Return to Selarang

In my previous post, I mentioned about a visit to the Selarang Camp and the Changi Air Base last month. I said that I did not know why I was invited me because I did not have much memories of Selarang Camp. The only time I had visited Selarang Camp was around 1980. At that time, my section mate from Officer Cadet School, KG Lim, who had signed on as a regular with the army, was the QM (Quarter Master) of the armour regiment (I think it was 40 SAR) stationed at this camp. At that time the game of squash was very popular in Singapore, and as I reported previously, squash courts were very scarce in Singapore. And so, on one Sunday afternoon, KG, who was the one who introduced me to the sport, brought me and some friends to Selarang for a game of squash. Other than the squash courts and the officers’ mess, I don’t remember seeing any other part of this camp.

With James Tann and Peter Chan

Still, I very much looked forward to this visit because I hoped to take some photos of old parts of the camp so that I could share them with my blogger friend, Tom Brown. Early followers of this blog would know that Tom Brown served in this camp at a time when it was still known as Selarang Barracks; and before the SAF was even formed.  Tom arrived in Singapore in 1961 as a 19-year-old soldier with the regiment known as Queens Own Highlanders. Read Tom’s interesting experience of life in Singapore more half a century ago here, here and here.

When I informed Tom about my forthcoming visit to Selarang, he asked me to look out for two places, if they are still existing – the guard room and the NAAFI building. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Selarang, we were informed that most of the old buildings had been demolished. Only part of the parade square, the water tank and officers’ mess remained. Even then, we would not be able to see the Water Tank as that section of the camp is now part of the Selarang Drug Rehabilitation Centre. Still it was not a totally failed mission because from the old newsletter that we received, I was able to scan some photos of the old Selarang to share with Tom.

 

One interesting part of our tour was the visit to the Heritage Centre. There on the walls, I saw this old photo of the 9^th Division HQ and it brought back strong memories. Can you recognize this place? 

Yes; it’s the Safti HQ/Admin Building in Pasir Labar. This is the place where I toiled for one-and-the-half years as a trainee in SBMT, SISL and OCS. This was one place that we trainees dreaded because of the many senior officers and NCOs there, and where one can easily get into trouble for not marching properly or not properly saluting an officer. But, unfortunately, it was one place we could not avoid; having to pass it on the way to the training grounds and when we booked in and out of camp.  My friend Peter Chan, on the other hand, would have less unpleasant memories of this place, I suspect. This is what he recalls about this place.

It so happens that I have a 1974 photo of this part of Safti.

Legend

1.  School of Infantry Section Leaders (SISL) HQ

2.  Guard Room

3.  MT Line

4.  25 Pounder in front of SAFTI Admin Building

5.  SAFTI Main Gate

6.  SAFTI Admin Building

The SAFTI Admin Building was shaped like a horse-shoe with the wing on the left on the ground floor being the main offices of the entire SAFTI including the director and other top brass.  The official entrance into the building was that concrete roof at that wing on left of photo.  The second to fourth levels of both wings housed the officers’ bunks.  In the centre of the horse-shoe, (hidden by the wing on the right) on the third level, was the officers’ mess from which my photo was taken one morning.  All officers’ bunks had wooden single beds.  All bachelor regular SAF officers had accommodation in this building.

Chia Keng Wah remembers Gillman Barracks

After reading my January 2006 article of my memories of Gillman Camp at Yesterday.sg, reader Chia Keng Wah posted a lengthy comment sharing his own memories of what was then called Gillman Barracks. Since many of my readers are unlikely to have seen his comments, I have posted them here as a separate article for your enjoyment. Thanks Keng Wah.

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I would like to add my recollection of Gillman Barracks. I was stationed in Gillman Barracks after three years training as a boy soldier in the Army Boys Trade School in the Far East Training Centre, Nee Soon Barracks (January 1962 to June 1964) and at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham, England June 1964 to November 1964).

After the three years training I was posted to Gillman Barracks in January 1965 till it's closure as a Royal Engineers Barracks in 1971. That was the year when the British Army pulled out completely from Singapore and Malaysia. My unit, known as the Singapore Engineers Squadron was among one of the six squadrons that made up the Engineer Base Group for the British Army in Singapore. By the way, the Royal Engineers name their units as Squadron from military traditions rather than as Company as in other infantry units.

Our squadron had only two Troops (platoons), one being the Plant and the other the Field Troop, commanded by an OC with a Major rank. The Plant Troop (this Troop was later commanded by then Cpt Cheah who later joined the SAF Engineers) had the earth moving equipments for roads and airfield construction while the Field Troop did the bridging and other field constructions.

Our squadron office is the first building on the left as you enter Gillman Barracks. It is that building behind the red umbrella in the photo posted by Lam. The building is still there after all those years that it was used as a Pub. Further along the entrance road was the Base HQ where the Commandant (a Full Colonel) had his office. Also in the same office block we had the no nonsense, RSM.

For entertainment in those days we had the Regal Cinema managed by the Army Kinema Corporation popularly called the AKC which screened shows twice nightly except Tuesdays. That building is still standing to this day. It was last used as an Italian restaurant till the Gillman Village ceased operation in early 2011. That building you can also see in Lam's photo.

