THE SINGAPORE PAGES

Investigating the island past and present, with tips, trivia and time travel – and the occasional tricky challenge for readers!

History

With Anzac Day being commemorated this month (25 April) in remembrance of Australians and New Zealanders who served their countries, we take a look at a key event featuring Australian soldiers in Singapore’s Second World War history.

In December 2020, a Japanese flag made by Australian and British troops in 1943 sold at auction, together with some WWII medals, for around S$70,000. The flag had been used to help conceal a boat, the MV Krait (pictured), during an Allied mission in Singapore harbour called Operation Jaywick.

That mission saw a 14-man crew disguise themselves as Malay fisherman and sail the Krait – named after a type of snake – all the way from Western Australia and into Japanese-occupied Singapore Harbour in September 1943.

On the night of 26 September, six soldiers in three canoes paddled into the harbour and placed explosives on the hulls of a group of Japanese ships. The men escaped safely, and when the explosives were detonated, at least three of the ships were destroyed, with three more damaged in some way.

The raid was considered a success by Allied forces – not only from a strategic viewpoint, as it further stretched the already thin Japanese resources, but also from a morale standpoint.

However, there would be unfortunate ramifications for those on the ground in Singapore. Since the operation took the Japanese by surprise, they believed it must have been carried out by members of the civilian population. In what became known as the Double Tenth Incident, more than 50 people were arrested and tortured – though, of course, they also had no idea how the ships came to be destroyed.

Among this group was Elizabeth Choy (1910-2006). Together with her husband, she had been risking her life smuggling messages and food to prisoners-of-war at Changi. She somehow survived the Double Tenth ordeal, and went on to become an educator and politician, and known as one of Singapore’s war heroines (swhf.sg/profiles/elizabeth-choy).

An annual Anzac Day service is held at Kranji War Memorial (9 Woodlands Road) on the morning of 25 April each year. For updates and information, visit cwgc.org.