment, they were hardy and fast growing, and can reach up to offi cials were receptive to the idea as Emperor commemorate the Golden Jubilee Day of tortured by electric shock, beaten and starved. 30m in height. A distinguishing feature is its Hirohito had a personal regard for biological Queen Victoria. It was commissioned to Elizabeth was imprisoned for 200 days, while descending aerial roots. studies and had called for the preservation of preserve the memory of modern Singapore’s Khun Heng was released only after the The Indian Rubber was once a species of museums, libraries and collections of scientifi c founder. Following the surrender of Singapore Japanese surrender. During the war crimes economic importance in this region. Its latex interests in occupied lands. in February 1942, the Japanese authorities trials held after the war, many of the Kempeitai was tapped and processed into gutta rambong, Marquis Tokugawa, the advisor to the head ordered Indian labourers to remove the statue offi cers defended their actions. They a type of low quality rubber. After the of the Japanese Military Administration in from its display compound in front of Victoria rationalised that they were compelled to carry introduction of the Para Rubber (Hevea Syonan-To (the Japanese name for Singapore), Memorial Hall. The Renaissance colonnade out the orders of their superiors, prompted by brasiliensis), which produced better quality became President of the Gardens and that once stood with the statue at Empress fear of the consequences of failure, and did not rubber, the planting of Indian Rubber and Museum. As a result, the Raffl es Museum and Place was destroyed while the bronze statue hold personal grudges or agendas against tapping of its latex were slowly phased out. the Singapore Botanic Gardens were carefully was kept in the museum and fortunately their victims. managed and protected. British civilian remained intact whilst in storage. 28 29

The institution was later used as a hospital FORMER CITY HALL • NATIONAL MONUMENT by the Red Cross to treat military casualties. The Municipal Building was constructed to Classrooms were converted into wards while house the various departments of the Municipal the Map Room was transformed into an Commission in one building. Designed in a operation theatre. Most survivors of the neoclassical style by the municipal architect F. D. sunken battleships, the HMS Prince of Wales Meadows and Alexander Gordon, the building and HMS Repulse, were wheeled in for was completed in 1929 and has an exterior treatment at SJI. Apart from serving as a fronted by a row of Corinthian columns. Red Cross Hospital during the war, the school The building has been the site of various also housed the Air Raid Precautionary important events in Singapore’s history. One (ARP) group. of the most signifi cant was the Japanese Once the Japanese had captured Singapore, surrender ceremony of 1945. It was a major SJI was turned into a temporary barracks for surrender ceremony that marked the end of the Japanese soldiers. As the Japanese World War II in Southeast Asia. On 12 consolidated their rule in Singapore, the September, General Itagaki signed the brothers of SJI were made to leave. The school surrender document that formally concluded was later structured along military lines and the surrender of all Japanese military forces in renamed the Bras Basah Boys’ School. the Southeast Asian theatre of war. Admiral Students were separated into different classes Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme St Joseph's Institution at Bras Basah Road, c. 1900 Arshak C Galstaun Collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore according to their ethnicity, and were taught Commander of the Southeast Asia Command, singing, gymnastics, gardening