Get on a bicycle to explore the sites and spaces traversed by the invading and defending forces during the final days of the Battle for Singapore in 1942.
The NHB’s annual WW2 event Battle for Singapore in 1942 usually happened from mid-February to early March. For 2024, Gerilynn Yee (NHB), John Kwok (ex-NHB) and I jointly planned a cycling program to learn about the wartime stories and military tactics for the Buona Vista to the Pasir Panjang defence line. Together we turned an exciting concept into reality as we retraced portions of the route the forces took in this southwestern region of Singapore.
The cycling route started at the meeting point Buona Vista MRT Station
Exit A (the same as Exit B and C) and ended at Haw Par Villa. The total
distance was about 12 km and it took 2 to 2.5 hours depending on the fitness of
the participants.
Cycling
Route Map. Credit: Gerilynn Yee, NHB
Buona Vista
South
Buona Vista is commonly known as “99 bends”（九曲十三弯） by
local Chinese-speaking seniors to reflect the winding South Buona Vista Road.
The road was once fashionably known as “The Gap” in English up to the 1970s. Interestingly,
the Pasir Panjang Ridge and the hilly terrains here have
a break in between. The naming of The Gap probably came from this break.
Buona
Vista was a much larger compound than it is today. It included the entire Dover
area and Kent Ridge which houses HDB flats, Singapore Polytechnic, National
University of Singapore and Haw Par Villa today.
View
from Buona Vista MRT Station Exit A.
Military installations at Pasir Panjang (Reference:
Pasir Panjang, SINGAPORE INFOPEDIA, accessed 1 February 2024)
In
1878, following the British review of Singapore’s military defences, Fort Pasir
Panjang (Labrador Battery) at Labrador and Fort Siloso (Siloso Battery) on
nearby Pulau Blakang Mati (Sentosa island) was set up to guard the entrance of
New Harbour (now Keppel Harbour). The guns at these Batteries were said to have
been active against the Japanese in the southwestern sector of Singapore during
the last battles in 1942.
Labrador
Battery.
Defending southwestern sector (Reference:
SINGAPORE IN WORLD WAR II, A HERITAGE TRAIL, National Heritage Board)
After
the fall of Malaya, LG Percival established an all-round perimeter defence plan
for Singapore.
The
southwestern sector, once known as Buona Vista which included Pasir Panjang
Ridge, was assigned to the Malay Regiment and the
Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF). This sector held key installations
including ammunition depots, oil depots and the British Military Hospital
(today’s Alexandra Hospital).
Japanese
18th Division attacking Buona Vista [Written by Dr John Kwok]
On
11 Feb 1942, the Japanese 5th Division advanced northeast of Bukit Timah Village
to the Bukit Timah Rifle Range and the Racecourse. At the same time, the
Japanese 18th Division advanced along Jurong Road and defeated all British
resistance to reach Reformatory Road (renamed Clementi Road after the war).
The
two divisions assembled for a drive south to Singapore City, which commenced
once their artillery elements had completed crossing the Johor Straits
and had moved into position to support their advance.
By
this time the British forces had been fighting a defensive action since the
Japanese landed in Singapore on 9 Feb 1942. Those on the front had little rest,
units were dispersed, and there was little coordination on the ground to muster
the scattered units into a united fighting front. Only the Australian 8th
Division managed to reorganise themselves in a defensive front at
Tyersall Road/Botanical Gardens/Dempsey Barracks area.
Where
the Bouna Vista MRT is today, was the westernmost edge of the Australian
defence lines.
On the other hand, the
Japanese concentrated their forces in their drive towards
Singapore City. However, at the command level, the three divisions competed to
be the first to reach the city. It was a matter of pride for the Japanese
division commanders.
The
Japanese avoided a frontal assault against the Australian lines. Perhaps
learning from their fighting experience against the Japanese, the Australians strengthened
their flanks against enemy infiltration. The Japanese did not attempt
infiltration as they would likely encounter fierce resistance from the
Australians.
The
Japanese did not want to attack a well-defensive position because their main goal
was to occupy the city area to force the British to surrender.
Therefore, they chose a route that was more thinly defended.
The
Japanese 18th Division advanced along Reformatory Road to the western coast and Pasir Panjang Road in a strategic outflanking manoeuvre. The Japanese 5th
Division would attempt to advance more directly to the city along
Bukit Timah Road.
