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, ...

Gay World was one of three amusement parks built in Singapore before World War II and around which Singapore’s nightlife revolved from the 1920s to the ’60s. The other two were New World and Great World. Gay World was a popular entertainment joint before the advent ...

Opened in 1923, New World Park, an amusement park, was a popular nighttime haunt in Singapore from the 1920s to the ’60s. It was the first of three renowned amusement parks known as the “Worlds”, the other two being Great World and Gay World. New World was located ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Great World Amusement Park was one of the three “Worlds” that lighted up Singapore’s nightlife in the 1950s and 1960s. Although it closed in 1964, cinemas, cabaret and restaurants continued operations at the park until 1978. Today, the site is occupied by Great ...

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 Lian Yak Building, which housed Hotel New World, collapsed on 15 March 1986 due to structural defects and poor-quality construction. The collapse left 33 people dead, and was considered one of the worst disasters in post-war Singapore. A rescue operation involving ...

Opened in 1947, Beauty World was a popular market and shopping destination in Singapore during the 1960s. Located at the junction between Upper Bukit Timah Road and Jalan Jurong Kechil, the market comprised over a hundred stalls that sold all kinds of daily necessities ...

The Battle of Singapore was fought from 8 to 15 February 1942 between Allied (mainly British Commonwealth) and Japanese forces. The first Japanese troops landed in Singapore via the northwestern coastline on 8 February 1942. After a week of intense fighting, the ...

Michael Chiang (b. 1955, Malaysia–) is a prolific playwright who has received accolades for his contributions to the arts in Singapore. Mostly loved for his comedies and musicals, such as Army Daze and Beauty World, his works have been runaway successes at home ...

Alkaff Mansion is a 19th century colonial bungalow located on a hill at 10 Telok Blangah Green. Built in 1918 by a member of the prominent Alkaff family as a weekend house, it became known for hosting high society parties in the 1930s. The mansion once served ...

Ford Malaya was established in 1926 to directly control Ford operations in Malaya. It set up a full-fledged assembly plant in Bukit Timah in 1941. The plant became famous not only because it was the first in the region, but also because it was the venue where the ...

Built in the late 1930s, Johore Battery was the main artillery battery of the British coastal artillery defence network. It was located at Cosford Road in Changi on the northeastern coast of Singapore, off Upper Changi Road North. The guns at the battery were destroyed ...

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded in the United States by Harvey S. Firestone in 1900. It was one of the largest producers, purchasers and users of natural rubber. Besides producing tyres for almost every type of vehicle, the company also manufactured ...

The Malayan Campaign consisted of a series of battles fought in Malaya between Allied (mainly British Commonwealth) and Axis (primarily Japanese) forces. The campaign began on 8 December 1941 when Japanese forces landed in Singora and Patani in southern Thailand, ...

A gastronomic assembly that aims to plant Singapore on Asia's taste-buds, the World Gourmet Summit is an annual event that was originally put together by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Peter Knipp Holdings (PKH), with the latter taking over after the second ...