and the accepted the surrender in a chamber inside the Japanese language among many other building before addressing the people present subjects. from the steps of the building. In 1946, the Raffl es statue was restored to With the Japanese surrender in 1945, the The funeral ceremony of the World War II its original site at Empress Place. The Raffl es brothers returned to SJI and the school was hero Lim Bo Seng also took place at the steps Museum was renamed the National Museum restored to its pre-war functions. Having of this building on 13 January 1946 before he of Singapore in 1960, and the building was later outgrown its capacity by 1988, the institution was buried at MacRitchie Reservoir. gazetted as a National Monument in 1992. It moved to a new campus at Malcolm Road. In 1951, the Municipal Building was renamed was reopened in 2006 after an extensive The building was gazetted as a National City Hall after Singapore was offi cially three-year redevelopment. The museum Monument in 1992. After several renovations conferred the status of a city. Subsequently, underwent a revamp in 2015 to celebrate and rounds of refurbishment, the old SJI the building housed many government offi ces, Singapore’s 50th year of independence, and its building presently stands as the Singapore the last being the chambers of the High Court. permanent galleries house some 1,700 Art Museum. The building was gazetted as a National artefacts from the National Collection. Monument in 1992. It became the National PADANG Gallery, Singapore in 2015. FORMER ST JOSEPH’S INSTITUTION The Padang, which means “fi eld” in Malay, was (SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM) • NATIONAL MONUMENT a hub of British colonial life in Singapore. It was ST ANDREW’S The school bells at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) used for sports and recreation. Most notably, CATHEDRAL • NATIONAL MONUMENT rang for the fi rst time in 1852 in an old chapel the Singapore Cricket Club and Singapore Situated next to City Hall MRT station, off Bras Basah Road. Six members of a French Recreation Club were set up on opposite ends St Andrew’s Cathedral is the oldest Anglican Catholic fellowship, the De La Salle Brothers, in the 1800s, and still remain there today. house of worship in Singapore. It was had founded the education institute to provide Immediately after the fall of Singapore, constructed by Indian convict labourers. education opportunities for the poor. By 1922, thousands of surrendered Allied military During the war in Malaya in February 1942, Lord Louis Mountbatten speaking at the the number of students enrolled had grown personnel and European civilians were the cathedral was used as an emergency Municipal Building after the Japanese surrender, to 1,600. gathered on the fi eld and marched to their hospital and a casualty clearing station. 12 September 1945 As the war approached the island, all Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore POW camps in Changi. Casualties of the frequent bombings were also schools, including SJI, closed. The inner At the end of the Occupation on sent to the cathedral, which led to courtyard and a classroom at SJI were hit by 12 September 1945, Allied forces gathered overcrowding. Nevertheless, church services bombs during the war. Although no casualties again at the Padang with thousands of local continued regularly. resulted from the blasts, one of the attacks left civilians. This time however, they had gathered In 1952, a War Memorial Wing was added in a noticeable crater in the school courtyard, to witness the Japanese surrender in the dedication of those who died in the war. In which was discernible until 1992. Municipal Building (today’s City Hall). 1988, a memorial plaque was installed in 30 31

