Ulu Pandan Heritage Trail (3) – Mowbray Camp (by Peter Chan)

Mowbray Camp was originally a gun detachment of the Buona Vista Gun Battery. This gun battery detachment was responsible for the defense of the western section of Singapore during WW2. There is a secret tunnel that runs from one of the buildings inside Mowbray Camp down to the valley in the forest beside the camp (currently under lock). Down in the valley was a narrow-gauge railway track that formed a part of the British Military railway transport system.

The original camp area was much larger than it is today. The present Clementi Road, just before turning left into Ulu Pandan Road, was once a road within the military compound before it was acquired for road widening in the 1950s. The seafood restaurant across the camp was once a “Radio Taxi” stand in the 1960s. It was set-up to meet the needs of the British Military. The booth covered the geographical areas of Dover Road, Sussex Estate and Clementi Park. A unique practice of making a booking for a taxi meant you had to search for a specific telephone number of the “Radio Taxi” stand nearest to where one lived; in this case the taxi stand opposite Mowbray Camp. You could not expect a “Radio Taxi” stand in Jalan Jurong Kechil, King Albert Park or Holland Village to dispatch one of its taxis. Thus the present system of calling through a hotline, e.g. 65551188 is certainly better than the old system.


Fig 1: The former Mowbray Camp’s main entrance

The prevailing use of Mowbray Camp as a guard unit is something historical. After WW2, it became the home of the #3 British Army Guard Unit and in the 1960s home of the #5 Gurkha Dog Company. Armed guards and dogs were dispatched from here to various British Army camps and bases for duties. Although this facility was run by the British Army, it did not provide for security cover for RN and RAF bases. Very often when I passed this way on my way to town, I could hear dogs barking during their morning training. I was informed that even dogs also have their own “5BX” and these animals thoroughly enjoyed their daily training schedules.

Fig 2: One of the pre-WW2 buildings at the highest point of Mowbray Camp (circa 1958). It was used as a football pitch but the SAF converted that into a “Parade Square”. The secret tunnel was somewhere around that building

Between 1971 and 1974, it was used by ANZUK forces, the Commonwealth Forces of Australia and New Zealand that replaced the British Military. After the SAF took over in 1974, it became the SAF Provost Unit. Different SAF Provost units were based here including SIB, School of Provost, APC, SC and DB. The SAF also shared the facility with the Singapore Police Force before vacating it completely in 2003 for Kranji.

Fig 3: Gurkhas and their guard dogs