Battle of Opium Hill (Reference:
Battle of Opium Hill, SINGAPORE INFOPEDIA, accessed 1 February 2024, SINGAPORE IN WORLD WAR II, A HERITAGE TRAIL, National
Heritage Board)
%201945.jpg)
Southwest
battles map produced based on Singapore Historical Map (NUS) 1945.
On
the morning of 13 February, the battle for the Southwest sector (commonly known
as the battle of Pasir Panjang) commenced with an intense Japanese aerial and
artillery bombardment of the Malay Regiment’s positions, inflicting heavy
casualties and disrupting telephone communications.
The
1st Battalion’s A Company was depleted and forced to withdraw from its advance
positions.
In
the afternoon, the Japanese 18th Division attacked the 2nd Battalion Loyal
Regiment at Point 270. The 2nd Battalion critically short of ammunition, was
retreated through the Gap. The loss of Point 270 exposed the C Company at Pasir
Panjang Village to Japanese attacks.
C
Company, strengthened by the remaining soldiers of A Company, held the Pasir
Panjang Village crossroads against the Japanese. The Japanese set fire to the
nearby forested areas and set up a mortar position to bombard the Malay
Regiment defenders.
The
battles on 13 February caused four officers reported killed and eight wounded
along with a “considerable” number of casualties from other ranks from the 1st
Battalion. The much-depleted 2nd Battalion became a brigade reserve and moved
to Alexandra Brickworks.
By
midnight on 13 February, the 1st Battalion C Company left Pasir Panjang Village
to take up a new defensive position at Opium Hill. B Company was deployed to
cover the approaches to Buona Vista Village. D Company held the Labrador area.
C and D Companies were separated by a drain of burning oil that flowed from the
nearby Normanton Oil Depot. The oil storage tanks had been set ablaze on 10
February 1942 by enemy action.
On 14
February morning, The Japanese bombarded Malay Regiment positions. In the afternoon, they launched
a simultaneous attack along Buona Vista Road and Pasir Panjang Road.
The
heroism of C Company, 1st Battalion and 2nd Lieutenant Adnan Saidi in their
battles against the Japanese at Bukit Chandu were often highlighted. Adnan
foiled Japanese attempts to disguise themselves as Punjabi troops. Soldiers of
the British Army typically marched in a line of three columns while the
supposed Punjabi soldiers in front of their lines were moving in a line of four
columns. C Company killed 22 disguised Japanese soldiers and wounded many
others.
2nd
Lieutenant Adnan Saidi
The
final assault on Bukit Chandu resulted in hand-to-hand fighting and only a few
members of the Malay Regiment managed to escape. Adnan inspired his men to fight
till the last soldier. He was killed together with many of his fellow soldiers
in the major defensive battle. The Malay Regiment lost 159 men (6 British
officers, 7 Malay officers and 146 other ranks) and suffered a large number of
wounded.
LG
Percival paid tribute to the Malay Regiment, “These young and untried soldiers
acquitted themselves in a way which bore comparison with the very best troops
in Malaya”, setting “an example for steadfastness and endurance which will
become a great tradition in the Regiment and an inspiration for future
generations”.
Burning
oil from Normanton Oil Depot impacted on retreating [Written
by John Kwok]
The Normanton
Oil Depot was one of the main oil reserves of Malaya Command. On 10 February
1942, Japanese artillery hit the depot, setting it alight.
The
artillery attack was likely part of support actions for the Japanese infantry
advancing along Kent Ridge Park, or Pasir Panjang Ridge.
Despite the fierce defence of the C Company, the Japanese overran their positions. Four soldiers led by an officer attempted to fall back but were trapped between the Japanese and a deep 20-foot wide drain that was flowing with oil that was burning. They leapt the drain and as a result, three of them were badly burned and injured but managed to reach friendly lines at Alexandra Road/Gillman Barracks. Two fell into the drain and did not survive.
%20and%20Alexandra%20Hospital%20(British%20Military%20Hospital%20in%20foreground).%20c.1950s.%20Source%20National%20Archive%20of%20Singapore..jpg)
Normanton
Oil Depot (background) and Alexandra Hospital (British Military Hospital in
foreground). c.1950s. Source: National Archive of Singapore.
