Block2Blog

 Bargadi to Brisbane - Part 3 of 3 3: THE JAPANESEOCCUPATION (1942-1945)   The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese landed in Malaya on December 8 and made a rapid progress to Johore from where they planned the push to Singapore. General Yamashita was their commander. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore. The Occupation was to become a major turning point in the history of several nations, including that of Japan, Britain and the then-colonial state of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in South-East Asia and was the key to British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942, after the two months during which Japanese forces ...

 Bargadi to Brisbane - Part 2 2  :INDIA TO SINGAPORE (1937-41)   My father Hakam Singh (1908-1997) was born in India in a farming family in a small village in the state of Punjab, called Sukhanand, which is in the district of Moga. That is where he grew up and got married to my mother Harnam Kaur. He did not have much of an education as education was not a priority during the time when he was growing up. Most villages did not even have schools.  Farming was the primary source of income back then in the Punjab, as it is even until today. My father quickly realised that the little land that he would inherit would hardly be enough to generate enough income for him to raise a family.   He began to look for opportunities to give his family a better life and soon came to know that the British were looking for individuals who were willing to work for them in the army or police in British colonies. Fortunately he had a sister who was already in living in Singa...

 PN Balji occupies a unique place in Singapore journalism. The Straits Times has produced eminent editors like Peter Lim, Cheong Yip Seng, Leslie Fong and Han Fook Kwang. The Business Times has been edited by doyens like Mano Sabnani and Patrick Daniel. Warren Fernandez, the current editor-in-chief of The Straits Times, is no less impressive with degrees from Oxford and Harvard. But Balji alone has the distinction of being involved in the launch of two daily newspapers in Singapore. Starting as deputy editor of The New Paper when it debuted in 1988, he soon succeeded Peter Lim as editor and edited the paper for more than a decade, making it a successful, popular daily, before he went on to launch Today in the year 2000. All that’s history now. Today has ceased to be a printed newspaper and exists online only. The New Paper has become a freesheet. Neither bears any resemblance to the papers Balji edited and popularised. Recalling his unique role in Singapore journalism is going...

  Born and raised in Naval Base, a rookie reporter rose to become Editor of The New Paper and CEO of Today . He has penned numerous articles and commentaries on  many topics and people. For a change, lets read what is written about "the Editor with the double distinction" in  B2B at : thenavalbase.blogspot.com

 ...a water colour painting by a friend and ex-colleague....thanks again, Gian Hon kind courtesy of Gian Hon.

  The Fire Brigade/Station in the former British Naval Dockyard (now in the premises of Sembawang Shipyard) where Kamal's dad and others served. Photo taken on 16 Oct/2020: (kind courtesy of Alfred Dass)

  Story from Kamal Bin Abu Serah (FB: Amai AS) My Name is Kamal Bin Abu Serah, son of late Abu Serah who came from Penang, Malaya, to Singapore in 1949 at the age of 21 and started to work as a fireman at HM Naval Base Fire Brigade located within the dockyard, now known as Sembawang Shipyard. My father was very committed to public service and he served for 22 years until he was retrenched in 1971, when the British left Singapore. He later joined the ANZUK Forces (Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom), also as a fireman. One of his saddest moments during his 22-year career was when his colleague was killed in an accident involving a fire truck . During my childhood days, I lived at the Fire Brigade Quarters provided by the Royal Navy. We occupied a wooden-quarters opposite Attap Valley Road, also known as Royal Naval Armament Depot, (popularly RNAD). This was where the British forces used to store their weapons. I also remember that our quarters were situated n...