1942: JAPANESE OCCUPATION

Before the Japanese Occupation, training were conducted to educate the public on the procedures to be carried out in the event of an air raid. People from the Air Raid Precautions also demonstrated to the public on how to put out fires. This photo shows two men from the Air Raid Precautions group, demonstrating skills to put out incendiary bomb in Raffles Place. During this period many of the important activities still took place in the vicinity of the Singapore River, due to its centralised location.

 

 

This photograph shows Raffles Place after a Japanese Air Raid. The bombings of Raffles Place by the Japanese airplanes had left many of the buildings shattered and weakened. Singapore's suffering began when Japan dropped its first bomb on the island at 4.00 am in 8 December 1941, the exact date when Japanese destroyed Pearl Harbour.

As seen from the photo, rescue workers had to work very hard to locate surviving victims by clearing away the surface wreckage. In the background, one can also see the building of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.

 

 

Source: Lu, G. (1999). Singapore – A Pictorial History (1819-2000). Singapore: Didier Millet.

This picture shows the Japanese troops marching down Raffles Place, where there were many commercial buildings.

The Japanese troops marched from Battery Road to Fullerton Square to mark their victory of defeating the British on 16 February 1942. Many of the buildings located in the area had been badly damaged by war. Over time, they were replaced by other newly built buildings.

 

From this photo, one can only imagine the destruction that had taken place from the numerous Japanese bombing attacks. Many buildings suffered the same fate as the one seen in the photo, which was one of the commercial buildings located at Raffles Place. Raffles Place was where many of the financial activities were located. By the time the British surrendered, the place was badly destroyed with lots of people injured, and some dead.

 

 

Source: Arasv, V.T. and Singh, D.(1984). Singapore – an Illustrated History (1941 -1984). Singapore: Information Division, Ministry of Culture.

Source:Kratoska, Paul H. (1998). The Japanese Occupation of Malaya: a social and economic history. Australia: Allen & Unwin.

During the Japanese Occupation, the locals celebrated the Japanese holidays which were national holidays. The most important of which was the Emperor's Birthday. The photograph on the right showed a procession of young students on the Emperor's Birthday. The young students marched from the Fullerton Building, pass the Anderson Bridge towards the Padang. Crowds turned up to watch the procession although many of them were unwilling.

This photograph also showed that the importance of the Singapore River and its environs did not decreased under the Japanese rule.

 

 

 

This photograph showed the Adelphi Hotel during the Japanese Occupation, where the signages of the shops and hotel were in Japanese.

During this period, Japanese was the language taught in school and was considered to be the official language of communication. As seen in the photo, even the words written on the bus were Japanese.

Source: Arasv, V.T. and Singh, D. (1984). Singapore – an Illustrated History (1941 -1984). Singapore: Information Division, Ministry of Culture.