The Cenotaph | |
---|---|
Singapore | |
Used for those deceased (1914–1918), (1939–1945) | |
Established | 15 November 1920 |
Unveiled | 31 March 1922 |
Location | 1°17′25″N103°51′13.3″E / 1.29028°N 103.853694°E near |
Designed by | Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren |
THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE | |
Designated | 28 December 2010 |
Reference no. | 63 |
The Cenotaph is a war memorial located within the Esplanade Park at Connaught Drive, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district.
The inscription at the base of the Cenotaph reads:
They died that we might live.
The Cenotaph was built in memory of the 124 British soldiers born or resident in Singapore who gave their lives in World War I (1914–1918), with a second dedication (but no names) added in remembrance of those who died in World War II (1939–1945).
The structure was designed by Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren. [1] The foundation stone was laid by Sir Lawrence Nunns Guillemard, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, on 15 November 1920. In attendance was the visiting French Premier, Georges Clemenceau who was the French Minister of War from 1917 to 1919.
The memorial was completed in 1922, and was unveiled on 31 March that year by the young Prince Edward of Wales, later King Edward VIII then Duke of Windsor, during his Asia-Pacific tour. During the unveiling ceremony, a chaplain blessed the Cenotaph with the words, "The stone is well laid and truly laid to the Glory of God and the memory of the illustrious dead." Against the backdrop of the sea then fronting Queen Elizabeth Walk, Governor Guillemard awarded medals of courage to those who had served in the war.
In Prince Edward's entourage was Louis Mountbatten. At the end of World War II, Mountbatten returned to Singapore as the Supreme Commander of the South East Asia Command to receive the surrender of the Japanese at City Hall on 12 September 1945.
On 28 December 2010, The Cenotaph was gazetted by Preservation of Monuments Board as a National Monument along with Lim Bo Seng Memorial and Tan Kim Seng Fountain at the Esplanade Park and the Singapore Conference Hall along Shenton Way. [2] [3]
On 23 April 2013, the Cenotaph was vandalised by someone who sprayed the word "DEMOCRACY" on the monument as well as an "X" which crossed out the text "1914 to 1918". Six days later, Mohamad Khalid Mohamad Yusop was arrested and charged with one count of vandalism under the Vandalism Act. [4] [5] On 26 August 2013, a district court ordered Khalid to pay S$208 for the cost of repairs in addition to sentencing him to three months' jail and three strokes of the cane. [6]
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The University of Malaya is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in newly independent Malaya. The university has graduated five prime ministers of Malaysia, and other political, business, and cultural figures of national prominence.
Lim Bo Seng was a Chinese resistance fighter based in Singapore and Malaya during World War II. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, he was a prominent businessman among the overseas Chinese community in Singapore and Malaya. Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, he participated in fund-raising activities to assist the war effort in China and boycott Japanese goods. After Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, Lim fled to India, where he joined Force 136, a Sino-British guerrilla task force backed by the Special Operations Executive, to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance operations in Japanese-occupied Malaya. In 1944, he was captured by Japanese forces in Malaya and ultimately died in prison due to torture and ill-treatment. After the war, his remains were transported back to Singapore and buried near MacRitchie Reservoir. He is remembered as a war hero in contemporary Singapore and the Lim Bo Seng Memorial at Esplanade Park was constructed in 1954 to commemorate him.
The Esplanade is a waterfront location just north of the mouth of the Singapore River in downtown Singapore. It is primarily occupied by the Esplanade Park, and was the venue for one of Singapore's largest congregation of satay outlets until their relocation to Clarke Quay as a result of the construction of a major performance arts venue, the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, which took its name from this location.
Esplanade MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle Line (CCL) in Singapore. Situated in the Downtown Core, it is at the junction of Bras Basah Road, Raffles Boulevard and Nicoll Highway. As the name suggests, the station serves the Esplanade performing arts centre, alongside various developments such as War Memorial Park, Suntec City Mall and the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Esplanade station is linked to the nearby City Hall station via CityLink Mall, an underground retail development.
