Celebrating British Withdrawal

 

Young Jon Christian Silva. relives memories with Wan Chan Peew, founder of NB Facebook to mark the 50^th Anniversary of British withdrawal.

1. In your opinion, how aware are Singaporeans of their history (e.g.history of H. M. Naval Base) these days?
Ans: Frankly, I do not have an answer. But having said that, I recall that the British Naval Dockyard employed people from all over the island. I feel sure these families must have often talked about their work and the reliable source of their weekly income to sustain the respective families.

And to this end, all these people (including their friends and neighbours who might not have been employed in the Dockyard) would be definitely aware of the history.

2. Could you share what you think could be the possible reasons for Singaporeans to not be more aware of their history?
Ans: People in general have short memories. The announcement by the British Government in 1967 their intention to fully pull-out of Singapore by 1971 would have a tremendous effect on the people, especially those who are directly employed.
Fortunately, the transition was smooth and the local government acted in tandem to stabilise the island-state, the populace went about their daily lives adjusting to new challenges. New opportunities abound and very soon, people forgot the impact of the pull-out.

3. Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind setting up The Naval Base blog.
Ans: We have a Facebook group page named, “H. M. Naval Base, Singapore – through the ages” which mission was to “Encouraging "Navalites" to entrench in history past ---- memories of the time during and after the British pull-out”
Here, we received nostalgic responses from folks who once lived in the Naval Base….and neighbours got reconnected.
These responses were personal snippets; my old friend, work colleague and co-admin, Alfred Dass suggested we start a blog and invite ex-Navalites to share a little more in depth the effects and aspirations of growing up in the then Naval Base and how it has shaped their adult life.

4. How do you feel The Naval Base blog can help ignite an interest in Singaporeans about the place?

Ans: It is a personal preference. Some might like to share their early life’s experiences with us as I myself have reflected upon it. We hope readers can find another volume of history from the perspectives of personal experiences. We hope that readers after reading these short essays may gain some knowledge of the old (and soon to be forgotten) neighbourhood.

5. Tell us about how life was like in H. M. Naval Base during your growing up years.
Ans: A few of us and myself have mentioned this in our respective blog pages. Just to repeat myself, the former Naval Base to me and for me was all encompassing…the amenities and social structures in place was adequate – we lived simple and uncomplicated lives.
As kids, we played with all races and also with the girls. Words such as “stress’ for example was not only unfamiliar but unknown to us. Our parents were employed and the family’s daily needs, e.g., fresh clean piped water, electricity for lighting our homes were free; electricity for power, use of iron, refrigerator (if one could afford it) was charged a nominal fee.
We had Canberra Primary School and a secondary school. At Naval Base School, when it was first established, it was the first mixed school in Singapore from primary to secondary level. Of course, things changed later on. There were separate hospitals to cater separately for male and female patients complete with dispensary. Cinemas and churches, a fire brigade, etc…

6. Could you share your fondest memories - both happy and sad - of living in H. M. Naval Base?  
Ans: To be offered a clerical position in the civilian administration (having after passing an aptitude test); and the sad moment was when we heard of the announcement of the pull-out….

7. What are some of the things that made H. M. Naval Base different from the other neighbourhoods in Singapore?
Ans: Naval Base was a “Protected Place” – we had our own civilian Police Force; non-resident visitors need to be sponsored by an adult living in the Naval Base.

8. How significant was the withdrawal of the British from the Naval Base to those living in the area? Were there major changes to speak of?

Ans: We knew that all of us would soon vacate our inexpensive living quarters; subsequently employment/reemployment was an uncertainty.
The “talk-of-the-day” was then “retraining”. The dockyard would be converted into a commercial ship repairing yard and how was all this to take place remained unknown for a time.
A major change in our working lives was the introduction of the use of main frame computers.

9. How did you feel about these major changes?
Ans: At work, it was a huge learning curve; heaps of manual records were dispensed with!

10. How has H. M. Naval Base developed over the years (in terms of atmosphere and landscape, etc)?

Ans: It’s pretty evident…. the entire living quarters was obliterated and in place new high-rise townships mushroomed

11. Moving forward, what do you have planned to create more awareness of H. M. Naval Base and its history?

Ans: We hope that both our Facebook group page and Blog page would attract interest and readership into the former Naval Base

12. Before wrapping up, could you share some words about H. M. Naval Base and the blog to end this interview on a high note?

Ans: On hindsight, the British Armed Forces pull-out has grown a more resilient population. Facing all odds to survive individually and providing for the family. Job opportunities abound; we were challenged to operate industrial and administrative work differently. With foreign help and their investments, we built light/heavy industries to compete in external markets and birth of computerisation also offered us great opportunities and with global financial transactions, etc.

WE overcame the odds; we succeeded!

  The copyright of this article belongs to the author and may not be reproduced without his prior permission.