War Memorial Park is a park in

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 ...

, located at the junctions of Beach Road,

Stamford Road Stamford Road (Chinese: 史丹福路; ms, Jalan Stamford) is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles ...

Nicoll Highway Nicoll Highway (; ms, Lebuhraya Nicoll; ta, நிகோல் நெடுஞ்சாலை) is a major arterial road in Singapore which links the junctions of Guillemard Road, Sims Way and Mountbatten Road in Kallang to the junctions of Espl ...

and

Bras Basah Road Bras Basah Road () is a one-way road in Singapore in the planning areas of Museum and Downtown Core. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road and Handy Road, at the ERP gantry towards the Central Business District, and ends at the junc ...

in the Downtown Core of Singapore's Central Region next to

Esplanade MRT station Esplanade MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line (CCL). Situated in Downtown Core, Singapore, it is at the junction of Bras Basah Road, Raffles Boulevard and Nicoll Highway. As the name suggests, th ...

. The

Civilian War Memorial The Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation, usually called the Civilian War Memorial (Chinese: ; ms, Tugu Peringatan Bagi Mangsa Awam Pemerintahan Jepun; Tamil: ஜப்பானியர் ஆதிக்க கால� ...

is located at the center of the park as a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

to civilians who died in Singapore during

World War II 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 ...

. It is managed by the

National Parks Board The National Parks Board (NParks) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. History In November 1989, Minister of National Development, S. Dhanabalan, presented the National Parks Bil ...

History

During the

Sook Ching massacre Sook Ching was a mass killing that occurred from 18 February to 4 March 1942 in Singapore after it fell to the Japanese. It was a systematic purge and massacre of 'anti-Japanese' elements in Singapore, with the Singaporean Chinese particular ...

that occurred in Singapore during World War II, mass

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

s were dug to contain the bodies of civilians who were killed by the Japanese. When the bodies were unearthed in 1962 in various places, the

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI; ) is a business chamber in Singapore. The chamber was originally created to protect and promote the commercial interest of the Chinese community in Singapore but it also played a r ...

(SCCCI) decided to gather the remains and create a memorial for them. On 15 June 1963, in a monumental ceremony attended by

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

s, inter-religious organisations, community leaders and many others, the then Prime Minister officiated at the launch of the Civilian War Memorial project ceremony. The project was completed and the monument was unveiled on 15 February 1967 in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the

Fall 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 ...

.''Civilian War Memorial''
, Infopedia, Retrieved 3 June 2009. The monument was named the

Park

The park with the Civilian War Memorial is a popular sightseeing venue.

References

External links

National Parks BoardNational Parks Board - War Memorial Park
{{Parks in Singapore Parks in Singapore 1967 establishments in Singapore

History

Park

See also

References

External links