Kranji War Memorial

The Kranji War Memorial bears the names of more than 24,000 casualties of the Commonwealth forces who died during WW2 in the South-East Asian Theatre. Of these, 4,500 were buried and Kranji.

The road leading to the memorial

Gardeners maintaining the cemetery, a bunch of students in the background

The buildings faintly visible in the background are in Johor, where Japanese came to Singapore from

It is one thing to read from books about the different regiments that fought here. 8th Division of the 22nd Brigade sounds very real when one sees it inscribed on a headstone. It is hard to put my head around the many British Regiments that fought in the defence of Singapore. Here are examples, starting with the Australian forces.

Australia

Royal Australian Air Force

2/18 Infantry Battalion (Australian Imperial Force)

Royal Australian Naval Reserve

Great Britain

Air Vice Marshal Pulford - Royal Air Force

HMS Prince of Wales

HMS Repulse

HMS Sultan

HMS Indomitable

Royal Army Chaplain

Army Catering Corps

Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Army Ordnance Corps

Royal Army Service Corps

Royal Artillery

The Border Regiment

Craftsman

The Pioneer Corps

18th Reconnaissance Corps

The Cambridgeshire Regiment

The East Surrey Regiment

The Gordon Highlanders

135th Hertfordshire Yeomanry

The Leicestershire Regiment

The Loyal Regiment

The Manchester Regiment

The Royal Norfolk Regiment

The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers

The Queen's Royal Regiment

The Sherwood Foresters

The Suffolk Regiment

The Sutherland Highlanders

The West Yorkshire Regiment

Canada

Royal Canadian Air Force

New Zealand

Royal New Zealand Navy

Malaya

Federated Malay States Volunteer Force

Singapore Volunteer Corps

Changi Museum

The Changi Museum is built to commemorate all the prisoners-of-war (military and civilian) in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. It is located very near both the Changi Prison and Selarang Camp that were used to intern the POWs. I live about 2 km away from the museum, and sadly, this is the first time I paid it a visit. (9 Aug 2015, as Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday).

From the outside

The entrance

Changi Chapel - A replica of what the POWs built in the camp. The original is now in Duntroon, Australia.

The original door to a typical cell

 Many did not survive the ordeal in captivity. Many more were taken to Thailand to built the Death Railway. But all found ways to get by. The exhibits show the huge amount of talent among the soldiers. There were many examples of prisoners using rudimentary materials to make tools that are in turn used to make other things. There were many who risked torture and death to make battery operated radio sets that were hidden in the most unlikely places. And then there were those who had such artistic talents that gave others a reason to go on.

Read the note

The ingenuity of the POWs

Little things to maintain sanity

Grit

Defiance (with some humour)

Humanity

This mural helps to explain how many went on - Two prisoners struck by Malaria tried to help another with Cholera.

A sketch by an Australian POW

Very moving notes by families of those who suffered as POWs in Singapore, many of whom did not return.

Tsuru by Japanese students (hopefully they did not pray for peace because they felt that they were the victims)