Chung Cheng High School (Main) is a co-educational government-aided autonomous Special Assistance Plan (SAP) secondary school in Singapore. Founded in 1939, it is one of the eleven SAP secondary schools in Singapore. Another Secondary School in Singapore, Chung Cheng High School (Yishun), is its sister school.
The Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation, usually called the Civilian War Memorial, is a war memorial and heritage landmark in Singapore next to Esplanade MRT station. It was built in memory of the civilians killed during the Japanese occupation of Singapore during World War II. The Civilian War Memorial sits on serene parkland in the midst of busy city traffic near Singapore's Padang and City Hall. Located within the War Memorial Park at Beach Road within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district, it is usually easy to spot in most backdrops encompassing the CBD landscape. It was gazetted as the 65th national memorial on 15 August 2013.
The Former Indian National Army Monument is a historical site and a demolished war memorial at the Esplanade Park located at Connaught Drive within the downtown of Singapore.
Esplanade Park is a park located at the Esplanade area within the Downtown Core district of Singapore.
The Lim Bo Seng Memorial is an octagonal pagoda-like war memorial at Esplanade Park, Singapore. It was erected in 1954 in honour of the late Lim Bo Seng for his heroic acts and selfless sacrifice during the World War II. The war memorial is the only structure in Singapore that commemorates an individual's efforts in World War II and was gazetted as a national monument on 28 December 2010.
Nicoll Highway is a major arterial road in Singapore which links the junctions of Guillemard Road, Sims Way and Mountbatten Road in Kallang to the junctions of Esplanade Drive, Raffles Avenue and Stamford Road in the city. En route, it passes through the areas of Kallang, Kampong Glam and Marina Centre.
The Vandalism Act 1966 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes a number of different acts done in relation to public and private property, namely, stealing, destroying or damaging public property; and, without the property owner's written consent, writing, drawing, painting, marking or inscribing on property; affixing posters, placards, etc., to the property; and suspending or displaying on or from the property any flag, banner, etc.
The SGH War Memorial is located within the grounds of the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in Outram. This memorial marked the tragedy and the burial site of a group of medical students from the King Edward VII College of Medicine, who were killed during the Second World War in Singapore. In 2005, the memorial, along with eight other historic sites of SGH, was incorporated as part of the Outram Campus Heritage Trail that allow visitors to explore the important historical landmarks that are closely linked with the history of medical education in Singapore.
Swan & Maclaren Architects is a Singaporean architectural and industrial design firm. One of the oldest architectural firms in the country, it was formerly known as Swan & Maclaren and Swan & Lermit, and was one of the most prominent architectural firms in Singapore when it was a crown colony during the early 20th century. The firm has designed numerous iconic heritage buildings in Singapore as well as Malaysia.
The Civic District is a district located near the Singapore River in the Central Area of Singapore.
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, established in 1905, is the first institution of higher learning in Singapore and the genesis of the National University of Singapore. The School is one of many who offer medical programmes in the Asia Pacific region. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 by subject and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2019 list NUS Medicine as the leading medical school in Asia. Its distinguished alumni include cabinet ministers of Singapore, well-known doctors and a Prime Minister of Malaysia and father of the president-elect of Singapore.
The Queen Victoria Memorial in George Town, Penang is a monument to Queen Victoria, begun after her death, located at the Penang Chinese Recreation Club. Penang's Victoria Memorial takes the form of a large piece of land known as "Victoria Green," and a statue at the edge of Victoria Green at the junction of Burmah Road and Pangkor Road, the establishment of each being years apart from the other. The grounds were purchased and set up in 1903 and the statue unveiled in 1930, nearly three decades later.
The Tan Kim Seng Fountain is a fountain in Singapore that was erected in 1882 in honor of notable philanthropist Tan Kim Seng for his donations for the Singapore's first reservoir and waterworks.
Lim Kok Ann was a Singaporean chess player and organizer, and a microbiologist specializing in enterovirus research.