The Cenotaph is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

located within the

Esplanade Park Esplanade Park is a park located at the Esplanade area within the Downtown Core district of Singapore. History Built in 1943 when Singapore was ruled by Japan, the Esplanade Park is one of the oldest parks in Singapore. The park was redevelope ...

Connaught Drive Connaught Drive (Simplified Chinese, Chinese: 康乐通道) is a one-way road linking Stamford Road to Fullerton Road on the northern side of the Singapore River within the Downtown Core in Singapore. Esplanade Park is on the left side of the road ...

, within the Central Area in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

History

The

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

for the memorial was laid by Sir Lawrence Nunns Guillemard, the Governor of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

, on 15 November 1920. In attendance was the visiting then French Premier,

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

and Major-General Dudley Howard Ridout, a

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. The memorial was completed in 1922, and was unveiled on 31 March that year by the young Prince Edward of Wales, later King Edward VIII then Duke of Windsor, during his Asia-Pacific tour. During the unveiling

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil ...

, a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

blessed the Cenotaph with the words, "''The stone is well laid and truly laid to the Glory of God and the memory of the illustrious dead''." Against the backdrop of the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

then fronting Queen Elizabeth Walk, Governor Guillemard awarded

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s of

courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

to those who had served in the war. In Prince Edward's entourage was

Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy of ...

. At the end of World War II, Mountbatten returned to Singapore as the Supreme Commander of the

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

to receive the surrender of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

on 12 September 1945.

National Monument

On 28 December 2010, The Cenotaph was gazetted by Preservation of Monuments Board as a National Monument along with Lim Bo Seng Memorial and Tan Kim Seng Fountain at the

and the

Singapore Conference Hall The Singapore Conference Hall (abbreviation: SCH), formerly the Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House, is a multipurpose building in Shenton Way, Singapore. Designed in modernist style, the SCH is five stories tall and capped with a c ...

along

Shenton Way Shenton Way is a major trunk road serving Singapore's Central Area and is most commonly known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The road is a one-way street that starts at the junction of Boon Tat Street, Raffles Qu ...

Vandalism incident

On 23 April 2013, the Cenotaph was

vandalised Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and #Defacement, defacement directed towards any property without permission of the o ...

by someone who sprayed the word "DEMOCRACY" on the monument as well as an "X" which crossed out the text "1914 to 1918". Six days later, Mohamad Khalid Mohamad Yusop was arrested and charged with one count of vandalism under the Vandalism Act. On 26 August 2013, a district court ordered Khalid to pay S$208 for the cost of repairs in addition to sentencing him to three months' jail and three strokes of the cane.

Details

The structure was designed by Denis Santry of

Swan & Maclaren Swan & Maclaren Group is an architecture and urban design firm. One of the oldest architectural firms in the country, it was formerly known as Swan & Maclaren and Swan & Lermit, and was one of the most prominent architectural firms in Singapore ...

. The

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

at the base of the Cenotaph reads:

''They died that we might live''.

The Cenotaph was built in memory of the 124 British

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s born or resident in Singapore who gave their lives in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914–1918), with a second dedication (but no names) added in remembrance of those who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939–1945).

References

* National Heritage Board (2002), ''Singapore's 100 Historic Places'', Archipelago Press,

External links

National Heritage Board

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cenotaph, Singapore National monuments of Singapore Downtown Core (Singapore) Buildings and structures completed in 1922 Landmarks in Singapore Monuments and memorials in Singapore