Military History Tours          On Tour - Singapore 75 Anniversary 14 February 2017

Last night we held the tour dinner within a re purposed old church precinct – Chijmes. Within a very nice al fresco area we dined at a Brazilian style restaurant – Carnivore. As the sky darkened we enjoyed the balmy evening while tasting a variety of barbequed meats – fish, chicken, pork and beef. Not exactly what you’d expect in Singapore, the dinner was enjoyed by all.

This morning Janie, Shermine and Ken picked us up and we travelled a short distance to Fort Canning, where Malaya Command and the 'battle box' bunker was located. After a short brief outside the old HQ building we entered the bunker and were thoroughly informed about the conduct of the campaign, the surrender and the aftermath. The bunker has been refurbished close to its original condition and we also viewed films from the era showing the surrender negotiations The magnitude of the tragedy worsened at the time of the surrender and all were moved by the end here. Within this bunker they have a selection of Maps that your historians want to get their hands on.... .

After a fairly quick trip along one of Singapore’s leafy freeways we saw the last remaining section of Changi Prison wall still standing, before entering the Changi Museum itself. Here, the Museum staff were also able to assist in uncovering records of POW’s who passed through this tragic place, some on their way to the Thai-Burma railway, Borneo or Japan itself.

Returning at 13:30, we had the afternoon to ourselves and we have a late start tomorrow before the Commemoration ceremony at 16:00.