Lessons of a Naval Base Son Becoming a City Grandfather

 Look out for His True Stories in Letters to His Grandson.

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THE BASE SOCCER 'NUTS'

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THE BASE SOCCER 'NUTS' The Straits Times 23 April 1978 by Bernard Pereria who  lived in Block 23 Madras Road .   Soccer to the local kids living in Singapore’s former British Naval Base at Sembawang was not just a sport to be played on proper marked out pitches. The kids living in the uninhabited world of their own used to spend hours on end in the open spaces that offered an ideal sanctuary to their sporting needs. Boots were alien to them nor did they have any formal training by competent coaches . Observes, national soccer and hockey star Bernard Norbert, ‘The warm and friendly “Peyton Place” like atmosphere and the landscape where everyone knows everyone also contributes to our success. From the Naval Base came the great veteran Vivian Roberts and the famed Quah brothers Kim Tuan, Kim Beng, Kim Choon, Kim Swee, Kim Saik, Kim Lye, Kim Song who ruled soccer for nearly three decades since 1948. Patrons of sports The British knew that sports was a social event int...
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My Heart Never Left Naval Base- By C.P Wan -Pt 3

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Growing Up.           When I was growing up in the Naval Base, during the '60s,  our parents, like most parents, depended solely on their occupations in the Dockyard to provide a livelihood for their families.             Wages were mostly paid weekly. Our parents like most breadwinners earned sustenance sums, enough to meet our weekly basic household needs such as purchasing inexpensive outfits to clothe our famished bodies; regular, rather than fashionable footwear to protect our feet; and the biggest challenge was laying food on the table for 8 growing children, with growing appetites.                  Hence there was hardly any money left, to save in the kitty. We were lucky if the weekly wages could meet our weekly needs.              Hence, under such circumstance, some mothers were forced to seek work, i...
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Naval Base Never Left Me - Commentary from Keith Morison

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