That photo posted by Lam as the officer's mess was used as our WO and Sgt's mess. The RE Officer's mess then was across Alexandra Road where the HortPark is. It was converted into the Institute of Dental Health till the late 1990s or early 2000s which after that was being used as the Jain Institute after the Institute of Dental Health moved to its new home at the Sepoy Lines beside the SGH. I suppose it was from there that those Dental Nurses went swimming on Thursday afternoon?

Lam was correct about the swimming Pool in the valley between the then our WO and Sgt's Mess and our accommodation blocks. It was packed with swimmers every afternoon during those days in the sixties. The Brits were as now, sun worshippers and there was more sun tanning rather than swimming!

As a small Squadron, we carried out many small scale development projects for Singapore during our existence between 1965 till 1971. Just to mention a few: we built the Sarimbun Scout Camp; cleared the land on which the NUH and ITE at Ayer Rajah now stands. We had two powerful tractors with Rolls Royce engines and four smaller powered Fowler dozers to do the job over a year in 1965. Other major projects we did was the Runway improvement for the FPDA exercise up at Trengganu state in 1967 and an access road at the then Jungle Warfare School (JWS) in Ulu Tiram, just before Kota Tinggi in 1968. We would commute to and from the JWS daily. One good thing was that the traffic in those days was much lighter than now in 2011.

Now that all those accommodation blocks have been demolished, I wonder what will be built in their place.

There were eight accommodation blocks on top of the hill next to the Hiap Guan San cemetery. One of the blocks was occupied by the Royal Military Police in Block A, while another was occupied by Bourne School in Block B. Of course we had an other ranks' club known as the NAAFI in Block E. That was the place for beers in the evenings.

There was Local Married Quarters behind the Gymnasium on Maran Road. Together with other buildings on the hill these were also being demolished, I suppose after the HQSCE pulled out those buildings were of no use anymore.

One more mention, that Brazil Restaurant that stood on a small hill between our Squadron office and the Commandant's office was our Guardroom in which I spent six months - as Provost Corporal of course.

I ended ten years of service in the British Army in total from 1962 to 1971 and now live just next door in Telok Blangah Heights. It will always be part of my life I suppose.


Below are some old photos of Gillman Barracks from Memories of Singapore courtesy of Tom O’Brien.

AKC Cinema

Karu asked me if I remember the AKC Cinema at Gillman Camp. Actually in 1977 when I spent four-and-a-half months there in the School of Combat Engineers, this cinema was no longer around. But I managed to find a photo from Tom O’brien’s Memories of Singapore website. Below it is a photo that I took of the same building recently. As you can see, there is not much change.


I believe besides this AKC Cinema in Gillman Barracks, as Gillman Camp was called in the pre-SAF days, there must be several others like it in the other British camps. I recall that there was one at Dover Road, near the junction with Clementi Road. It was called Kent Cinema. It was open to SAF personnel and I went there twice. I did not enjoy it very much as I kept feeling that we didn't belong there. Anyway, I asked Tom O’brien if he remembered this place and this is what he wrote.

“I do remember the Cinema on Dover Road. It was situated next door to the Warren Golf Course, on the corner of Dover and Clementi Road. It was quite a small cinema, with a six lane bowling alley and was air conditioned. That's one of the reasons I used to hang out there. Although when it got busy, as kids, we were asked to sit outside at the back, where there was a seating area. It was called the Kent Cinema and belonged to the AKC* (Army Kinema Corporation). It was managed and run by local staff. The two managers were Tamil I think. They didn't really like us being there, but providing we purchased food or drinks, then we were tolerated. I remember we used to get told off quite often for our behaviour.”

I believe these two places that I have blogged about, and others like it, must hold many pleasant memories for our British friends like John Harper, Tom O’brien, Brian Mitchell and Tom Brown. I hope they can tell us more about such places after reading this post.

* The Army Kinema Corporation was a large organisation based in Croydon, responsible for providing the British army everywhere with film entertainment.

Related post: I remember Gillman Camp

Ammo Base @ Depot Road

If I were to ask you what was the most prominent landmark in Depot Road, you would probably say that it was the Mindef Complex comprising the Central Manpower Base and the two huge Defence Technology Towers. During my years at the National Productivity Board in Bukit Merah Central, I could see this complex taking shape from scratch from my office on the 19th floor of what is today called the Spring Building. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to take some photos and so I cannot describe to you what the place looked like then. Do you know what used to occupy this area prior to the building of the Mindef complex?

From what I can recall from memory, it was a place we called Ammo Base. During my NS days when I was in the combat engineers, I remember coming to this place to chop bamboo trunks. You see for us field combat engineers, we needed to have two huge bamboo poles in our three tonners at all times. This was for the purpose of camouflaging the vehicle using the standard camouflage net. We used these bamboo poles to prop up the camouflage net to break the shape of the vehicle. In fact, for the section proficiency test, the section commanders were tested on how fast they could complete this task.

