A replica of the room where General Percival surrendered Singapore to General Yamashita.

The exterior of the former Ford Factory.

Singapore was the British Empire's "impregnable fortress"...

...but it fell easily because the Japanese advanced overland from the north instead of by sea.

One of the exhibition rooms at the former Ford Factory.

A replica of the room where the surrender took place.

The Japanese view on their conquest of Asia.

How Japan tried to remake Singapore in its image.

This exhibit captures the general feeling of how it felt to live in an occupied land.

A summary of the deaths that took place.

An exhibit on what people ate during the Japanese occupation.

Paperwork required for locals to work during the Japanese occupation.

The currency in use during the Japanese occupation. It is colloquially referred to as "banana money"

A timeline of the latter part of World War II.

Ration cards were used as Singapore recovered from the occupation.

Living conditions after the Japanese occupation.

The Communist Party became more active after the Japanese occupation.

One of the after effects of the Japanese occupation was a renewed call for independence.

How the post-war years shaped Singapore.

Former Ford Factory

October 18, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

The former Ford Factory is a preserved art deco building located next to my mother's condo. It is the site where General Percival surrendered Singapore to General Yamashita in 1942, and it currently houses artifacts related to the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent occupation of Singapore by Japan.

I had visited this museum previously and this time I took my mother there. I was a little nervous about whether this visit would bring up too many bad memories for her (she was a child during the Japanese occupation) but I also felt it might be healthy for her to view the exhibits and talk about her childhood. She recalled some unpleasant memories like her family's retreat from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore as the Japanese advanced down the Malay Peninsula, seeing Japanese troops stick bayonets into mattresses in case there were people hiding inside the mattresses, and seeing a man hanging from a tree. Food was also short and she recalled having to line up for hours for rations. But, interspersed with this were less negative memories such how she spent the last of her Japanese currency (they called it "banana money" because there were bananas on the notes) before the British returned. As it turned out, she ran to the nearest store and spent the last of her banana money on preserved plums.

All in all, this was a good excursion and I think it was healthy for my mother to talk about her childhood during a traumatic time for Singapore.Read more