remembrance of the Malayan Civil Service The monument was demolished by British (MCS) offi cials who died during the war. forces soon after their return. A marker The cathedral was gazetted as a National was installed on the site of the former Monument in 1973 and remains as an Indian National Army Monument to important place of worship for the Anglican commemorate the 50th anniversary of the community today. end of World War II.

LIM BO SENG MEMORIAL • NATIONAL MONUMENT CIVILIAN WAR MEMORIAL • NATIONAL MONUMENT The Lim Bo Seng Memorial is a 3.6m-high Featuring four parallel pillars that taper octagonal pagoda in the centre of a large towards the top, the Civilian War Memorial landscaped area. The pagoda is made of Unveiling of Lim Bo Seng Memorial by the Commander- (CWM) commemorates the civilians who died bronze, concrete and marble, and has four In-Chief, Far East Land Forces Sir Charles Loewen, 1954 Collection of Ministry of Information, Communication during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. bronze lions at its base and a top that is and the Arts, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore The four pillars symbolise the four major ethnic crowned by a three-tiered roof. The memorial groups in Singapore, while the joining of the is the work of architect Ng Keng Siang, who pillars at the base represents unity and was appointed by Lim Bo Seng’s widow. shared suffering. Lim was part of Force 136, which carried out The building of a memorial for civilians was clandestine operations in Malaya. He was triggered by the discovery of human remains captured by the Japanese and eventually died believed, and later verifi ed, to be victims of the in Batu Gajah Prison. Lim’s remains were Unveiling of the Civilian War Memorial, dedicated to the Japanese Occupation in the Siglap area in transferred back to Singapore and a funeral civilians who were victims of the Japanese Occupation, 1967 February 1962. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore service was held on the steps of the Municipal The news reports generated on these graves Building on 13 January 1946. He was then brought attention to the Sook Ching massacre buried with full military honours at the of 1942, a purge conducted by the Japanese MacRitchie Reservoir. authorities on the Chinese civilian population Considered a war hero, a memorial for him in Singapore. Estimates of the number of dead was proposed by the Lim Bo Seng memorial as a result of Sook Ching range from about Committee set up in 1946. Requests made by 6,000 to 25,000. the Memorial Committee to have a Memorial Following the discovery of the human Park around his tomb at MacRitchie Reservoir remains in 1962, the Singapore Chinese were rejected by the British Government. They Chamber of Commerce requested for instead gave permission for a memorial to be permission from the authorities to build a set up at its current location at Esplanade Park. Subhas Chandra Bose reviews “Rani of Jhansi” regiment and other Indian National Army troops at Waterloo It was unveiled on 29 June 1954, on the 10th memorial and park for the civilian victims. Unveiling of the Cenotaph, 1922 Street, 1943 This eventually led to the construction of the anniversary of Lim Bo Seng’s death. S.R. Nathan Collection, Courtesy of National Archives Collection of Ministry of Information, Communication of Singapore and the Arts, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore Civilian War Memorial that we see today at CENOTAPH • NATIONAL MONUMENT Beach Road. Located at Esplanade Park, the Cenotaph is a Construction of the memorial cost war memorial that was originally built to unveiled it on 31 March 1922 with a young sometimes forced soldiers from the defeated $750,000. The money came from the honour volunteers in Singapore who died in Louis Mountbatten at his side. The same British Indian Army in Southeast Asia to join Singapore Government and from donations World War I. The Cenotaph was later Mountbatten was to later receive the Japanese the INA to liberate India. made by Singaporeans. rededicated as a World War II memorial. This surrender directly across the Padang in The INA was initially led by Captain Mohan Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew unveiled the is done on the other side of the Cenotaph, September 1945. In the postwar years, Richard Singh and subsequently taken over by the well- monument on 15 February 1967 “to remember which was inscribed with the words “They died Nixon, Queen Elizabeth II and Singapore’s fi rst known Indian independence campaigner, the men and women who were the hapless so we might live” in the four offi cial languages President, Yusof bin Ishak have laid wreaths Subhas Chandra Bose. It was dissolved with victims of one of the fi res of history”. of Singapore, and the steps were extended to there in remembrance of the fallen. the Japanese defeat in 1945. Under the 222-foot high structure is a vault include the years of 1939 to 1945. The Indian National Army Monument was that contains the remains of many unidentifi ed Many famous individuals have stood at INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY • HISTORIC SITE built at the Esplanade in August 1945 just victims. Every year on 15 February, which is the Cenotaph. Georges Clemenceau, Premier The Indian National Army (INA) was a force before the Japanese surrender. This monument also commemorated as Total Defence Day in of France, witnessed the laying of its set up with the assistance of the Japanese in was dedicated to the “unknown warrior” of the Singapore, a ceremony will be held at the foundation stone on 15 November 1920. The 1942. Following the British surrender in INA and to the INA members who were killed Memorial to remember and honour the lives Prince of Wales (and later Edward the VIII) February 1942, the Japanese encouraged and in fi ghting in Burma. lost during the war years. 32 33

