![Changi_Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Changi_Museum.jpg)
The Changi Chapel and Museum is a war museum dedicated to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
's history during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Japanese occupation of Singapore
, officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II.
Japanese military forces occupied it after ...
. After the
British army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
was defeated by the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
in the
Battle of Singapore
The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...
, thousands of prisoners-of-war (POWs) were imprisoned in
Changi prison camp for three and a half years. While interned there, the POWs built numerous chapels, one of which was named St George's Church.
History
During the
Japanese occupation of Singapore
, officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II.
Japanese military forces occupied it after ...
, there were a number of chapels built and rebuilt within and around the
Changi Prison
Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.
History First prison
Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...
, where
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
prisoners of wars were interned. The Japanese did not restrict the POWs' religious activities, and thus the POWs converted existing buildings and utilised scrap materials to build altars and furniture.
Among these chapels, the Roman Catholic Our Lady of Christians Chapel was dismantled after the war and moved to Australia, where it was reconstructed and unveiled in 1988 as part of the
Prisoner of War National Memorial in Duntroon,
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. This chapel is also known as the Changi Chapel, and is often mistaken for the current replica chapel built next the Changi Prison.
The current replica is based on the St George's Church, another chapel which was built during the occupation.
![Changi chapel at duntroon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Changi_chapel_at_duntroon.jpg)
In 1988, Singapore built a museum and replica chapel, based on St George’s Church, next to
Changi Prison
Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.
History First prison
Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...
. When Changi Prison was expanded in 2001, the chapel and museum was relocated to a new site 1 km away and the Changi Chapel and Museum was officially established on 15 February 2001. A brass cross is placed on the altar of the replica chapel. It is known as the Changi Cross, and was made during the occupation by Harry Stogden out of a 45 mm howitzer shell.
From 2001 to 2017, Changi Museum was run by Singapore History Consultants, a private company which offers heritage education and research consultancy services. In 2018, the
National Museum of Singapore
ms, Muzium Negara Singapura ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் தேசிய அருங்காட்சியகம்
, native_name_lang =
, logo =
, image = 2016 Singapur, Museum Planning Area, Narodowe Muzeum Singapuru (02) ...
took over operations of the museum from the
Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry.
History
The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and wa ...
, and it was closed for redevelopment after 17 years of operation.
The museum's reopening in 2020 was delayed a year due to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic, and the newly renamed Changi Chapel and Museum was reopened virtually on 18 May 2021 by
Edwin Tong
Edwin Tong Chun Fai ( zh, s=唐振辉, p=Táng Zhènhuī; born 1969) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law concurrently since 2020. A member of the ...
, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law.
Collection
The museum has 114 artefacts on display, including paintings, photographs and personal effects, many of which were donated by former POWs and their families. They give visitors a glimpse into the daily lives of the internees, the challenges they faced and eventual liberation.
Artefacts on display include a 400-page diary and a Kodak Baby Brownie camera, which were painstakingly hidden by some of the internees. The diary belonged to Mr Arthur Westrop, who wrote every entry as a letter to his wife, who was in Africa. The camera belonged to Sergeant John Ritchie Johnston and was given to him by his wife. Johnston managed to bring the camera with him to Changi and hid it from his captors during the entire period of his incarceration.
A re-created Changi Gaol cell gives visitors a glimpse into how the internees were housed and a sense of the cramped living confines of the internees. The re-created cell includes historical recordings of conversations between the internees which offer a glimpse into their living conditions and daily experiences.
Other familiar and significant objects include a section of the Changi Wall, a Morse code device hidden in a matchbox that was used by internees to transmit messages, a set of watercolour paintings by Mary Angela Bateman, who was among the thousands of women and children interned in Changi Prison,
and the
Changi Murals
The Changi Murals are a set of five paintings of biblical theme painted by Stanley Warren, a British bombardier and prisoner-of-war (POW) interned at the Changi Prison, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II (WWII). His mu ...
, a set of five Biblical
murals
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
painted by the POW
Stanley Warren
Stanley Warren (1917 England – 20 February 1992, Dorset England) was an English painter. He was a bombardier of the 15th Regiment of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who became known for the Changi Murals he painted at a chapel during his int ...
during his incarceration.
The museum now features eight galleries, which include:
# Changi Fortress - This section introduces the history of Changi, which in the 19th century was largely covered by mangrove swamps and rainforests. In the 1920s, this quiet idyll began to change as the British started to construct batteries and barracks to protect Singapore from attack.
# Fallen Fortress - This section covers the fall of Singapore as well as the fate that soldiers and civilians alike faced in the aftermath.
# The Interned - Approximately 48,000 soldiers and civilians were marched to Changi, which was converted into a vast prison camp. This section spotlights the stories of the men, women, and children who were interned in Changi.
# Life as POW – The day-to-day lives of those imprisoned in Changi are introduced in this section, along with remnants of the actual Changi Gaol.
# Resilience in Adversity - This section offers a glimpse into both the hardships that the internees faced as well as how they responded to their situation.
# Creativity in Adversity - Creative expression was deeply important to the internees, who found ways to write, draw, read, craft, play sports, and even stage concerts and plays. This section showcases their creative works.
# Liberation - Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, bringing an end to the three and a half years of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. This section captures the internees’ feelings about their liberation as well as what happened immediately after the war.
# Legacies - The legacy of Changi prison camp continues to live on in the present day. In this concluding section, visitors can look up the names and stories of the internees, and view some artefacts that were produced to remember how they had survived the internment.
Some exhibits from the old Changi Museum are no longer on display. These include a series of paintings and sketches by a POW named William Haxworth which provide insight on the daily life of the internees during the occupation. In 1986, Haxworth's wife donated a collection of over 400 paintings and sketches to the
National Archives of Singapore
The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) (Malay: ''Arkib Negara Singapura'', Mandarin: 新加坡国家档案馆, Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய காப்பகம்) is the national archives of Singapore. It was for ...
.
References
Literature
*
External links
Changi Chapel and Museum- Official Website
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Museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
Military and war museums in Singapore
World War II museums