British Legacies (1)
Posted by vickoo under National History
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Not everyone knows that Singapore was under British rule for more than a century. Singapore, together with Malacca and Penang, became part of the British Straits Settlements in 1826, under the control of British India. By 1832, Singapore had become the centre of government for the three areas. On 1 April 1867, the Straits Settlements became a Crown Colony under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Office in London. In Sep 1945, after Japanese occupation, the British forces returned and Singapore came under the British Military Administration. When the period of military administration ended in Mar 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved. On 1 Apr 1946, Singapore became a Crown Colony.
David Marshall was appointed as Singapore’s first Chief Minister on 6 Apr 1955 but resigned on 6 Jun 1956, after the breakdown of constitutional talks in London on attaining full internal self-government. Singapore managed to attain self-government only in 1959. In May that year, Singapore’s first general election was held and PAP came into power in an uneasy united front with the communists to fight British Colonialism.
The defence of Singapore then was still the responsibility of the British. However on 16 Jan 1968, the British PM, Mr Harold Wilson announced the intention to withdraw all of Britain’s 35,000 troops stationed in Singapore by end 1971. Singapore was unprepared for this bad and shocking news as the nation was less than three years into independence from Malaysia. It was only in the very initial stages of building up its Armed Forces - the first batch of 900 National Servicemen was still under training. It also badly needed a strong defence force in order to attract investments. Even with National Service, Singapore was under severe pressure to take on the burden of defence in just under four years. But we did, as the lyrics of a national song goes. And as they say, the rest is history.
So what are some of the legacies which the British left behind? This post, the first part in a series, will surely either bring back memories for you or if you are younger (ahem, cough), you will be surprised like I was by some of the details uncovered here.
Mr Peter Tan, a recent friend I made in blogosphere, very kindly provided me with some old images for this series. He also elaborated on the very interesting history behind the images (which I will blog more about in my next post). When Peter was about 10-year old, he inherited a pile of photos and memorabilia from his British neighbour who was based in Keat Hong Camp at that time. Clearly sentimental about the legacy which the British neighbour had left him, Peter had faithfully kept these artefacts for more than 40 years, despite objection from his wife.
The first image which Peter provided me was an old map (above) circa early 1950s.
(For a larger image of the map, please click here.)
The map covered part of the city area and showed the areas declared out-of-bounds to the British army personnel based in Singapore. Coincidentally, my childhood home (1), primary school (2) and secondary school (3) are all within the map. Bugis Street (0), a favourite haunt for British servicemen, was only a stone’s throw away from my childhood home.
Here is a quiz. Out of the following 10 landmarks in the map, how many can you recall or associate with? (Warning: Answering the quiz honestly would reveal your age.)
1. Cathay Cinema - The building was opened in 1939 and was Singapore’s first skyscraper. It still houses the Cathay Cineplex today.
2. Rex Cinema - Opened in 1946 and still standing today. It has gone through many transformations - was once a skating rink and recently turned into a nightclub.
3. NAAFI Club - Navy, Army and Air Force Institution Club, originally established as Britannia Club in 1951 to serve the social and recreational needs of the members of the British Armed Forces and their allied counterparts. The SAF NCO Club took over the facilities in Mar 1974. SAFE Superstore was located there for a number of years. The Club was renamed in 1994 to the SAF Warrant Officers and Specialists Club. There is ongoing construction of the Circle Line at the site. Hopefully this magnificent and historic building will be preserved:
4. Alhambra Cinema - Located on Beach Road together with nearby Marlborough Cinema, it was the first cinema to have air-conditioning. Both the Alhambra and the Marlborough cinemas mark the site where Shaw Tower stands today.
5. Stamford Cafe - Located at the junction of Bras Basah and North Bridge Roads, a popular eating place for the British Armed Forces personnel.
6. New World Amusement Park - In its heyday, it was one of three very popular amusement parks frequented by locals and foreigners alike. In contrast, only the faded arch at entrance still stands today. Behind it, a brand new condominium is taking shape.
7. Combined Police HQ and Mountbatten Club in Bras Basah Road - (No information was available on the Internet.)
8. Raffles Hotel - Established in 1887, the hotel is truly Singapore’s ‘Grand Old Dame’.
9. Jalan Besar Stadium - Still proudly standing today.
10. Tidal swamp bounded by Kallang Road, Lavender Street and Bendemeer Road - Will someone please tell me that I am not seeing things?
Sources and Acknowledgements:
I wish to express my sincere appreciation to Mr Peter Tan. This post would not have been possible without his kind contributions.
Detais of Singapore’s history were obtained from:
www.sg and
0
(10) Comments
Posted by: avalon
Posted on: June 8th, 2006
Cathay Cinema - Last movie I watched there was probably Titanic. Loved the popcorn there. Rex Cinema - Behind my grandfather's shop house, it became ice skating rink. SAF club - I went there before, when it was the Warrant Officers Club. New World Amusement Park - Wait, is this Wonderland? I have never found the Wonderland I used to go as a kid. Raffles Hotel - Of course. Jalan Besar Stadium - Behind Lavender MRT, now renovation completed. 5.5 out of 10. I am not old!