PEOPLE’S DEFENCE FORCE HEADQUARTERS (BEACH ROAD CAMP) • HISTORIC SITE The Singapore Volunteer Corp (SVC) was the fi rst British volunteer force established in the Far East. Its motto reads In Oriente Primus, which means “First in the East” in Latin. It was set up in 1854 when 61 Europeans offered assistance to the overstretched police to quell the Chinese riots between Hokkiens and Teochews. The origins of Beach Road Camp can be traced back to 1907, when it became the Japanese soldiers at Kallang Airfi eld, 1942 headquarters for the Chinese Company of the Collection of David Ng, Courtesy of National Singapore Volunteer Corps (SVC). Beach Road Archives of Singapore Camp’s importance increased when it became the main headquarters of SVC in 1932. The SVC, which also had artillery and engineering units, was placed under the command of the Straits Settlement Volunteer Forces (SSVF) in 1922. This included volunteers from Penang and Province Wellesley (today’s Seberang Perai), and Malacca. By 1941, the 2,000-strong SSVF also had its headquarters at Beach Road Camp. According to LG Percival, the SSVF did not Singapore Governor Sir Franklin Gimson (on platform) A postcard of the painting titled “Fighter Place W8155 receive proper military training due to a lack of during the Singapore Volunteer Corps presentation at Kallang Airfi eld”, by Saburo Miyamoto, 1942 funds. During the Japanese invasion, the SVC award ceremony at its Beach Road headquarters, 1951 Collection of Taka Sakurai, Courtesy of National did not see action against the Japanese Collection of Ministry of Information, Communication Archives of Singapore because they were stationed in the southern and the Arts, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore sector of Singapore along with the Malay Regiment. They mainly performed guard and patrolling duties, manned observation war ended. Singapore’s fi rst Minister for At the start of the Malayan Campaign, the One of the airfi eld’s last actions before the posts and strengthened existing defences. Defence, Dr Goh Keng Swee, was a airfi eld was home to two squadrons of surrender was the evacuation of high level During the invasion, they had to endure non-commissioned offi cer in the SVC. Brewster Buffalo fi ghter planes. personnel to the Dutch East Indies. Two fl ights constant Japanese aerial attacks. The 1st SSVF The SVC disbanded in 1946 but was revived In January 1942, overwhelming air attacks were launched using Royal Australian Air Force Battalion in particular was deployed in in 1949. It was merged with the fl edgling by the Japanese forced the British to Hudsons over the course of 10 February, which defensive positions just before Singapore’s Singapore Military Forces in 1954 and served withdraw their planes from Singapore. The succeeded in evacuating senior Royal Air Force surrender, in the area stretching from Newton during the Konfrontasi with Indonesia in the majority of the airplanes were ordered to (RAF) personnel. However, Air Marshal to the Ford Factory. 1960s. Its veterans played an important role in evacuate to Sumatra, while a small number Conway Pulford, the commander of the RAF in The volunteers’ experiences during the developing the young Singapore Armed remained at Kallang, which became the last the Far East, refused to leave the stricken island Japanese Occupation varied. Although Malay Forces. The SVC was renamed the People’s operational airfi eld with Allied air power in until 13 February 1942. Pulford’s decision to and some Eurasian volunteers were released, Defence Force after Singapore became Singapore. The remaining six Buffalo and later escape by sea cost him his life. some 200 Chinese volunteers were executed independent in 1965. Beach Road Camp was eight Hurricane fi ghter planes at Kallang During the Japanese Occupation, the during the Sook Ching massacre. Many European redeveloped into a commercial site in 2007 but were launched to attack the Japanese forces Japanese replaced Kallang’s grass runway with and Eurasian volunteers became POWs and were several of its buildings were conserved. landing on the west coast of Singapore. concrete. Kallang reopened as a civil airport in sent to build the Thai-Burma Death Railway. The airfi eld was soon badly damaged as its 1949. In its heyday between 1949 to 1954, as Some of Singapore’s political leaders served KALLANG AIRFIELD • HISTORIC SITE landing fi eld and control tower were the many as 149,000 passengers passed through in the SVC. The fi rst Chief Minister of The Last Holdout targets of heavy Japanese bombing. the airport each year. Singapore, David Marshall, was a private in the The Kallang Airfi eld opened in 1937, serving as By 7 February, the last Buffalo plane The airport stopped operating in 1955. Its SVC. He became a POW during the war and Singapore’s civil airport. It was regarded as a was destroyed at Kallang, and the last premises then served as the home for the was shipped to a forced labour camp in feat of modern engineering as it was built over Hurricane planes left for Sumatra on People’s Association, a statutory board of Hokkaido, Japan, where he remained until the what was once swampland. 10 February. Singapore, until it relocated in 2009. 34 35

Block 151 of Roberts Barracks, c. 1950 The Changi Museum, 2013 Courtesy of The Changi Museum Courtesy of Singapore History Consultants

