Kranji War Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Kranji War Memorial (Chinese: 克兰芝阵亡战士公坟; ; ) is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji
in northern Singapore
. Dedicated to the men and women from United Kingdom
, Australia
, Canada
, Sri Lanka
, India
, Malaya
, the Netherlands
and New Zealand
who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II
, it comprises the War Graves
, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves.
The War Memorial represents the three branches of the military - the Air Force, Army and Navy. The columns represent the Army, which marches in columns, the cover over the columns is shaped after of the wings of a plane, representing the Air Force, and the shape at the top resembles the periscope of a submarine, representing the Navy.
The Memorial's walls inscribe over 24,000 names of allied servicemen whose bodies were never found, spread over both sides of 12 columns of the war memorial itself. On the Kranji War Memorial the names of 191 Canadian airmen are inscribed.
The grounds of the memorial is set on a hilly terrain with views around the largely undeveloped landscape, although signs of urbanity are clearly visible further afield. The modern skyline of Johor Bahru
in Malaysia is also clearly visible. The grounds are immaculately maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
, and accessible only from Woodlands Road, the same road that the invading Japanese Imperial Guards had marched down on 9 February 1942.
Towards the north end of the cemetery grounds is the State Cemetery and burial site of Inche Yusuf bin Ishak and Benjamin Henry Sheares
, the first and second Presidents of Singapore
. To the west are the Military Graves for Commonwealth
soldiers who died during the Konfrontasi and Malayan Communist Insurgency
periods. 69 Chinese servicemen who served as members of the Commonwealth forces and who were killed by the Japanese in February 1942 were buried at the Chinese Memorial. There are also 64 burials for World War I
, including special memorials for three men who were buried in civil cemeteries in Singapore and Saigon, and whose graves were impossible to locate till this day.
Originally a hospital burial ground during the Japanese Occupation
period, it became a military cemetery at the end of the war. Military servicemen buried elsewhere in Singapore were exhumed and reburied at the memorial. The Indian Soldiers' were not buried at the Kranji War Memorial as they were supposed to be cremated.Instead their names were engraved on the memorial walls.
Kranji
Kranji is a suburb in northwestern Singapore, located about from the city centre.-Etymology:Kranji is named after a local tree, the kranji or keranji . Its abundance has rapidly dwindled since the first half of the nineteenth century.-History:The first Singapore-Kranji railway from Tank Road to...
in northern Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Dedicated to the men and women from United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it comprises the War Graves
Kranji War Cemetery
The Kranji War Cemetery is located in Kranji, Singapore, and is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942-1945 and in other parts of Southeast Asia during World War II.There are 4,461 World...
, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves.
The War Memorial represents the three branches of the military - the Air Force, Army and Navy. The columns represent the Army, which marches in columns, the cover over the columns is shaped after of the wings of a plane, representing the Air Force, and the shape at the top resembles the periscope of a submarine, representing the Navy.
The Memorial's walls inscribe over 24,000 names of allied servicemen whose bodies were never found, spread over both sides of 12 columns of the war memorial itself. On the Kranji War Memorial the names of 191 Canadian airmen are inscribed.
The grounds of the memorial is set on a hilly terrain with views around the largely undeveloped landscape, although signs of urbanity are clearly visible further afield. The modern skyline of Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
in Malaysia is also clearly visible. The grounds are immaculately maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
, and accessible only from Woodlands Road, the same road that the invading Japanese Imperial Guards had marched down on 9 February 1942.
Kranji War Cemetery
The War Cemetery is the final resting place for 4,458 allied servicemen in marked graves laid out in rows on maintained and manicured lawns. Over 850 of these graves are unidentified.Towards the north end of the cemetery grounds is the State Cemetery and burial site of Inche Yusuf bin Ishak and Benjamin Henry Sheares
Benjamin Henry Sheares
Benjamin Henry Sheares, GCB , was the second President of Singapore.-Early life:Sheares was born the second of six children in Singapore to a Eurasian family with an English lineage. His father Edwin H. Sheares, a technical supervisor of the Public Works Department, was born in England and raised...
, the first and second Presidents of Singapore
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
. To the west are the Military Graves for Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
soldiers who died during the Konfrontasi and Malayan Communist Insurgency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
periods. 69 Chinese servicemen who served as members of the Commonwealth forces and who were killed by the Japanese in February 1942 were buried at the Chinese Memorial. There are also 64 burials for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, including special memorials for three men who were buried in civil cemeteries in Singapore and Saigon, and whose graves were impossible to locate till this day.
Originally a hospital burial ground during the Japanese Occupation
Japanese Occupation of Singapore
The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
period, it became a military cemetery at the end of the war. Military servicemen buried elsewhere in Singapore were exhumed and reburied at the memorial. The Indian Soldiers' were not buried at the Kranji War Memorial as they were supposed to be cremated.Instead their names were engraved on the memorial walls.
External links
- Tourism board information
- Peter Chou's PBase Gallery Kranji War Memorial