Civilian War Memorial

The Civilian War Memorial was built to remember the civilians killed by the Japanese during the occupation. Amongst the many infamous incidents that took place during the Japanese Occupation was the Sook Ching or Screening Operation. In an effort to remove anti-Japanese elements in Singapore, Chinese men between the ages of 18 - 50 years of age were told to report to the Kempeitai (Japanese Military Police) inspection areas. Those who passed the screening were given an Examined stamp whilst the less fortunate ones were stamped with triangular marks and taken away. Some ended up in prison while others were killed. The latter lot was either thrown overboard off Blakang Mati (now Sentosa) or herded into the seas off Changi and Siglap and machine-gunned to death.

It is believed that between 5,000-50,000 Chinese were massacred by the Japanese.

In Feb 1962, a large number of remains belonging to civilian victims of the Japanese Occupation were unearthed in areas like Siglap, Changi and Bukit Timah. The need grew to gather these remains from all over the island and to find a place to bury them as a token of remembrance. The government then proposed to built a memorial.

The architectural firm of Swan and Maclaren won the open competition held for the design of the Memorial. In the initial design, there was an underground vault for the cremated remains. However, this was abandoned because the original proposal, which was to cremate the remains, was changed to re-burial. This was done in respect of those who objected on religious grounds to cremating the remains. Subsequently, approval was given to bury the remains by the side of the Memorial. Swan and Maclaren then submitted a new design.Costing an estimated $500,000, one of the characteristics of the Memorial is its height of 61 metres and its four columns. The columns represent the four races joined together at the base - signifying the unity of all races.

On 23 Apr 66, construction of the Memorial began.

The construction work was completed in Jan 67.

On 15 Feb 67, the Memorial was officially unveiled by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who laid a wreath on behalf of the Government and the people of Singapore. Religious rites were conducted by officials of the Inter-Religious Organisation and a three-minute silence was observed in honour of the dead. Those present included the victims’ families, members of the diplomatic corps (including the Japanese Ambassador), religious chiefs and representatives from the four races.On 15 Feb each year, memorial services (opened to the public) are held at the Memorial - a solemn reminder to all that it is far better to die in battle than to expose unarmed civilians to the sword of an oppressor.This Memorial is a grim reminder to Singapore of what can happen to a conquered people. Total Defence becomes meaningful to Singaporeans.

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/singapore/world_war_2_military_site/180/civilian_war_memorial_war_memorial_park.phphttp://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/birth_of_saf/v05n04_history.html