» east THE CHANGI MUSEUM • HISTORIC SITE 1936 to replace the Outram Prison, it was The Changi Museum provides in-depth designed to hold up to 600 prisoners. accounts of the lives of Singaporeans, POWs During the Japanese Occupation, civilians THE GUNS OF and civilian internees who were imprisoned in from Britain and other Western nations were Singapore and the region. It also serves as a incarcerated at Changi Prison. Up to 3,500 resource centre for the records of nearly 5,000 men, women and children were held at Changi SINGAPORE AND civilian internees who were registered in Prison until May 1944. Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. The civilian internees carried out many The Changi Museum opened on 15 February activities in spite of their diffi cult circumstances CAPTIVITY 2001, the 59th anniversary of the Fall of to maintain and improve morale. They took to Singapore. The museum was built to replace the gardening, boxing, organising concerts and old Prison Chapel and Museum, which was built cricket tournaments and even set up a school EASTERN SINGAPORE The batteries were part of a gun-defence in 1988 by the then inmates of Changi Prison. for the children in the camp. The name Changi may have been derived from system that protected the Naval Base at There are several signifi cant exhibits housed However, death and suffering were constant the local timber “chengal” or “chengai”, which Sembawang. within the museum, including replicas of the possibilities, as was the case in the “Double could refer to either the Hopea sangal or During the Japanese Occupation, the entire “Changi Murals” (the originals are currently Tenth Incident”. Suspecting the internees had Neobalanocarpus heimii. area became a major prisoner-of-war (POW) conserved in Block 151, Changi Air Base) and planned a raid that sunk seven Japanese ships The name was used to refer to the south- camp where close to 50,000 Allied POWs, the Changi Quilts. The museum also houses in Keppel Harbour in September 1943, the eastern tip of the island as early as 1824. Right mainly British and Australian, were interned. original works such as the paintings of Angela Kempeitai swooped on Changi Prison on up to the early 1920s, Changi was a rural area, The Japanese forced POWs to construct the Bateman, a civilian internee in Changi Prison, 10 October 1943 (thus the name “double- comprising mostly Malay villages, rubber fi rst military airfi eld in Changi. When the Allies and the Changi Cross. The Changi Chapel is a tenth”). Fifty-seven internees were taken to plantations and large tracts of mangrove returned, the air base became Royal Air Force place where commemoration ceremonies are Kempeitai cells for interrogation. The brutality swamps and forests. (RAF) Changi. Singapore authorities took over sometimes held, as a mark of respect and of the interrogation resulted in the death of The area became militarised from the late the site in 1971 when British forces ended their remembrance of those who died in the war. 15 internees. 1920s when the British constructed a massive long military presence here. The Republic of In May 1944, the civilian internees in Changi cantonment consisting of coastal gun Singapore Air Force (RSAF) now operates part CHANGI PRISON • NATIONAL MONUMENT Prison were transferred to Sime Road Camp, batteries, barracks, a railway for transporting of the facility as Changi Air Base. The rest of the Changi Prison, also known as Changi Gaol, is a while the POWs from the camp were brought ammunition to the guns and a road system. site has become Changi International Airport. historically signifi cant site in Changi. Built in to Changi Prison. In total, more than 10,000 36 37

