Colin Hall
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Status: Offline | My first posting to Singapore was 1966, and I was at RAF Tengah, which is not far from the Kranji Military Cemetery.Whenever I felt like I’d had a bad day, or just wanted a bit of quiet time, I used to drive up there and walk among those young fellas, and quite a few women, British and Australian nurses. I have a good library of books about Singapore and the Japaneses occupation, including one written by the Japanese but translated. The Japanese changed the name of Singapore.
I’ve also been to the Kanchanaburi Cemetery, where most of the River Kwai and railway dead are buried. There’s a helluva lot of dust gets in your eyes when you walk around that one, I tell you.
On my second tour in Singapore, 1974-76, I had a MQ at the former RN Naval Base, in a house built for senior officers before the war, but occupied by the Japanese also. One Of those houses was used for the final reunion scene in that excellent British TV series of a few years ago.
There have been a few generations of Japanese since WW2, and I don’t believe the sins of the fathers are carried through. I know a number of people who have had Japanese students stay with them, even my son when they had a spare room, and I have found them to be delightfully polite with manners a few of our own could well adopt. The wartime generation of Japanese were brought up in an entirely different world to today, so I think it’s time we all moved on.
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