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The Changi Murals
The Crucifixion Mural drawn by Bombardier Stanley Warren in 1942
The Changi Murals (if you wish to visit, please click HERE for procedure) are a part of our war heritage. Drawn by British Bombardier Stanley Warren on the walls of The Chapel of St Luke The Physician in 1942 where he was interned in Blk 151 (presently Changi Camp), The Changi Murals remind us of the spiritual strength and courage of these men in times of suffering. When Stanley painted the figure of Jesus, he had Jesus's eyes painted closed as he thought he was not worthy of looking in Jesus's eyes. Stanley returned to Singapore in 1963, 1982 and 1988 to restore The Changi Murals. He passed away peacefully in 1992.
For a detailed account of the happenings in 1942, please visit PETER STUBB'S HOMEPAGE.
The picture of The Crucifixion has been posted on this website with the kind permission of Peter W. Stubbs.
Get for me: The Fall of Singapore
8 Dec 1941 Japanese soldiers made a surprise landing at Kota Bahru, Malaya.
31 Jan 1942 Japanese soldiers entered and occupied Johore Bahru. From there, they carried out aerial bombardment on Singapore constantly.
7 Feb 1942 The Japanese Imperial Guards occupied Pulau Ubin.
8 Feb 1942 The first Japanese troops landed in Singapore on Sarimbun Beach in the north-west of Singapore. After repairing the causeway, they marched into Singapore.
9 Feb 1942 The Japanese 5th & 18th Divisions made an amphibious landing on the north-west part of Singapore.
15 Feb 1942 Singapore surrendered to the Japanese. It was also the first day of the Chinese New Year. Lt General Percival surrendered to General Yamashita at the Ford Factory's Board Room in Bukit Timah.
Signing of Surrender of Singapore by Lt Gen A E Percival
15 Feb 1942 issue of The Straits Times, a one-page paper which came out on the day the British surrendered to the Japanese.
Please click HERE for a larger picture. The bigger picture takes up 135 000 bytes of space and will load slowly but you should be able to read the print.
The prisoners-of-war (POWs) were housed in four main barracks in Changi:
Selarang - Australians
Kitchener, India & Roberts - rest of the POWs (mainly British and Dutch)
18 Feb 1942 Japanese soldiers started call-up of all Chinese men between the ages of 18 & 50 for inspection. Suspected anti-Japanese elements were 'identified' and massacred.
30 Aug 1942 All the prisoners were forced to sign a 'no escape' pledge. When they refused, they were made to go without food and shelter for three days. Their own senior officers ordered them to sign the pledge on the understanding it was done under duress.
10 Oct 1943 The 'Double Tenth Incident' occurred. (10/10/43 hence double tenth) Fifteen POWs died after being tortured and suspected of masterminding a sabotage of Japanese tankers in the Singapore Harbour.
On 12 Sep 1945, General Seishiro Itagaki surrendered to Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South-east Asia, in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Building.
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NEWS SNIPPETS
- Old Ford Motor Factory gazetted as a national monument
- 60th Anniversary of the End of World War II
The Ford Motor Factory in Upper Bukit Timah - site of the British surrender to the Japanese - is to be turned into a World War II exhibition gallery in about three years at a cost of more than S$10 million. The 8,800 sq m site, including the building, was given to the Heritage Board by Hong Leong Group in 1998. (Straits Times 26 Sep 2003 H5)
A new S$1 billion mega-prison complex will replace Changi Prison. The Prisons Department wants to demolish the old prison and erect the new prisons which will be ready for use in early 2004. The Preservation of Monuments Board is now talking with the Prisons Department and the URA about the possibility of saving the prison which was built in 1936 and housed about 76,000 prisoners of war between 1942 and 1945 during World War II. The number included about 15,000 local, 39,000 British and 19,000 Australian soldiers. About 50,000 Japanese were imprisoned there after the Japanese surrender. (Straits Times 29 Mar 2003)(H9)
A World-War-II underground tunnel was discovered a year ago. The 63-m-long tunnel which is about 3 m high runs under Labrador Park, off Pasir Panjang Road. It takes you to a large underground concrete room used by the British forces to store ammunition during World War II. Departing British troops attempted to destroy it before Singapore fell to the Japanese. Believed to have been built in the 1880s, the tunnel has been left untouched since the war. It will be open to visitors on guided tours conducted by National Parks Board next year. (Straits Times 22 Feb 2002) (3)
More than 2500 British soldiers who were held at Changi Prison and other detention centres in Singapore by the Japanese during World War II will be paid compensation of GBP10,000 (S$25,200) by the British government. Another 4500 British prisoners-of-war (POW) held in camps in China, Korea, Formosa (now Taiwan), the Philippines and what was then Malaya will also receive the payout. Defence Minister Lewis MOONIE announced the payments in Parliament on Tuesday 7 Nov 2000. See article.
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News Flash
Jun 1942 - Jul 1943: Operation Cartwell; Allied forces advance.
Nov 1943 - Sep 1944: US drive through central Pacific.
Feb - Jun 1944: Unsuccessful Japanese invasion of India.
19 - 21 Oct 1944: Battle of the Philippine Sea. US Task Force 58 destroys Japanese Mobile Fleet.
20 Oct 1944: US forces land in Philippines.
24 Nov 1944: 20th Airforce begins air attack on Japan from island bases.
Nov 1944: British offensive into Burma.
19 Feb - 26 Mar 1945: US captures Iwo Jima.
1 Apr - Jun 1945: US lands and captures Okinawa.
Apr - June 1945: China offensives.
9 Aug 1945: Soviet offensives begin.
6 & 9 Aug 1945: US nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
Ronald Searle, 80, a former prisoner-of-war in Changi Prison has been awarded the coveted title of Cartoonist of the 20th Century. He secretly made hundreds of pencil and ink drawings illustrating the terrible life suffered by fellow PoWs in Changi. His drawings are now kept at the Imperial War Museum in London while he lives in quiet retirement in the south of France.