Peter Chan shares with us a rare treat – a chance to see Singapore and the world 85 years ago through the eyes of his grandfather’s collection of postcards and covers.
The picture above is of Raffles Place circa 1933. Can you imagine? Raffles Place today looks nothing like it!
Today travel to foreign countries is so easy and made even cheaper by the introduction of budget airlines. With the Internet we can even see foreign countries through pictures. Nearly 90 years ago, my grandfather also saw the world but he did it very differently, not like the way I envisaged. He did not join the merchant navy and jump-ship. I was very amazed at the way how he did it. He did something unique in the age of steamships, tongkangs and pig-tails.
I am still putting the pieces together on how he managed and balanced leisure against a career given that he was the sole breadwinner and supporting a family of 12. From bits of references here and there, I gathered he loved to collect stamps, envelopes, postcards, coins, newspaper clippings and smoking pipes. But he was never a sportsman.
Read about Peter’s grandfather’s collection in this two-part post on Good Morning Yesterday here and here.
Add A Comment