Posted by: Chris
Posted on: June 8th, 2006
Thanks for the History lesson, Victor. It's never been my cup of tea. And it still isn't, despite your post. LOL. I know cathy cinema, the rex cinema, the NCO club (but not the NAAFI club before that), New World Amusement Park (very vaguely), and Raffles Hotel. 5 out of 10. Hey, I'm younger than I thought!
Posted by: Tan Wee Kiat
Posted on: June 9th, 2006
10. Tidal swamp bounded by Kallang Road, Lavender Street and Bendemeer Road - Will someone please tell me that I am not seeing things? Tidal swamp? Yes, you are NOT seeing things. The big effort to "clean-up" rivers started in 1977 when then-PM Lee Kuan Yew opened the Upper Peirce Reservoir. He promised the govt officers-in-charge of this project that they would be awarded medals of pure 1-ounce gold if they could clean up the rivers within 10 years, i.e., by 1987. The clean rivers within concrete banks we see today is the result of the work of these dedicated officers. Before this, the land adjacent to rivers would be flooded at high tide, and dry at low tides (tidal swamps). At low tide all the rubbish and filth were exposed (the rivers were "open sewers"). The tidal swamp in the map refers to the Kallang River area. As you know, the Kallang River is now clean enough to swim in (even at low tide). Any takers?
Posted by: chunsee
Posted on: June 9th, 2006
Victor, how come you never mention Jurong Drive-In Cinema. I saw Bruce Lee's The BIg Boss there. REX - they showed the famous Earthquake with Sensurround (vibrating chairs) there.
Posted by: chunsee
Posted on: June 9th, 2006
Oops - forgot your title is British Legacies; so JDI doesn't qualify. I remember the Kent Cinema at Dover Rd. I recieved some comments from a British 'boy' of my age about this place which I will blog about one of these days.
Posted by: vickoo
Posted on: June 9th, 2006
Thanks for all your comments, especially Avalon who is a first-time commentator on my post. The rest are my acquaintances, especially Chris, whom I know inside and out (of the office, that is). Did any of you click on the links that I provided? No? Alamak, wasted all my efforts. Do you know why my post has no photos of the old cinemas? Because you can view them via the links. Try it. Also, how come no one asked why certain areas were out-of-bounds to the British army in Singapore? (No wonder they say that Singaporeans are not interested in history, tsk, tsk, tsk.) Fret not, I will tell you more in my next post in this series. Like what Lei Dai Sor (famous Cantonese story teller in old Singapore) used to say, "If you want to know what happened, tune in to the next episode."
Posted by: haveahacks
Posted on: June 23rd, 2006
> Also, how come no one asked why certain areas were out-of-bounds to the British army in Singapore? Because I don't visit yesterday.sg often enough. I notice that Bugis Street (#0) is within the out-of-bounds area although you say it was a favorite haunt of British servicemen. The "girls" must have been really good. Like the ones in Desker Road, which is also covered in the OB area. It seems a bit unfair that the whole of New World Amusement Park was OB too. I was under the impression that that amusement parks of those days provided wholesome entertainment. Perhaps not. Interestingly enough, Petain Road remains a red-light district today. Was the trade bigger back then ? Sungei Road proper is the triangle at the centre of the map, but I remember a lot of shops selling army-stuff just to the east of the triangle (not OB). Of course, that was many years after this map was published. Back in the 1950s, though, Sungei Road would have been just the place to unload stuff "borrowed" from Her Majesty's quartermaster's stores. Can't quite figure out why Little India was OB, too. What was at the other OB area at the junction of Haig and East Coat Roads ? Don't tell me the action used to be at Katong rather than Geylang ?
Posted by: Reg Simpson
Posted on: May 30th, 2010
Reference the OB map. I was a young (18yrs)and very innocent RAF Serviceman in 1952 when I was posted to RAF Seletar to work in the Bomb Dump (9X Site)and on Bomb Disposal, we also cleared the beaches of unexploded bombs etc around Blakang Mati (now Sentosa?). The map issued to us in 1952 was quite a bit different than the Army map of 1960. If my memory serves me correctly ours covered a larger area. I had always kept my map as a souveneir of those days and it was only recently that I realised that I had lost it. I posted a request for someone elses map if they did not want it or a copy on the RAF Seletar Assn website. Subsequent to this I was advised to go to your website where there was a map posted. I do not remember in detail the extent of the out of areas but remember vividly being arrested by the military police for being 'out of bounds' at 8pm one evening when our taxi was involved in an accident in Bugis Street. I can vouch for the fact that being in a stationary vehicle in OOB areas was enforced. If I can find another 1952 copy of the OB Areas I will post it here. I was not a participant in the support of those areas but I look back to Those Singapore days with great affection.
Posted by: Mick Winkle
Posted on: July 23rd, 2010
I was stationed at Seletar in 1951 and paid many a visit to Bugis Street, never had any problems cannot remember it being out of bounds perhaps I was just lucky
Posted by: Dave Rose
Posted on: September 5th, 2010
Brilliant reading, thanks very much Victor. I was at RAF Seletar October 1969 to February 1971, when the camp was almost closed completely. I closed down the Communication Centre that was opposite the Station HQ and next to a small row of shops including the barber shop and 'Tanzy Anne's'. Bugis St was regularly visited by my friends and I, what a terrific place to get a great meal, the entertainment was provided by the Kai Tai's who we got friendly with, but no more than that! I was also pointed to this website by the map post in the RAF Seletar Association http://www.rafseletar.co.uk
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