Fort Siloso

Posted by June Yong under Museums/Heritage Galleries
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The signboard on this cartoon reads:
Prices for
standing: 5ct
sitting: 10ct
with mirror: 15 ct
with rumours: 20ct!

The man behind the cartoon is Karel van der Sterren, a Dutch prisoner of war during the Japanese Occupation. More of his cartoons and can be found in his book entitled Behind the Barbed Wires. In his words, “After more than 40 years, I decided to collect my cartoons to preserve them because humour is immortal. It supported us and kept us alive during the internment years…”

One of the most poignant things of war remembrance, is what it teaches about life itself. Enter Fort Siloso.

“Siloso” is a Filipino word, and it refers to a jealous person. Bombarded by videos of troops, blood and bombings, I can only imagine that if this Fort was built by the British to defend our island, then our defenders must have been very jealous people.

Here is a replica of a gunshelter with a one of the two 6-inch MK VII guns located on the Fort. The guns in this battery actually fired at Pulau Bukom and enemy ships back in 1942.

It was a rainy day when I visited, and ducking into one of the tunnel complexes seemed like a good idea. Except it was quite silent underground, some of the rooms were empty, and the overall feel was making the hairs on my neck stand. I decided to brave the rain.

We all know Red Cross, but what about her sister Blue Cross? The Blue Cross began with a life’s purpose of “relieving distress”, and in rather extreme cases too. Such as removing dead bodies from the street.

I was trying my hardest to make out whether these cloth pieces had square or triangular marks stamped on them. If they be squares, the cloth-bearers live; if they be triangles, they die.

There’s a gallery dedicated to Force 136, a special guerilla operation to resist enemy lines. A unit that requires physical strength, mental resilience, and a lot of heart.