The Fall Of Singapore

POST WAR PROBLEMS

2008-07-14T04:17:00.000-07:00

List of some Post War Problems :

There were shortage of FOOD:

The problem was terrible. The rice-producing countries has no extra food to sell. The war has also disrupted the harbour as sunken ships has blocked the harbour. This has resulted the difficulty for shipping food to Singapore.

To solve the problem, the British had the sunken ships and explosives laid by the Japanese cleared from the sea. This made way for ships to transport food to Singapore.

The food shortage problem was gradually solved as trade between Singapore and other countries picked up.

There were shortage of HOUSES:

Houses were scarce and rents soared high. Many poor people who could not afford the rents shared the houses with many others. As a result, the living condition was both overcrowded and unhygienic.

Besides food, there were water and electricity shortages too. The streets were dirty and dark. The British made the Japanese prisoners-of-war repair the water mains and machinery in power stations.

There were EDUCATION PROBLEMS:

Many children did not attend school during the Japanese Occupation. As a result, there were many overage students after the war who wanted to go to school. Hence, the British had to build schools fast enough to meet the great demand for education.

Many houses were destroyed by the Japanese before they leave as they wanted the British

ro have a hard time rebuilding Singapore.

An old man and his grandson were picking up rice grains as it was precious and expensive at that time.

2008-07-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

Below is a description of how life was like during the Japanese Occupation.

The Japanese occupation was considered as the darkest period of Singaporean history.
After the British had surrendered, the Japanese named Singapore as :
Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō, "Light of the South".

The Japanese police was also known as the kempetai.
Commoners were made to bow to them as they passed, if not, they would be punished by
kicking or hitting them.

They were biased against the Chinese.
For instance, the Sook Ching Massacre, including civilians who had donated to charities to aid the war effort in China, claimed between 25,000 and 50,000 lives in Malaya and Singapore.

The local people lived in fear as they did not know who worked for the Japanese
and who did not as the japanese had many secret informers all over the island.

The Japanese wanted to 'purify' the commoners and not have 'unloyals' going against them, therefore they introduced a system called Sook Ching (translated purge through purification). There were also many secret informers all over the island.
When asked by the Japanese to select and 'accuse', they would simply point to anyone.
These people were rounded up and taken to a deserted place to be shot or bayoneted.

The Japanese were extremely cruel at that time,
they torture their prisoners, even using them as their bulleyes for their pratice.
Some of the captured ones were never seen by their families again.

Resources were scarce during the Japanese Occupatiom.
The price of rice increased from five dollars to five thousand dollars.
The Japanese issued ration cards to control the amount of resources the population received: adults could purchase 4.8 kg of rice per month, and children 2.4 kg.
They issued the Banana Notes as their main currency.

Life was hard then, many people suffered and died during the Japanese Occupation.
On 6th & 9th of August, the US dropped two atomic bombs at Japan's two cities.
Eventually, the Japanese surrendered at 15th August 1945,
and the Japanese Occupation came to an end :D

The Japanese delegation leaves the building after the surrender ceremony on 12th September 1945.

A cheering crowd welcome the return of British forces on 5th September 1945.

2008-07-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

This is a video of World War 2.

2008-07-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

This is a video of the Battle Of Singapore.

2008-07-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

A brief summary:

On 15 February 1942, the British surrendered Malaya and Sinagpore to the Japanese.

It was darkest period of Singapore's history, of the history of South-east Asia.

The Japanese Occupation of Sinagpore lasted 3 years and 8 months - till 12 September 1945. Tens of thousands of lives were lost. Families torn apart, and the economy was devastated.

'' I do hope we are not getting too strong in Malaya because if so the Japanese may never attempt a landing.''

- Unarmed British Army Officer.

On February the 8th 1942, the Japanese landed on Singapore shores.

The battle of Singapore just lasted just one week.

February 15, 2007 , on this day 63 years ago, Fortress Singapore fell to Japanese forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

The Japanese occupied Singapore until 1945 when US dropped two atomic bombs on both Japan cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

2008-07-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

here are some examples of the Banana Notes used during the Japanese Occupation.

The one below is the actual banknote made by the Japanese during their occupation of Malaya during World War ll. You can tell its genuine-ness by the tiny little coloured threads you can see running through it if you look closely.

Most of these bills were made for and used in Malaya during the occupation but some were still found stored away in perfect, unused condition.

When the Japanese were finally driven out of Malaya, these unused,uncirculated bills

were found - as the one below,

which is a unique memento of history. Growing scarcer and more valuable everyday.

2008-07-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Fall Of Singapore.

The attack on Singapore occurred almost at the same time of the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

By December 9th 1941, any hope of aerial support for the army was destroyed.

British had two battleships, the HMS Prince Of Wales and HMS Repulse.

But ufortunately, both were sank by the Japanese's torpedo bombers.

The loss of both ships had a devastating impact on morale in Britian.

The Japanese's attack on Pearl Harbour was meant to deter the US from intervening in Southeast Asia.

The Japanese then used bicycles and light tanks which enabled them to reach Singapore swiftly across Malaya through the jungles.

It took the Japanese only 55 days to reach Johore travelling swiftly across Malaya.

While the British were preparing for their defence against the Japanese,

Yamashita was getting ready for the assult of Singapore.

The Japanese began attacking Singapore and the three combat zones were soon captured.

By the 14h of Feburary, the Malay Regiment retreated to Bukit Chandu.

Running out of ammunition, the Malay Regiment resorted to hand-to-hand combat

against the Japanese invaders, believing in the true spirit of Ta'at dan Setia.

The Japanese was angry about the stubborn-ess of the Malay Regiment had put up with them,

they seeked revenge by killing 200 innocent staffs and patients at Alexandra Hospital,

which was also known as Alexandra Hospital massacre.

General Persival, being a leader who cared about the lives of his soldiers & civilians unlike Yamashita, made a decision at the Battlebox to surrender to the Japanese.

Percival and Yamashita then signed the surrender at Fort Motor Factory,

and the Japanese celebrated their victory.

But unfortunately, this was only the begin of the darkest years in Singapore ever in history..

Percival led by a Japanese officer, walks under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on Feburary 15, 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history.

ps: truce - a temporary stoppage of a war or any wared conflict.

British Surrender - Yamashita (seated, centre) thumps the table with his fist to emphasize his terms -- unconditional surrender. Percival sits between his officers, his clenched hand to his mouth.