| Former Command House | |
|---|---|
  Location of Former Command House in Singapore | |
| Location | 17 Kheam Hock Road |
| Coordinates | 1°19′32″N103°49′09″E / 1.325550°N 103.819167°E |
| Built | 1938 |
| Governing body | National Heritage Board |
| Designated | 11 November 2009 |
| Reference no. | 59 |
The Former Command House is a historic building, located at Kheam Hock Road in Singapore. It was the residence of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Malaya during British colonial period. [1] [2]
The Former Command House is built c. 1937 – c. 1938 and was known as Flagstaff House. [1] [2] Its predecessor, the former Flagstaff House, built in 1925 was located at Mount Rosie. [3] It was to have been one of three residences to have been built for the senior commanders of the three service arms: the army, led by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Malaya (Army); the Air Force, led by the Air-Officer Commanding (AOC), Far East in Tanglin (there is no evidence of this having been built) and the Navy (Admiralty House at Old Nelson Road). [4]
It was announced in March 1937 a new Flagstaff House would be built to house the GOC of Malaya, costing 100,000 Straits dollars at a site near Bukit Timah Road. [5] The site is 11.5 acres (0.047 km2; 4.7 ha) and situated at west side of Kheam Hock Road. [6]
The first occupant was Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie who shifted to the new premise in October 1938. [7] Subsequent occupants were Lieutenant-General Sir Lionel Bond in 1939 and Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival in 1941. Briefly after Percival's appointment, Air Vice-Marshall Conway Pulford of the Royal Air Force's Officer Commanding moved into Flagstaff House. [1]
During the war, the surrounding area of the Flagstaff House was known as Sime Road Camp, which is the Combined Operations Headquarters for the British Army and Air Force. [1] During the fall of Singapore, Sime Road Camp was forsaken and shifted to the underground bunker at Fort Canning. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Flagstaff House was the Japanese soldiers’ quarters and Sime Road Camp was an internment camp for POWs. [1]
In 1946, the Flagstaff House was Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's residence during the British Military Administration. [1]
After the British military completed their withdrawal, Flagstaff House became the residence of Singapore's Speaker of Parliament, Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng. [1] His successor, Tan Soo Khoon did not stay at the Flagstaff House.
The Flagstaff House was rented to a building management company and later rename as the Command House. [1]
Between 1996 and 1998, when the Istana underwent a major renovation, the Command House was the temporary residence of then president of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong. Ong, who was an architect, played an important role in restoring the Command House and add a reception hall. [1]
On 11 November 2009, the building was gazetted as a national monument of Singapore and its name was changed to Former Command House upon gazette. [1]
It is currently occupied by a Business University. [1]
The two-storey colonial residence was designed in a unique Arts and Crafts architectural style popular in the 19th century. [1]
Flagstaff House was probably designed by architect Frank Brewer, who had designed the former Cathay Building. [2]
Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie, was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.
Flagstaff House, built in 1846, is the oldest example of Western-style architecture remaining in Hong Kong. It is located at 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Central – within the Hong Kong Park.
Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted for his defeat in the Second World War, when he commanded British Empire forces during the Japanese Malayan Campaign and the subsequent Battle of Singapore.
The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded by Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom Force
The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Japanese Empire captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in South–East Asia and had been of great importance to British interwar defence strategy. The capture of Singapore resulted in the largest British surrender in its history.
The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, also known as Wan Qing Yuan, and formerly as the Sun Yat Sen Villa, is a two-story colonial style villa in Balestier, Singapore. The villa is now a museum commemorating Sun Yat Sen (1866–1925), the founding father of the Republic of China who visited Singapore nine times between 1900 and 1911.
A referendum on the terms of integration into the Federation of Malaya was held in Singapore on 1 September 1962. There were three options. At the time of the referendum, Singapore was a self-governing country since 1959, although the British Empire still controlled external relations.
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Major General David Murrey Murray-Lyon, was an officer in the British Indian Army. His final appointment was as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 11th Indian Infantry Division in Malaya until he was relieved of his duty by Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. He was taken prisoner when Singapore fell to the Japanese, and spent the rest of the war in captivity.
River Valley is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. The planning area shares boundaries with Orchard in the north, Museum in the east, Tanglin in the west and Singapore River in the south.
The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consisted mainly of small garrison forces in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Taiping, Seremban and Singapore.
The Former Admiralty House is a historic building, located at Old Nelson Road within the Sembawang Planning Area in the North Region of Singapore. The building was used as the administration building of Furen International School (FIS) until November 2019 and is currently being refurbished for use as part of the Sembawang Sports and Community Hub.
The Bukit Batok Memorial is located on top of the tranquil Bukit Batok Hill upon which once stood two war memorials built by Australian POWs to commemorate the war dead of the Japanese and the Allies who fought during the decisive Battle of Bukit Timah in Singapore during the Second World War. The two memorials were destroyed after the war and only the road and stairs that used to lead to them mark its legacy today.
The Battle of Kranji was the second stage of the Empire of Japan's plan for the invasion of Singapore during the Second World War. On 9 February 1942 the Imperial Japanese Army assaulted the north-western front of Singapore, capital of the Straits Settlements.
Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, VrC was a senior General Officer in the Indian Army. As the Western Army Commander, Singh commanded the Indian Army forces and played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. For his role in the war, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1966.
Operation Matador was a plan of the British Malaya Command to move forces into position in Thailand to counter a Japanese amphibious attack on Malaya.
Heah Joo Seang was a Malayan politician, business leader, rubber magnate, philanthropist and especially a supporter of education. Malaysia, as it has since become, only existed after Joo Seang's death. His contributions span three distinct periods in the country's history: the British Malaya period, the Malayan Union period, and the Federation of Malaya period.
Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, PVSM was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He was the General Officer Commanding XV Corps when he was killed in the 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash.
Tan Kheam Hock was a member of the Municipal Commission of Singapore and several other organisations, and a director of various companies.
