Translated from LEE Kok Leong’s article published in Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore, 23 March 2023
I
received several old and turned yellowish photographs owned by Caroline from
Scotland. They show Singapore landscape and later prisoners of war records of Caroline’s
father, William Thompson. William travelled to Singapore from the other side of
the world during World War II.
William and his comrades taking a
picture with local kampung residents. Credit: Caroline
William
was a signaller serving the military. Soon after arrival he engaged in
defending Malaya and Singapore. After the surrender of the Allies, the British
and Australian soldiers were held in barracks at Changi. After nine months of staying
there, William boarded a train to Thailand to build the Thai-Burma Railway. As
the carriages were packed with people and machinery, the prisoners of war had
to stay close to each other for the four-day journey. Comrades were holding
each other when they had to do their usual daily business squatting outside the
carriage.
William’s prisoner-of-war record is
kept in Thailand-Burma Railway Centre (Museum). Credit: Caroline
In
recent years, some Allied descendants came to Singapore to trace their roots,
retracing the 20-kilometre walk from the city to the internment camp. After
walking with them on a journey that was both intellectual and sentimental, I
started my journey to the ‘first historical sites’ of the Second World War in
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Prisoner of war record from the
Japanese. Credit: Caroline
The first combat of the Malayan Campaign
A
year before the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the Pétain government of France
signed an agreement to allow Japanese troops to enter Vietnam. On 6 December
1941, Australian reconnaissance aircraft took off from Kota Bharu airfield in
Kelantan and spotted the Japanese fleet departing from Saigon. Although it was
suspected to be heading north to Cambodia or Bangkok, the fleet was merely
creating an illusion. Its destination was the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand.
On
the morning of 7 December, the RAF Catalina took off from Singapore's first
completed Seletar airfield. The flying boat was shot down when it spotted the
enemy. The Allies lost the first encounter.
The RAF Catalina flying boat took
off from Seletar Airfield and was shot down by the Japanese during its first
encounter. Credit: National Archive of Singapore
The
first Japanese landing site
At
midnight on 8 December, Japanese transport ships arrived off the shore of Pulau
Pak Amat, the northernmost of Kota Bharu. The landing battle raged until 4 am.
After the successful beaching, the Japanese immediately launched the next wave
of operations, bombing downtown Singapore and the airbases at 4.30 am.
The
Battle of Kota Bharu Memorial came into view as we drove into the quiet Malay
village of Kuala Pak Amat, crossing two tiny and narrow bridges with only room
for one car. The untouched, pristine beach in front of us is the scene of rising
the World War II curtain. Although the sea is undulating, the air seems frozen.
Pulau Pak Amat of Kota Bahru, the
Japanese first landing site. The insert is the memorial erected by the Malaysia
Authority.
The
first naval battle between Britain and Japan
A
few hours before the Battle of Kota Bharu, the British Eastern Fleet departed
from Sembawang Naval Base. The fleet consisted of two main warships, HMS Prince
of Wales and HMS Repulse, and four destroyers. The plan was to join forces with
the Australian Air Force to defend against the enemy. It was only off Pahang
Kuantan that the Allies were informed of Kota Bahru’s defeat and had to combat the
battle alone without air coverage.
On
10 December, the fleet was attacked by Japanese fighters and torpedoes. The two
main battleships were sunk. On 26 January 1942, the last two destroyers of the
Royal Navy engaged in the last sea battle and were defeated off the coast of
Johor Bahru. The sea battle for Malaya was over.
The
Port of Singapore Authority's Sembawang Pier was part of the former Sembawang Naval
Base. The British erected a memorial for ‘The battle for Singapore 1941-1942’ at
a corner of the pier. As I walked around the pier, it was common to see foreign
soldiers mourning and laying flowers in remembrance.
The
British erected a memorial for ‘The battle for Singapore 1941-1942’ at a corner
of the Sembawang pier.
The
first Death Railway
Before
World War II, the rail network in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand was already well
connected, with access from Tanjong Pagar railway station to Ban Pong in
Southern Thailand. The Japanese decided to build a 400km Thai-Burma railway
linking Ban Pong with Thanbyuzayat in Burma, which would run from Singapore to
Rangoon (Yangon).
This
was already planned by the British in the late 19th century. However, the
project was abandoned because it was deemed too complex. Japanese engineers
surveyed the area and estimated that it would take five to six years to
construct. The Japanese military decided to hasten it and sent 200,000 civilian
workers and over 60,000 prisoners of war to complete it within 18 months. About
40% of the civilian labourers came from Singapore and Malaysia, 50% from Burma
and the rest from Java. The British and Australian troops accounted for about
70% of the prisoners of war, the Dutch 20% and the American 10%. The Death
Railway, which opened two months earlier than expected, claimed the lives of
over 80,000 civilian workers and over 10,000 prisoners of war, almost one life
for every five steps.
Driving
in Thailand was a good experience. Motorists gave way when they saw the signal
lights. The Tham Kra Sae, about an hour's drive from
the River Kwai Bridge, is deemed the most dangerous section of the railway.
The elevated wooden bridge was built on the edge of a cliff. Workers could be
broken into pieces at any time during construction. Near the River Kwai Bridge
is the Thai-Burma Railway Centre, a museum which displays a step-by-step
account of the war by Australian researcher Rod Beattie, who spent years searching
for information along the railway. Opposite the museum is the cemetery for dead
railway prisoners of war, where Rod reminds us that the Japanese archived
prisoners of war. As for the dead civilian workers, they are nameless and
without a tomb. They do not seem to have been there.
Tham Kra Sae, about an hour's drive
from the River Kwai Bridge, is deemed the most dangerous section of the
railway.
The
first church mural – The Changi Mural
Inside
the Changi Chapel and Museum is a St Luke’s Church replica. Originally located
in Block 151 at Changi Airbase (West), the church was converted into a prisoner
of war hospital during the Japanese occupation. The Ministry of Defence opened
its doors to allow us to see the church in its original form.
The
small room in the downstairs corner of the barrack is simply furnished, and the
five religious murals on the walls are painted in gold as if they were a glow
of hope for the soldiers. Stanley Warren who painted the murals, returned to
England as a teacher, thinking he could forget the nightmare of war. Eventually,
he returned to the old place three times, in 1963, 1982 and 1988, to restore
the damaged murals.
During
his time as a prisoner, Stanley suffered severe kidney failure and did not
travel to Thailand and Burma with the brigade. As he laid dying in the hospital
room, he was touched by the sound of church songs from below. The idea of
painting biblical stories came to him. Stanley did not think he would live to
finish all the murals, but concentrated first on the Nativity and Resurrection
to give believers at least a glimpse of hope for eternal life.
The
Nativity features Europeans, Arabs and Orientals blessing a newborn baby. If
the Bible had allowed him to paint a fourth king, he would have chosen the
African, blending the love of every corner of the world and dissolving all the
resentment on earth. The red calf walks away with a look of disdain and
eventually turns its head.
The Nativity: One of the five
Changi Murals
The
paint for the mural was smuggled back from the prisoners of war working in the
shipyard. The blue from chalks used for snooker and the white from egg whites
stolen by the nuns. The guard sat on a bench watching curiously and smiling
from time to time as Stanley applied the layers of colour.
As
he restored the mural, Stanley said, “There is no problem that cannot be solved
without war…. I hope that the Singapore Armed Forces would never have to find
themselves firing the first shot in anger. War is never good."
Travelled
through times and thousands of miles of space.
Peace
is priceless!
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