Tomoyuki Yamashita (b. 8 November 1885, Osugi Mura, Shikoku, Japan–d. 23 February 1946, Manila, Philippines), was the Army Commander of the 25th Army that captured Malaya and Singapore during World War II. The capture was the most decisive victory of the East over ...
The Kempeitai was Japan’s military police force in its occupied territories during World War II (1942–45). Specially trained in interrogation methods, the Kempeitai’s task was to crush all resistance to Japanese military rule, with the powers to arrest and extract ...
Located at 51 Canning Rise, the Fort Canning Bunker (now known as The Battlebox) was built between 1936 and 1941 to serve as a command centre for the Malaya Command, which oversaw British military operations in Malaya during World War II. On 15 February 1942, it ...
The Battle of Opium Hill on 14 February 1942 at Pasir Panjang was one of the fiercest battles that took place in Singapore in World War II. It pitted the invading Japanese Imperial Army against the brave but heavily out-numbered troops of the Malay Regiment. The ...
The Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) was a group of resistance fighters in Malaya, organised by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) to fight against the Japanese in Japanese-occupied Malaya. Well aware of the communist influence in MPAJA, the British were ...
Mamoru Shinozaki (b. 19 February 1908, Fukuoka, Japan–d. 1991, location unknown) came to Singapore in 1938 as a Japanese government official. He was convicted and jailed for espionage in 1940, and released after Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World ...
Sime Road Camp is the site of the former combined operational headquarters of the British Army and Royal Air Force during World War II. Located along Sime Road, the 470-acre site was used as an internment camp during the Japanese Occupation. After the surrender ...
Cathay Building, located at the foot of Mount Sophia in the Dhoby Ghaut area, was once the tallest building in Singapore. It used to house the Cathay cinema, Cathay Hotel and Cathay Restaurant. The cinema was opened in 1939 in the front building, while the main ...
The British Military Hospital (BMH) was established in 1938 by the British Armed Forces, serving as the principal hospital for the British in the Far East during World War II. At the time of its opening, it was considered “the most up-to-date and one of the largest ...
Shenton Thomas Whitelegge Thomas (Sir) (b. 10 October 1879, London, England–d. 15 January 1962, London, England), more popularly known as Sir Shenton Thomas, was the last Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner of the Federated ...
During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945, two prisoner-of-war camps were located in the area bounded by River Valley Road and Havelock Road. Due to their proximity, these camps were often referred to collectively as the River Valley Road Camp, ...
The Japanese surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur on board an American battleship, Missouri, at Tokyo Bay at 9 am on 2 September 1945 – officially ending WWII. Two weeks later, on 12 September 1945 at 11.10 am, local time, another Japanese surrender ceremony ...
The first air raid on Singapore was carried out by 17 Japanese planes from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force, launched from Japanese-occupied Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam. It took place shortly after 4 am on 8 December 1941, and left 61 ...
The Civilian War Memorial is a monument dedicated to civilians who perished during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942–45). It is located on a parkland, along Beach Road, opposite Raffles City. The memorial’s structure comprises four tapering columns of ...
Fort Siloso, located on the northwestern tip of Sentosa Island, was built in the 1880s on Mount Siloso to aid in protecting the port, particularly the western entrance to Keppel Harbour and the coal stocked nearby. It was part of Singapore’s coastal defence along ...
Operation Sook Ching was a Japanese military operation aimed at purging or eliminating anti-Japanese elements from the Chinese community in Singapore. From 21 February to 4 March 1942, Chinese males between the ages of 18 and 50 were summoned to various mass screening ...
On 27 September 1943, during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942–45), seven Japanese shipping vessels were destroyed in Singapore waters. Although the saboteurs escaped unnoticed, the Japanese suspected that prisoners interned at Changi had been responsible ...
Pulau Ubin is an island located on the north-eastern coast of Singapore, with Selat Johore to the north and Serangoon Harbour to the south. Its name is derived from its original Malay name, Pulau Batu Jubin, which means “Island of Granite Stones”. Granite quarries ...
The Syonan Jinja (Light of the South Shrine) was a Shinto shrine built to commemorate the Japanese soldiers who died in the conquest of Malaya and Sumatra. Constructed deep in the forests of the MacRitchie Reservoir in Singapore between 1942 and 1943, the shrine ...
The Bukit Batok Memorial, which consisted of the Syonan Chureito and British Memorial Cross, was built during the Japanese Occupation to honour dead soldiers of the Japanese and British forces. Located at Bukit Batok Hilltop (present Bukit Batok Nature Park) in ...