FREE SPIRT CRUSHED

(contd) .....Part 2, with Mike Anpalagam's previous article

 The outdoors with its’ open fields, undulating landscape, hillocks, bushes, trees, ponds and air raid shelters created boundless opportunities for adventure for children in the Naval Base.  As a growing child, I took advantage of these natural offerings, spending most of my time outdoors with friends unlike many children of today who tend to prefer staying indoors playing electronic games. Whereas we couldn’t afford to buy toys so we made our own, like wooden pistols, and even wheel barrows.

Lights! Camera! Action!

There were many air raid shelters scattered in the grounds of the Naval Base such as the one located near Blocks 5 and 7 where we explored the deep underground shelters descending three levels before reaching the base of the air raid shelters. They were so long that we called them tunnels. Since they were sound proof we felt it would make an ideal ‘movie studio’. So we played out some of the dramatic scenes we had seen in movies. We also had our own director who assigned our roles viz ‘hero’, ‘villain’, policeman, etc., and cameraman to film sequences. Regrettably, none of us made it to the movie world.

Nature’s Pool

On humid afternoons we stole away from our homes and threaded a few hundred yards through tall lallang fields to take a refreshing dip in a muddy pond located just behind the maternity ward off 14th mile stone. The pool was about 12 feet square and 3 feet deep. We didn’t want our parents to know about this escapade and returned home only after drying our wet bodies basking in the sun.  

Free Spirit

  We were free to do as we pleased. When we were not playing games, we roamed colonial residential areas in Durban and Pakistan Road. The residents never complained about us infringing their space. Galivanting to Jalan Kedai our ‘Shopping Mall’ was another regular pastime.

Heli Arrivals

Another of our childhood pursuits was catching the arrival of dignitaries in helicopters which landed at Admiralty House. The moment we heard the whirring sound of nearby  helicopters, we scampered from whatever we were doing and like a fleet of gazelles sprang towards Admiralty House.

 Bursting with energy, we ran across Kowloon Rd, zipping up and down uneven fields to catch a close- up view of arriving VIPs.   They would step into a huge black car- in- waiting upon their arrival and whisked away. We waited for the  helicopter to take off, chasing  it and waving excitedly at the pilot as he roared off.  

We indulged ourselves till the 4pm siren blared which signaled the end of a full day of work for our fathers and the first half of play for us.  We  scrambled home, had our baths and sat looking fresh and innocent for tea with our father.  After tea, we quickly broke out for the second half of play. We bared our skinny bodies and played bare foot soccer on JA Ground a coarse sandy pitch which often grazed our exposed bodies when we took a nasty fall.  I remember seeking  treatment at Naval Base Hospital which we called periya (big) hospital.  I recalled not being treated by a doctor but by Dresser Manickam.

As I grew older, I used to run with my friends to the black bridge in Senoko. The route from our homes, passed Madras, Delhi Roads, Dockyard, Cochrane Crescent.  The bridge was our marker, where we made a U turn. Maybe these fledgling runs laid the foundation for some of us to excel in sports in later years and explains why Naval Base produced so many outstanding sportspeople.

Moving House

A few years later, I moved to Block 23 where there was an open-air badminton court. The court was situated between two blocks which sheltered strong winds. Night lighting enabled us to play during the day and nights. I remember there were two sisters staying in the same Block who represented Singapore in Badminton who inspired me to take up the game.

Visiting Singapore

 Naval Base was my world and like many residents we used to refer the city as Singapore.

Occasionally, my family visited my late uncle staying in Bukit Merah and who worked in nearby Singapore General Hospital.

Many of the neighboring houses were zinc roofed and painted red. My uncle’s house was surrounded by many rubber trees, and a thick jungle grew further away.

My uncle would walk us to the Dispensary where he worked. It was a non- air- con single level wooden structure,  partially secured with a chain link fence.  We also walked to the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Silat Road Sikh Temple and  often visited the Mariamman Temple where my uncle served as a volunteer after retirement and till his passing.

Going Back

I visited Naval Base when it was being demolished and I was very sad to see our homes wrecked to the ground. By then, I was staying near Khatib in Yishun and often stopped by Naval Base.  It broke my heart to see the plunder and  often I would ask "Why" the blocks had to be demolished. One night I broke down and cried myself to bed. I felt like a part of me being crushed. 

Mike Anpalagam shares memories with Alfred Dass.