Construction work began in late 1933 and Selarang Barracks, besides being a POW was completed in 1938. The battery was camp, also had its Offi cers Mess and one of named “Johore Battery” in 1935 in recognition its barrack blocks transformed by the POWs of the Sultan of Johore’s contribution of into an auxiliary hospital for 2,000 patients. £500,000 to the British government. Most of This was necessary as the primary POW this money was used to build the battery. hospital in Changi, established at Roberts The Johore Battery was used extensively Barracks, was overwhelmed by the large throughout the battle for Singapore. On 5 numbers who required medical treatment. Selarang Barracks was also the site of the February 1942, two of its 15-inch guns fi red infamous “Selarang Incident”. In September north towards Japanese targets in Johore 1942, the Japanese forcefully relocated the Bahru and on the Causeway. The battery fi red Allied POWs in Changi to Selarang Barracks at Pasir Panjang from 10 to 12 February and after they refused to sign a declaration giving only stopped fi ring when the Allied defenders up their right to escape. Built to accommodate moved outside of the gun’s range. With defeat only 800 soldiers, 15,400 POWs were moved looming, the soldiers withdrawing from Johore into the barracks. The overcrowding made Battery blew up the guns to prevent the living conditions extremely poor. As there were battery’s use by the Japanese. only two water taps available at Selarang In the 1970s, airport facilities were built Barracks, the POWs had to dig holes to be used over two of the gun positions. The magazine as latrines. In the face of continued POW of the remaining gun was rediscovered in defi ance, the Japanese threatened to transfer 1991. In remembrance of the battery’s the sick POWs from Roberts Barracks to signifi cance to Singapore’s history, a replica Selarang. Eventually, the POWs were ordered of a 15-inch gun was mounted on this site. It by their offi cers to sign the declaration as they was unveiled on 15 February 2002, during a feared an outbreak of disease. The “Selarang ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Incident” came to an end after the declarations were collected. the Fall of Singapore. POWs at Selarang Barracks also organised concert parties to boost morale. Internees INDIA BARRACKS improvised with the available resources and India Barracks was one of four barracks built created props to complement their in Changi in the 1930s by the British. The four performances. The concerts also attracted barracks formed a huge 2,000-acre military regular attendance from Japanese offi cers, Replica of a 15-inch gun at the site of Johore Battery, 2013 base which included the coastal-gun batteries some of whom were sympathetic and provided Courtesy of Singapore History Consultants of Changi Fire Command. stage equipment for the POWs. India Barracks, built in 1934, accommodated Most of the original buildings of Selarang the Anti-Aircraft (AA) Regiments which have been demolished following redevelopment in 1980, with the exception of prisoners were crowded in and around the JOHORE BATTERY • HISTORIC SITE operated the AA defences in the area. The the old Offi cers’ Mess, which was handed prison. Five thousand POWs were incarcerated The Johore Battery was part of the coastal-gun barracks became known as the India Barracks over to the Singapore Armed Forces. within the prison while the rest were defence system that protected the British Naval because the quarters were mostly occupied accommodated in attap huts outside the prison Base at Sembawang against Japanese warships by Punjabi soldiers from the Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion, Royal Artillery. ROBERTS BARRACKS walls. By then, many POWs had already been that would come through the Straits of Johore. Roberts Barracks was constructed between transported out of Singapore as slave labour to The guns in the eastern sector, comprising 1934 and 1936 as living quarters for the Coast SELARANG BARRACKS several countries in the region and to Japan. 6-, 9.2- and 15-inch calibre guns, came under Artillery Regiment of the Royal Artillery, Constructed in 1936, Selarang Barracks was After the war, many Japanese soldiers were the Changi Fire Command. The batteries were which operated the gun batteries in Changi. home to a British infantry unit, the 2nd incarcerated at Changi. They were held there distributed from Changi to Pulau Tekong and Roberts Barracks was turned into a hospital for up to two years because of the lack of Pengerang in the southern tip of Johore. Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders from within two weeks of the British surrender. transport to repatriate them. Together, they covered the eastern entrance Scotland, until 1941. The unit’s location in An operating theatre was sited at Block 126 A new prison complex was constructed in into the Johore Straits. Changi ensured that a full battalion of soldiers while an isolation wing for diphtheria 2004, but key features of the original structure Johore Battery, one of several batteries was available to defend the guns of Changi. (a serious bacteria infection) patients was were preserved: two turrets, the 180-metre prison under the Changi Fire Command, was armed During the Japanese Occupation, the situated at Block 128. Blocks 144 and 151 wall, and the entrance gate. These were gazetted with three 15-inch guns. They had a maximum barracks in Changi became internment camps served as the dysentery wing and a mortuary as a National Monument in February 2016. range of 21 miles. for some 50,000 Allied POWs. was set up at a nearby temporary building. 38 39

KITCHENER BARRACKS Kitchener Barracks was built in 1935 to house the Royal Engineers. During the Japanese Occupation, troops of the former Singapore Garrison and a few RAF men were incarcerated there. The barracks was also known for a short time as the Southern Area College of the “Changi University”. The “university” referred to the informal education programme started by the Army Education Corps staff within the prison camps. They gathered lecturers from amongst the POWs to conduct classes on a variety of topics.

