Singapore — Kranji War Memorial, Singapore
A memorable visit
May 2015
The Kranji War Memorial is located on the north part of Singapore Island, a few minutes’ drive from the Main Causeway.
The cemetery is classed as a ‘war and non-war’ cemetery in that it contains graves from the first and second World Wars and graves post-World War 2.
The Kranji War Memorial and Singapore Memorial is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who fought against the Japanese invading forces in the Second World War.
There are 4,461 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War buried or commemorated at the cemetery, with the Singapore Memorial bearing the names of over 24,000 casualties of the Commonwealth land and air forces with no known grave.
Originally, the site was a British army munitions depot. After the Japanese invasion in 1942, it became a Prisoner of War Camp and burial ground for the nearby Woodlands Military Hospital.
After the war, it was decided to consolidate the cemeteries from Changi, Buona Vista and the other Singapore camps into one location to be maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
The Kranji Cemetery consists of the State Cemetery of Singapore, the War Cemetery, the Singapore Memorial, and the Commonwealth Military Cemetery.
The cemetery contains the graves of not only the men and women who fought in Singapore but also those who fought in Southeast Asia after the fall of Singapore and the graves of prisoners of war (POW) who died in captivity.
Servicemen and women from British, Australian, Indian, Canadian, New Zealand, Dutch and South African forces, as well as Chinese and Malay, are represented at the cemetery, with nearly 50% of the 24,000 named on the Singapore Memorial coming from India.
More details can be found at Commonwealth War Graves Commission and on Wikipedia.
The inscription at the entrance to the Singapore Memorial reads:
”1939–1945 On the walls of this memorial are recorded the name of twentyfour thousand soldiers and airmen of many races united in the service of the British Crown who gave their lives in Malaya and neighbouring lands and seas and in the air over southern and eastern Asia and the Pacific but to who the fortune of war denied the customary rites accorded to their comrades in death. They died for all free men.”
The memorial is stunning.
And, as seen above, a little weather-worn by the sun.
Looking back to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, from Kranji War Memorial, Singapore
Below are two of the graves from the “Z” Special Unit. A plaque near the entrance reads:
”In Memory of the member of Operation Rimau. In September 1944, when Singapore was under Japanese occupation, 23 British and Australian members of the Services Reconnaissance Department/Z Special Unit travelled from Australia by submarine to the outskirts of Singapore harbour. Their mission was to attack and destroy enemy shipping from small submersible boats using magnetic limpet mines. The party included six former members of the highly successful raid launched against Japanese shipping in Singapore harbour in September 1943, codenamed Operation Jaywick. They were intercepted by Japanese forces and in the action that followed, 13 were either killed in action or died of wounds. The remaining 10 were captured and subsequently executed on 7 July 1945. The place of their execution is approximately 580 metres east of the junction of Clementi and Dover roads.”
Further details of Operation Rimau can be found on Wikipedia and the Australian Navy website.
The Australian Navy website lists the member of the operation as:
"The 23 members of Operation RIMAU were: Major Reginald Ingleton, Captain Robert Page, Lieutenant Albert Sargent, Lieutenant Walter Carey, Warrant Officer Alfred Warren, Sergeant David Gooley, Corporal Clair Stewart, Corporal Roland Fletcher, Able Seaman Walter Falls, and Lance Corporal John Hardy (all executed); Able Seaman Frederick Marsh (died after capture); Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Lyon, Lieutenant Commander Donald Davidson, Lieutenant Robert Ross, Lieutenant Bruno Reymond, Sub-Lieutenant Gregor Riggs, Warrant Officer Jeffrey Willersdorf, Sergeant Colin Cameron, Able Seaman Andrew Huston, Corporal Archie Campbell, Corporal Colin Craft, Corporal Hugo Pace and Private Douglas Warne (all presumed killed in action).”
Memorial plaque for Operation Rimau, “Z” Special Unit:
A local lizard sunning itself on the top of a gravestone.