%20passing%20through%20HortPark.jpg)
The
canal flows from Normanton Park (high-rise buildings afar) through
HortPark.
Greenway, the southern rail corridor
The
cycling trip gathered at Buona Vista MRT Station Exit A (it is the same as Exit
B and C). All participants pushed their bikes supplied by event company S-Lite
Group to the Greenway rail corridor (Ghim Moh access) and started the 2.5-hour
discovery journey. The rail corridor passed by North Buona Vista, Tanglin Halt,
Masjid Hang Jebat, Alexandra Hospital (side) and Queensway. The exit point of
this part of the journey was the Alexandra Road Exit. Participants pushed their
bikes up 3 flights of stairs with bicycle gutter. They continued their journey
to Gillman Barracks, HortPark, Pasir Panjang Park, Pasir Panjang Pillbox and
Haw Par Villa.
Rail
corridors carried some significance during the war. During the occupation
period, the Japanese military government transported POWs (prisoners of war)
and civilians through the railway to Thailand for the construction of the Death
Railway. Around 90,000 civilians and
more than 12,000 allied POWs died as a result.
Greenway,
the Southern rail corridor.
Alexandra Hospital (British Military Hospital) (Written
by John Kwok)
Alexandra
Hospital (British Military Hospital) was opened in 1940 as the main hospital
for British military personnel. It was described as “one of the
largest and most up-to-date military hospitals outside Britain. The hospital
was handed over to the Singapore government by the British forces when they
pulled out from Singapore on 15 September 1971.
On
14 February 1942 around the time of the battle at Pasir Panjang Ridge, a
contingent of Japanese soldiers advanced down Ayer Rajah Road. At 1 pm, they
entered Alexandra Hospital and killed several medical officers and patients.
200 of them who survived the first wave of killings were tied into groups of
eight.
Alexandra
Hospital is designated as a National Monument.
The
Japanese marched them out of the hospital grounds, across Ayer Rajah Road and
were locked up in a building with three small rooms near the Sisters’ Mess. The
rooms were crammed and lacked ventilation, causing many deaths.
Three
months after the end of World War Two, the British launched a series of
investigations into war crimes committed by the Japanese. It led to the
establishment of the Singapore War Crimes Tribunal to put on trial Japanese
suspected of committing atrocities during WWII on POWs and civilians in former
Japanese Occupied areas in Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific islands.
In
Singapore, the war crimes investigations into the Alexandra Hospital Massacre
proved to be difficult. While the massacre was not in dispute, it proved
difficult to identify the perpetrators or masterminds of the tragedy.
The
investigators attempted to put Lieutenant-General MUTAGUCHI Renya on trial. He was the commander of the Japanese 18th Division, operating in the area during
the battle of Singapore. The investigators argued that the Japanese troops
responsible for the war crime were most likely the forward troops from
Mutaguchi’s division.
By
April 1946, the evidence gathered was still insufficient to pinpoint and
identify a person responsible for the atrocities. Furthermore, the testimonies
given by survivors of the massacre gave details of the event that could not be
corroborated, which made it difficult for the investigator and the prosecuting
team to put up a strong case. The investigations lasted more than a year
and the case was eventually dropped in July 1947.
Gillman
Barracks (Written by John Kwok)
Once
a jungle and swamp, the site of Gillman Barracks became a military camp in
1936. It housed the 1st Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment, which boosted the
British army’s infantry in Singapore. The barracks had various facilities, such
as mess halls, sports fields and married quarters. The 2nd Battalion Loyal
Regiment later occupied the camp. The battalion was originally deployed to
defend the junction of Reformatory Road and Ayer Rajah Road.
On 12 Feb 1942, the battalion came under heavy artillery attack from
Japanese forces. Exposed, the battalion withdrew along Ayer Rajah Road.
On
13 Feb 1942, the 2nd Battalion took up positions in their home barracks in
anticipation of a Japanese attack. B Company was deployed at today’s SP Jain
School of Global Management. C and D Company was further south where the former
Tiger Brewery was sited. A Company was at the Sergeants Mess building in
Gillman Barracks.
Gillman
Barracks.
