For me, it was this picture of a cell interior that showed how much life continued in prison, despite war. I had always imagined the life of the POW as one marked with drab, bare cells and the monotony of labour and poor living conditions.

The Changi Museum is a memorial to the thousands of POWs that were interred in Changi during World War II. It remains a popular pilgrimage site particularly for war veterans and their relatives.

An elderly Australian man, a tourist and a stranger to me, was recounting how wonderful Singapore is as a modern city – a far cry from the colonial Singapore he and his generation knew. He told me how some of his contemporaries who survived the war would be amazed at how much Singapore has progressed and modernised. But at the same time, those friends have vowed never to step foot on this island again. “Too much… memories,” he said.

The current chapel is an amalgam of over 16 chapels that were used by the POWs during their imprisonment. It remains a powerful symbol today because it represents the last remaining hope when all was lost and there was no one else to turn to. The museum itself is a long corridor built around the reconstructed chapel and documents life during the war, not exclusively the POWs, but of women and children there too, and how they coped under 3 years and 8 months of Japanese rule.

My friendly guides, Lydia and Ali told me about the larger white note in the centre of the chapel board. It was a recent addition and it read: “Donald V. Roebuck… The Dad I never knew, am here to pay my last respects.” Mr Roebuck, my guides later told me, was one of the Palembang Nine, a guerilla group that used to blow up oil fields in Indonesia before they were captured and sent to Changi. Sadly, they were denied a trial and executed on the shores of Changi beach even after the British had surrendered.

Maintaining a link with its sad past is one of the museum’s more important, if less publicised, roles. The museum maintains registers of names of POWs held in Changi, and visitors frequently come to visit to look for the details of a long-lost loved one.

There is also a small research library on hand for people wishing to do research on Singapore and World War II. The guides affectionately call it Changi University, after the real Changi “University” in the prison. During the war, the more educated prisoners would conduct classes for their fellow inmates, and after the war many got jobs while listing “Changi University” as their place of education!

The Changi Museum is located at 1000 Upper Changi Road North. Opening hours are from 9 to 5 and admission is free.