World War II

The first stop would be the Changi Chapel & Museum. Opened in 2001, it tells the story of prisoners of war and civilian internees in Singapore during the Japanese occupation. Within the museum are the full scale replicas of a series of Murals, the paintings created by a British prisoner of war Stanly Warren. The original Murals are still in place at a former British military barrack used today by the Singapore Armed Forces. In the courtyard of the museum you can find the Changi Chapel, which represents the churches and chapels built by prisoners of war for hope and inspiration during captivity.

Johore Battery is the next stop. Built by the British for the defense of Singapore, the Johore Battery is a gun emplacement site consisting of underground tunnels. The tunnels were used to store ammunition to the monster guns that could fire 15-inch shells. The gun barrels were 16.5 meters in length and weighed 100 tons. The guns were the largest installed outside Britain during World War II. They were destroyed before the surrender of the British army and the tunnels were sealed up after the war. The location remained a secret until the Singapore Prisons Department rediscovered them in April 1991. In 2002 the rediscovered Johore Battery opened its doors and it contains a replica of the 15-inch Monster gun. Access into the underground tunnels are not possible, the layout of the tunnels are marked above ground.

Next visit is to an idyllic gateway for families during WW II located north eastern extremity of Changi, the Changi Beach. During WW II this beach was one of the mass-execution sites for the 'Sook Ching Operation', a purging of suspected anti Japanese Chinese civilians. It is estimated that 50,000 executions were carried out during the operation.