SP
Jain School of Global Management
On 15 February, after taking Pasir Panjang Ridge, the Japanese attempted to advance into the Alexandra area held by the Loyal Regiment. After an artillery barrage, the Japanese launched a direct assault on B Company’s position but could not break through the defences. They then switched their attack further south against the Loyal Regiment’s C and D Company that had dug in at the Malayan Pacific Brewery (present-day Alexandra Point).
The Japanese rushed to occupy the high ground that overlooked the brewery. They directed fire against C and D Company and inflicted heavy casualties. Soon it became no longer tenable to hold their positions, and the three companies were withdrawn with A Company stationed at Gillman Barracks providing cover fire. The men from the three companies successfully withdraw to a camp 400 meters west of the Ordnance Depot. The three companies were reduced to just a fighting force of two platoons. This was one of the final actions of the war before the British surrendered later that day.
Gillman
Barracks road map 1966.
Alexandra Barracks (Written
by John Kwok)
The
former Alexandra Barracks was constructed in the early 1900s to defend the
naval outpost in Singapore and protect British Far East interests. The earliest
houses dated from around 1905 to 1906 while the majority were constructed in
the 1930s for senior medical staff in the Royal Army Medical Corps working in
Alexandra Military Hospital.
The
site of Hort Park was near the Alexandra Barracks, Alexandra Brickworks and
Malayan Breweries. This site features many black and white bungalows and other
bungalows from the colonial period. It still retains many of these bungalows
today.
We
learn from eyewitness accounts that groups of patients were marched off from
Alexandra Hospital, across the railway line, across Ayer Rajah Road (an
expressway today), and forced into a storage hut in one of the bungalows. They
were left there overnight, without water and proper ventilation. Many died
standing. Those who survived were taken out in groups and shot. A stray
artillery shell damaged a part of the wall, enabling some of the men to escape.
Their accounts, especially a clear description of the storage hut were vital. We were able to identify the area where they were held captive, and where the massacre took
place, which is somewhere on Canterbury Road.
Black
and white bungalow, Canterbury Road, Alexandra Park. Former Alexandra Barracks.
Malayan Breweries Limited (The
site of Alexandra Point. Reference: The bear train from the anchor brewery, accessed 21 December 2023)
Malayan
Breweries Limited (MBL) was formed in 1932 to produce Tiger Beer. MBL won the
bid to buy over Archipelago Brewery Company (ABC) and operated the brewery in
1941, following Britain's declared war on Germany after the German invasion of
Poland in September 1939. The brewery changed hands once again following the
Japanese occupation.
Dai
Nippon, the producer of Asahi Beer in Japan, was tasked to operate the brewery
from late 1942.
%20at%20the%20right%20sitting%20on%20the%20former%20site%20of%20Malayan%20Breweries..jpg)
Alexandra
Point (pyramid top) at the right of the photo sitting on the former site of Malayan
Breweries.
The Alexandra Brickworks (the
site of Mapletree Business City. Reference: Battle of Opium Hill, SINGAPORE
INFOPEDIA, accessed 1 February 2024 )
The
Alexandra Brickworks was capable of producing 1,500,000 bricks a month before
WWII. When Singapore fell in 1942, the Japanese renamed it Syonan Renga Kogyo (昭南炼瓦工场).
According
to the Syonan Times on 22 November 1942, the number of staff remained the same as the pre-war days. About 300 workers worked in a highly stressed environment to
meet the massive demand for bricks supplied to various parts of Singapore.
After
taking Pasir Panjang Ridge, Japanese forces advanced into the Alexandra area.
At dusk, D Company successfully ambushed Japanese troops marching down Pasir
Panjang Road near the Alexandra Brickworks area. This would be the Malay
Regiment’s last combat before the British surrender on 15 February 1942.
Mapletree
Business City sitting on the site of the former Alexandra Brickworks.
Opium processing factory (the
site of Singapore Storage and Warehouse Pte Ltd)
From
the HortPark Canterbury Road looking at the canal towards Normanton Park, on
the left is the Singapore Storage and Warehouse Pte Ltd built on the original
site of Pepys Road Opium Processing Factory.
Singapore
Storage and Warehouse Pte Ltd was built on the original site of Pepys Road
Opium Processing Factory.
