Unwinding of Mind: Changi Museum – a pantheon of undaunted spirit

Changi museum, a humble dwelling of WWII relics holds the colonial past of Singapore for history lovers and a unique sentiment for those who in some way connect to the havoc of WWII at Asian front. The Museum and the adjoining Chapel are situated at Upper Changi Road North, about 1km away from the Changi prison which was known for its notoriety during Japanese occupation of Singapore.

During my recent visit to Singapore, the museum topped my list of must-see places. I stayed at the Orchard Road; from there it took 20 minutes and 16 S$ in a taxi to reach the museum. I visited Singapore during Christmas, hence, the only day I could plan this visit was the day I returned, which was 27^th December. I had an evening flight to catch, so reached the place sharp at 10 in the morning. The Changi village area that came my way while reaching the museum was far less crowded and soothing to the urban eyes due to the lush green surroundings. As I approached the unobtrusive building, the Chapel appeared near the gateway, the entrance to the museum was at the right side of it. Quite in contrast to the mad rush at the so called tourist attractions of the port city, this museum was calm and near empty. A certain aura of melancholy hung in the air which was hard to explain. The lady at the counter cordially explained the rules of visiting the museum; ‘not taking photographs inside’ was one of them. I opted for an audio tour @ 6S$ per person and started my exploration.

The Gateway

The museum had 25 exhibit points displayed over the following zones:

1. Storyboard – This area contained the background, statistical details and maps of the WWII Singapore. Rows of information panels outlined wartime activities; that included invaluable photographs of marching Japanese and British Armies, the final negotiation for surrender by both army heads at Ford factory, Victory March after liberation of Singapore in 1945 etc.

In this section, few quotes attached to the photographs of significant people particularly attracted my attention. One such was by Lt.-Gen. Yamashita, commander of the Japanese forces that won The Battle of Singapore: ‘My attack on Singapore was a bluff – a bluff that worked. I had 30,000 men and was outnumbered more than three to one. I knew if I had to fight long for Singapore I would be beaten. That is why the surrender had to be at once. I was frightened all the time that the British would discover our numerical weakness and lack of supplies and force me into disastrous street fighting.’

Two other quotes were by two prominent British officials who were captured as POWs and put into the deathly camps that they eventually survived. One said, ‘We came to this place to make lots of money and never thought much about the natives. During my time in the camp seeing their friendliness and warmth I realised they are actually very nice.’ The other said, ‘This Japanese occupation made us learn humility.’ These words undoubtedly talked a lot about the past.

The display cases also contained wartime items including those of personal effects such as letters, postcards, diaries and photographs most of which were graciously donated by either the survivors or their family members.

Few of the items that needed special mentioning here were 1) a letter to a POW from home that informs the birth of his girl child, 2) a matchbox containing hidden transmitter made by POWs, 3) photographs of several make shift transmitters and the methods in which they were put to use by prisoners (showing there indomitable spirit). At this point the audio provided recorded voice of Mrs. Elizabeth Choy who was captured by Japanese force along with her husband for providing medicines to the POWs and passing out messages. Her depiction of the torture that took place in front of her husband by tying her with a pole and passing electric shock made me feel dizzy; but the highlight of the speech was her saying that she had forgiven her tormentors, though not forgotten, it was all doing of the war.

There were much disturbing photographs of mass murder of Indian Soldiers who refused to be disloyal to their master, the British and picture of beheading of Chinese nationals.

Many photographs along with wartime objects like drag chains, whip, Japanese bayonet portrayed the brutality at the infamous ‘Death Railway’ camps. The Railway track connecting Thailand to Myanmar (erstwhile Burma) that was constructed by Imperial Japanese Army utilising war slaves was termed as Death Railway due to the high rate of casualties caused by disease, starvation and exhaustion.

There were quilts on display; these quilts were embroidered by ladies of the camps at their free time. Each section of these artefacts depicted varied emotion of parted lovers, grieving mothers, worried daughter or wives that only can be felt while inspecting at close quarter.

2. Prison Section – This area conveyed a sense of what prison life was about, and included an actual sized floor plan of a prison cell, a rag uniform and utensils of prisoners. At this point a recorded voice of a lady, then a young girl at Changi prison talked of another aspect of horror in prison life; she along with few others were identified as comfort girls for Japanese Army and were forced to entertain the soldiers against their own wish. Her voice choked while talking about her years within the walls, she said, ‘The men got medals for their heroism, but the women remained anonymous despite showing undying spirit to fight all odds’, it numbed all my senses for a few moments, my eyes weren’t dry either.

3. Murals – This section replicated a small chapel with the walls adorned with re-creations of the original Changi Murals, a set of 5 Christian scenes drawn by a prisoner named Stanley Warren using improvised materials while in prison.

4. Wartime Artists – This section displayed paintings and drawings by the prisoners depicting wartime life who wanted to record their experiences. Looking through these pictures one could feel the aura of that troubled time. A picture in particular with its simple portrayal of 2 malaria patients carrying a dying cholera patient said a lot about the situation in the prison.

5. End of the War – This section includes a timeline of the events of the war, information boards with post-war stories told by survivors, and a display of commemorative plaques and pennants honouring the heroes.

The Changi Chapel is a replica of the Chapel that was created at the Changi Prison during WWII. The brass cross at the centre was made by Staff Sergeant Harry Stogden from 4.5 Howitzer shell. At a board in a wall several visitors, most of them descendants of the POWs left loving notes that were definitely an added attraction and touched a chord within.