CHANGI BEACH MASSACRE • HISTORIC SITE This serene beach was once the site of a Sook Ching massacre. Bound by ropes in rows of eight to 12, victims at this site were instructed to walk towards the sea in batches. Japanese soldiers would then shoot them as they reached the shallow waters. The ensuing bayoneting of the victims after the initial fi ring by the Japanese soldiers meant that there were few survivors. While many died instantly, some managed to swim away or seek temporary refuge underwater as the ropes binding them loosened in the waters. The bodies of the massacre victims on Changi Beach were buried within the area in mass graves dug by a work party of 100 British and Australian POWs from Changi Prison. POW accounts reveal that some of the victims were still alive. However, the Japanese soldiers ordered them to be buried. As the soldiers Kitchener Barracks, 2013 threatened injury to those who disobeyed, the Courtesy of HG Properties POWs had little choice but to comply.

PULAU UBIN In a bid to keep morale up, Reverend F H but he persevered through the pain and The RAF invited Warren to restore the Pulau Ubin was the site of LG Yamashita’s Stallard, an internee, convinced a Japanese completed fi ve life-sized murals. paintings and he returned in 1963 and 1968. deception plan. On 7 February 1942, 400 men offi cer to agree to convert a room in Block 151 However, in May 1944 the Japanese took He also came back to Singapore in July 1982 from one of the three Japanese army divisions, the Imperial Guards Division, into a chapel. The chapel was named after St over Block 151 and used it as a storeroom, and and May 1988 to continue to work on the landed in collapsible boats on Pulau Ubin. Luke, the patron saint of physicians. The chapel the murals were nearly destroyed when part of murals and to participate in a documentary These troops were sighted by a British patrol is one of several chapels and synagogues built the wall was demolished. about POWs. The murals stand today as a testament of that retreated quickly following orders not to by POWs in the Changi area. After the war, the RAF took over Roberts POW suffering and bravery. Block 151 and the engage the enemy. This attack in the east was St Luke’s houses the original “Changi Barracks and the chapel remained a storeroom. original murals have been conserved in Changi a crafty move to distract the defending forces Murals”. A British POW named Stanley In 1958, the murals were rediscovered in the Air Base by the Ministry of Defence. Replicas from the real invasion in the north-west. This Warren painted these murals when he was room. A search for the artist who had drawn of the mural were drawn at the Changi diversionary move was accompanied by hospitalised at Block 151. He was in an these paintings began, and Warren, who was Museum to allow the inspiring story of the heavy artillery bombardment to further extremely weak state when he painted them then living in England, was eventually identifi ed. POWs be shared with all visitors. reinforce the bluff. 40

j o h sembawang o 3 r 1 2 e s t r a i t s

18 19 pulau ubin s punggol pulau tekong t i 20 a 4 island of + r singapore CREDITS t s

We would like to thank the following for 5 6 changi 7 their assistance in the making of this booklet: e jurong r bukit timah nature reserve o

h 16 o 8 14 15 » project team j 17 David Chew, Josephine Sin, Stefanie Tham, Lawrence Low 9 13 researchers and writers » jurong island 10 12 (singapore history consultants) Jeya Ayadurai, Savita Kashyap, Razeen Chan, sentosa Booi Carlyn, Cai Yinghong, Anand Balan, Isabelle Chan, Paul Chia, Faza Mahirah, 11 Muhammad Azharuddin, Cao Yu, Yeo Pei Zhen, Wong Yeang Cherng, Jelynn Chiam, Tan Kian Tong, Aileen Tan (national heritage board) John Kwok

» image providers National Heritage Board National Archives of Singapore Imperial War Museum 1 - sarimbun beach landing 7 - lim bo seng’s burial site 14 - fort canning command centre Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts 2 - kranji beach battle 8 - execution of captured rimau commandos 15 - kempeitai east district branch (ymca) Singapore History Consultants The Changi Museum 3 - the causeway: withdrawal 9 - battle for pasir panjang 16 - former cathay building HG Properties to singapore Mainichi Shimbun 10 - labrador battery 17 - indian national army Jafri Janif 4 - jurong - kranji defence line 11 - sentosa beach 18 - seletar airfield design 5 - bukit batok memorial » 12 - keppel harbour 19 - punggol beach massacre Ridzwan Ali 6 - battle of bukit timah 2EZ Asia Pte Ltd 13 - sook ching inspection centre 20 - changi beach massacre

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