Three
months after the fall of Singapore, social order had been restored. The opium processing
factory on Pepys Road resumed production and employed more than a hundred
employees, mostly women. Raw opium imported from India was boiled and poured
into small round tin tubes, which were then packaged and sold. The tubes were
made in the factory's moulds and were divided into two, four and six hoon (hoon
is 分, one hoon is about 0.38 grams). Opium was
formally banned after the war.
Pepys
Road Opium factory. Harrison Forman Collection. University of Wisconsin
Milwaukee.
Pasir Panjang Park Container Shelter 1 and 2
(Written by John Kwok)
Pasir
Panjang Park which includes Container Shelter 1 and 2 is built on reclaimed
land. The original coastline was near and along the present-day West Coast
Highway.
PSA
Horizon is next to Container Shelter 1
Container
Shelter 2
Pasir
Panjang Road once skirted along the original coastline of Singapore. This
cycling route would have been underwater in 1942. But this allows us to
visualise the Japanese advance towards Singapore City in February 1942. After
moving down Reformatory Road (present-day Clementi Road), the Japanese forces
met up with those coming down from West Coast Road at Pasir Panjang Village,
turned east and used the Pasir Panjang Road to advance towards Singapore City.
Why?
This
road was lightly defended by the British. Furthermore, the defences along this
road faced the sea, and the defenders would not be ready for attack from
their rear. A Company, 1st Battalion Malay Regiment was
deployed about 1 km north of Pasir Panjang Village. The rest of the battalion’s
companies were deployed at other junctions along the road. Therefore, this
stretch of road was thinly held by company-size units and could hardly hold up for long against the much larger battalion-size Japanese advance.
Pasir
Panjang Village c.1930s. Source unknown.
PSA Port Terminal @Pasir Panjang (Written
by John Kwok)
The
Pasir Panjang Port Terminal started operations in 2000 with 26 berths. It is
operated by PSA International, one of two port operators in Singapore (the
other is Jurong Port). The Pasir Panjang Port Terminal only handles container
cargo.
The
port terminal is at the end of its life; port operations are scheduled to be
relocated to the Tuas Mega Port by 2027, and the port closed by 2040.
Pasir
Panjang Port Terminal
Pasir Panjang Pillbox (Written
by John Kwok)
In
the early 1930s, the British constructed concrete pillboxes along West Coast
Road to improve the coastal defences along the west coast. By this time,
Singapore was well defended by coastal forts armed with large calibre guns that
could engage and defeat enemy ships out at sea. However, the coastal forts were
vulnerable against fast enemy boats that could land soldiers on the coast and
outside the range of the fort’s weapons and launch attacks against the fort’s
less protected rear. This led to the construction of machine-gun pillboxes
along the west coast to protect the fort’s blindside.
The
pillboxes were made of concrete and could accommodate up to two machine guns.
The pillboxes were sited approximately 550 meters providing an effective overlapping machine gun that could defeat enemy
landings. Most of the pillboxes were demolished progressively after the war.
The
Pasir Panjang pillbox lies within the area defended by the Malay
Regiment. They may have used it in their fierce resistance against the Japanese
18th Division.
Pasir
Panjang Pillbox
Haw Par Villa
Haw
Par Villa, originally comprised of a villa and a large garden, was designed by architect
Ho Kwang Yew. The compound was a gift from Mr Aw Boon Haw to his younger
brother Mr Aw Boon Par. They were rich businessmen who built their fortune on
the famous Tiger Balm ointment.
Pillbox
in front of Haw Par Villa. It was one of those progressively demolished after
the war.
During World War II, the compound suffered extensive damage but the garden survived. Aw Boon Haw rebuilt the garden with custom-made statues featuring Chinese culture and virtues. The “Courts of Hell” and “Journey to the West” were notable statuaries added to the garden.
Aw
Boon Haw fled to Hong Kong during the war while his brother stayed in Singapore
until he closed the factory and went to Rangoon.
Haw
Par Villa, the endpoint of Cycling Buona Vista.
Aftermath
The
battle of the southwest sector had little strategic significance. It could not
change the eventual fate of Singapore. The two battalions were simply
tasked with defending the approach. However, it turned out to resist the main
invasion force. Holistically, the defence strategy for the “fortified island” was
completely messed up. This part of the sector was mainly defended by the locals
and is a reminder of the importance of national defence.
