We are living in the summer of your sacrifice

Posted by DottSG under Blogging, Heritage Sites and Trails, Museums/Heritage Galleries
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A group of 15-year-old students from Nanyang Girls High was taken on a special tour of battle sites and war museums in a programme called War on Wheels jointly organised by yesterday.sg and Heritage TV in celebration of International Museum Day.

A student completing an interactive war map at the Kranji Landing Site

Friday’s programme started with a visit to Kranji to the actual spot where Japanese invaders first came ashore on February 8 1942.

Now a serene park, the specter of the bloody battles fought there have been long forgotten by many Singaporeans with only a sign marking this turning point in our history. On that fateful night at 8.30pm Australian machine gunners fought in vain as the first wave of 4,000 troops from the 5th and 18th Divisions of the Japanese Imperial Army came ashore.

The Johore skyline and the Sultan Palace from which Japanese General Yamashita directed the campaign to take Singapore, were clearly visible just a few hundred metres away.

Our next stop was the Kranji War Memorial where row upon row of silent tombstones mark the final resting place for 4,458 allied servicemen who gave their lives in the defence of this country. More than 850 of these graves are unidentified to this day.

A student reading a note from their wreath

Apart from just recapping the tragic war history of that time, the students were asked to reflect on the sacrifices those men made a lifetime ago.

The girls – all secondary three students – made two wreaths of poppies. With heads bowed, they formed a circle holding hands as a war poem was read.

Asked to write a short note to go with each wreath, one group of students wrote: “In remembrance of the brave soldiers who died defending our freedom. Your valour and great sense of love and justice is felt today as we take a moment to appreciate and thank you.”

A student from the other group penned on a scrap of paper that famous Shakespearean line: “We are living in the summer of your sacrifice.”

The students then visited the Bukit Timah hill to remember the battle that was fought there and the many civilians who were slaughtered as the relentless Japanese army pushed southwards towards the heart of Singapore.

For many students, this was their first visit to the Memories of Old Ford Factory - a war museum.

Memories of Old Ford Factory was the next stop. For many of the girls this was their first visit to this quaint museum built at the site of the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese on Feb 15 1942.

War on Wheels also took the students past Alexandra Hospital where the story of the massacre of the wounded and dying was retold. They also visited Labrador Park which still houses remnants of Singapore defence fortifications.

The journey ended at the Reflections of Bukit Chandu – a museum to commemorate one of the last battles fought here during that war.

They were asked to reflect on the sacrifices of the Malay Regiment and were asked that difficult question – “Those defenders knew they were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned and yet they fought virtually to the last man. Would you do the same or would it be better to surrender and live to fight another day?” Their views will be recorded here in another blog post over the next few days.

wow-sweet A special surprise awaited the students for lunch. To immerse them in a time when food was hard to come by and every morsel was precious, they were each given ration cards and lunch was a simple piece of sweet potato, a banana and some biscuits. Hungry from a day of tracking in blistering heat, the girls gamely tucked in their modest rations.

When that was done, they gave them their real lunch of been hoon, fishcakes and vegetables.They were also given Banana money - the currency of the day for which they could purchase a stick of ice cream.

War on Wheels is the first interactive programme launched by yesterday.sg and Heritage TV to bridge the divide between the virtual world of the Internet and historical sites and events of our history.It is hoped that the young participants would realize that they too can not just experience history in the real world but that their thoughts and sentiments have an important place in this web portal.