University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2010 Voices of the fallen: Singaporean and Australian memories of the fall of Singapore Jung Yun Kwok University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Kwok, Jung Yun, Voices of the fallen: Singaporean and Australian memories of the fall of Singapore, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, 2010. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3639 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Voices of the Fallen: Singaporean and Australian Memories of the Fall of Singapore A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by JUNG YUN KWOK, BA (Hons) School of History and Politics 2010 Thesis Certification I, Jung Yun Kwok , declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. ____________________________ Jung Yun Kwok 6 August 2010 i ii ABSTRACT The Fall of Singapore was a significant event in Australia and in Singapore. The memory of defeat occupies a difficult place in each nation’s history. Since the end of the Second World War, Australians and Singaporeans have refashioned the event, and memories of the event to displace the reality of defeat. They have contextualised memories of defeat and suffering as sacred experiences and infused with ideas of cultural and national identity, often reflecting broader themes like myths of the nation. This is because nations from time to time are inspired by the myths forged in a previous conflict. Myths of a nation influence the way Australians and Singaporeans define their memories of war because of the sentiments it can invoke in a nation of people. And this has produced memories that, despite being anchored by a common event, are very different. This thesis explores the themes and influences that shape memory of a single event, 15 February 1942, from the Australian and Singaporean national perspective. In the Australian case, 15 February is intimately linked with the history of the Australian 8th Division, the experiences of the men, and how their experience is accommodated in both Anzac and the language of commemoration in Australia. For Singapore, 15 February has strong resonance with the Singapore Chinese community; it has inspired leaders of the community to preserve and position their wartime memories not only to ensure that their experience is remembered but also that it is seen as Singapore’s history of the Japanese Occupation. Australians and Singaporeans have constantly returned to popular memories of the event, seldom the realities of it. A study of the influences that shape the language of commemoration in Australia and Singapore will inform our understanding of the meanings, myths, and popular memories associated with 15 February in these two nations. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks go to Associate Professor John McQuilton for his tireless guidance and supervision. His mentorship over the past years has inspired me. As I embark on the next chapter of my life, I know that I can do so with confidence from his wisdom and guidance. I would also like to thank Dr. Stephen Brown, my secondary supervisor for his support over the past five years. Enormous gratitude goes to the veterans and their families who volunteered their time and stories. Special mention goes to the late John Slater, the late Ray Brown, his wife Marion, and Darcy Pickard. I would specially like to thank Peter Slater and members of 2/20 Battalion Association for their warm hospitality and sharing their experiences and memories with me. I am grateful to members of the academic staff from the University of Wollongong, and the members of Arts Support. Special mention must go to my former and fellow postgraduate colleagues here at the Faculty of Arts; Jen Hawksley, John Shoebridge, Joakim Eidenfalk, Ross Tapsell, Georgia Lysaght and Debbie Jensen. I would especially like to thank my family in Singapore; my mother Pearl and brother Louis for their untiring support, and my relatives in Australia for their encouragements over the years. For my grandmother whom I started this journey with, but could not finish it with me. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... vii TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................ ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................... xi PREFACE 1 INTRODUCTION 7 1. History as Myth – Anzac 21 2. Hiding the Prisoner-of-War Story 39 3. History as Experience Positioning the Prisoner-of-War Experience in Australia 61 4. The Experiences of the Men of the Australian 8th Division and Anzac 83 5. The 8th Division today 107 6. History as Myth – Singaporean Resistance Literature 125 7. Force 136 and “Resistance Literature” Manipulating the Story 147 8. The Experiences and Memories of the Singapore Chinese in the War Against Japan 177 9. The First Attempt at Building Singapore's First World War II War Memorial 197 10. Politics of War Commemoration in 1960s Singapore 229 11. The Language of Commemoration in Singapore 251 CONCLUSION 279 BIBLIOGRAPHY 285 vii viii TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Graph: Veterans on DVA Pensions 38 2. Cartoon Illustration: Giving you the picture 105 3. Sketch Illustration: Proposed additions to the Singapore Cenotaph in 1948 225 4. Photographs: The Singapore Cenotaph today 226 -227 5. Photograph: Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation 248 6. Photograph: Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation and the Singapore Cenotaph 249 7. Photograph: The centrepiece of the Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation 277 8. Photograph: Statue of members of the Malay Regiment in action 278 ix x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AIF Australia Imperial Force AMS Askar Melayu Setia ANZAC Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations BMA British Military Administration BS Barisan Sosialis CCP Chinese Communist Party DCCAO Deputy Chief Civil Affairs Officer IMTFE International Military Tribunal for the Far East INFERFET International Force for East Timor IRO Inter-Religions Organisation KMT Kuomingtang MCP Malayan Communist Party MPABA Malayan Peoples’ Anti-British Army MPAJA Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army NAS National Archives of Singapore NCC National Cadet Corps NE National Education NHB National Heritage Board OCAJA Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Army OHC Oral History Centre PAP Peoples’ Action Party POW Prisoner-of-War PoWIC Prisoner-of-War Investigation Committee PWD Public Works Department xi RAAF Royal Australian Air Force RAN Royal Australian Navy RSL Returned and Services League SAF Singapore Armed Forces SCBA Straits Chinese British Association SCCC Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce SCCCI Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry SOE Special Operations Executive SRA Singapore Ratepayers Association SSVF Straits Settlements Volunteer Force STS Special Training School SVC Singapore Volunteer Corps UMNO United Malays National Organisation VA (Singapore Overseas Chinese) Volunteer Army WMC War Memorials Committee xii Voices of the Fallen: Singaporean and Australian Memories of the Fall of Singapore J.Y Kwok 2010 xiii xiv PREFACE 15 February Every year on 15 February, two groups of people gather in public spaces to commemorate the Fall of Singapore. One gathers at the Cenotaph in Martin Place in downtown Sydney and another at the civilian war memorial in Beach Road in downtown Singapore. Both services have their origins in the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. On that day, Lieutenant-General Percival surrendered to the Japanese. The men under his command, including those in the Australian 8th Division, laid down their weapons and most were marched into captivity as prisoners-of-war (POWs). For the people of Singapore, the date marked the beginning of the Japanese Occupation that would last until 1945. This thesis examines what that date has meant in both countries but begins with a description of the two ceremonies observed by the author in 2007 and 2008. The Cenotaph, Martin Place, Sydney On 15 February 2007, veterans from the 8th Australian Division Association gathered at the war memorial at Martin Place to observe the 65th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore and to honour their comrades who did not return. Battalion Associations of the 8th Australian Division were represented by veterans and descendants of veterans. Invited dignitaries included the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir, and the Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant-General K.J. Gillespie, along with senior officers from the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Forces (RAAF). Despite the number