The Ammo Base was located at a rather secluded corner of Depot Road. Surrounded by thick vegetation, it was not very visible from the main road. There were several huge bamboo trees outside the camp and so we did not have to actually enter the camp to get our bamboo.

I have always been rather curious about this place that I have visited long ago and so I asked Karu if he remembered; and this is what he said:

"The Ammo Depot you are talking about was called Magazine Area. I used to be on duty there. I was with the Army Depot Police from 1969 to 1971. Sometimes when on Night Duty, we needed to patrol in pairs down the roads inside the Magazine Area. Saw many snakes there, and it was very eerie at night, when the bamboo rubs against each other, they create a kind of eerie noise. There is also this 'jambu' like fruits there. As you patrol in the night, suddenly one will drop in front of you and roll down. Quite scary when on Night Duty."

Karu remembers the old British Army Camps

Recently I received an email from a Singaporean who is exactly the same age as I. Like me, Karu sat for his Senior Cambridge Exams (that’s today’s O levels) in 1968 but his career took a very different path. He joined the British army at the tender age of 17.

So thanks to Karu, you will be able to learn a bit about Singapore’s history that not many of us know about; the British army camps. I certainly don’t. The only two British army camps that I know about are Gillman Barracks and Selarang Barracks. Sadly, most of the places that Karu mentions are no longer around.

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Dear Mr. Lam,

Good Morning! My name is Karu. I read some of your articles about Singapore's past. I am especially very interested in the articles about the British Army in the 1960s.

After my Senior Cambridge examinations in the 1968, I joined the Army Depot Police, which was one of the 3 locally enlisted auxiliary police units of the British Army. My unit was based at the 3 Base Ordnance Depot off the Alexandra Road. We were guarding the British Land Installations at BOD, Ayer Rajah, Singapore District Areas, the Phoenix Park and the C IN C (Commander-in-Chief) Residence. This is where my love for the British Army grew.

Army Depot Police passing parade

I am particularly very interested in the other Auxiliary Police Units of the British Army, mainly the Naval Police Force and the RAF Police Auxiliaries. Another unit which I am interested in is the SINGAPORE GUARD REGIMENT, of which the locally enlisted personnel were MORs (Malay Other Ranks) and their Officers were British Army Officers. Although I have seen this unit personnel in my course of duty, I did not try to find out more about them. After many years, quite recently, I came to know that their HQs was at Colombo Camp. I believe it is somewhere in the Ulu Pandan Area. I am trying to locate this Colombo Camp. I still remember members of this Unit wearing the Scarlet Songkok and outstanding "Lion" cap badge.

Before the British pulled out in 1971, I started a hobby. I started collecting their cap badges. I manage to collect some of their cap badges. This interest in still growing and now I have about 300 cap badges of various army units.

I am also very interested in any photos of the British Army. Places like the 3 Base Ordnance Depot, The Gloucester Barracks, The Slim Barracks and any other photos.

I hope that I am not making you bored with my olden day stories. Nice reading your articles, and make the photos BIG, especially the 5 Gurkha Dog Units photos, because I am very interested,

Thanks and regards

Karunakaran N K P.

Next: Karu sheds some light on the Ammo dump in Depot Road

Gordon Sargent remembers Mowbray Camp

Recently I received a letter all the way from Bulwick, in the UK, from an ex-British serviceman by the name of Gordon Sargent. Gordon took the trouble to write out his letter the old-fashioned way in beautiful cursive handwriting. He shared with me about his time in Mowbray Camp in Ulu Pandan Road from way back in the 50’s. He even included photo copies of two photos.

So thanks to Gordon, you will be able to learn a bit about the history of one of the few remaining British army camps in Singapore. Thanks to contribution from Gordon and other readers, I shall be able to start a new series about old British Army camps in Singapore.

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Dear Lam Chun See,

I discovered your photograph from your kampong days when I was doing a little research on Singapore. I spent 19 months at Mowbray Camp a little before your kampong days. I was stationed there from July 1957 to February 1959, so I left Singapore fifty years ago. Amazing where the time goes.

In 1957 the camp was called No. 3 AWDU (Army War Dog Unit). The name was changed some time in 1958 to No. 3 AGDU (Army Guard Dog Unit).

At that time the unit was the base of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps comprising around 150 officers and men with 80 to 100 dogs. Our job was to guard all the army supply bases on the island, including the base ammunition depot which was at Kranji area.

Please find enclosed photo copies of photographs of barrack block.

In 1957 when I arrived at the unit, there were 4 tents in front of the barrack block. We spent the first month in tents. The mosquitoes were hell! The 1957 photo shows 3 tents, so the one I was in had been removed and I had graduated to the barrack building.

I had not been able to establish who in in the camp at present but it is still recognizable on the Google Map.

I hope the enclosed is of interest and would like to hear from you. I am hoping to make a trip to Singapore before I get much older to see several sites I did not see whilst in service.

Yours sincerely,

Gordon Sargent

** Today this Mowbray Camp is known as the Police KINS (Key Installation Protection) Training Camp.

Akan Datang (Coming Soon): Reader Karunakaran shares about his time in the Army Depot Police.