My wife and I with our two children left 49 Jalan Lengkok, Singapore 27, forty eight years ago at the end of 1967. When we moved in, the whole estate was brand new purposely built for Europeans and specifically for naval and British dockyard personnel. As I will show you, the estate is still there, only with a third road added. Instead of the estate access road coming off the Nee Soon Road, that has been renamed Sembawang Road and the English pub is now called Ayza's Restaurant: just below it, is a McDonald's. In our time our address was "Singapore 27", now it is "Singapore D27" the 'D' meaning district. Although the estate is some miles from the original village of Sembawang [which was immediately outside the naval base boundary] Jalan Lengkok now is assigned the address of Sembawang.

In this map, you can see where Jalan Lengkok was, which is shown by the purple coloured exclamation mark.

  Next comes the road infrastructure and access point for the estate. The former ordinary road [Neesoon Road] is now two separate roads [Sembawang Road]. Jln [short for Jalan] Lengkok was just the two roads which you see to the left and right of the access road, with the new road [Platina Road] added on the far left of the estate. In all directions around the estate was jungle or lush greenery but devoid of buildings, except for a small Chinese burial ground across the road to near where it says "wang Rd" i.e., at the top right of the picture. Unlike what you see here [to be explained in a moment] the estate was bungalow-land and both roads had bungalows on either side of it. In this picture, ignoring the houses both sides of Platina Road, the houses appear to be or irregular [asymmetrical] shape, whereas, as stated, all the bungalows were of the same basic design and size. Since our time there in the 1960's, they have bulldozed the whole estate, and in its place, they have built luxury very desirable houses of mixed design and size, some bungalows, some detached, some semi's in the price range of S$2.6M to S$4.8M which in our money is from £1,248,000.00 to £2,600,000.00, and that my friend, is real 'money'. See below to get a feel for the place.

  This is what you see when coming down the access road from the Sebawang Road and turning right and this[below] is No 65 Jalan Lengkok as we lived in No 49. The first turning right off this road leads to he gates of one of the properties.

  However, not all is [or can be] rosy! When we Brit's left the Island the whole defence estate was up for grabs, the main dockyard becoming Sembawang Ship Yard, Changi the main civil airport whilst other airfields became housing estates inter alia. With the new Singapore Navy now positioned down south at Changi, its Army in various places including Neesoon, the Air Force needed its space. They chose that area which had been RNAS HMS Simbang just down the road from the Jalan Lengkok complex, and that became their military airfiled and air base. Remember that the purple exclamation mark is the Jalan Lengkok area with sometimes over two million pound homes there, note just how near the air base major runway and smaller runways come to the boundary fence of the estate! Remember also, that Singapore often took part with other nations in major exercises and this often involved aircraft from US, British, Australian and New Zealand armed forces using this airfield. Not sure that I would want that, and the jungle we had, although noisy at times, was much better.

  Singapore in the Volatile 1960's, and why the likes of you and I were stationed there - apart from it being an extremely nice place to be stationed!

1.   The Japanese attack on Malaya [which included Singapore] in the second world war, defeated British Rule in two quite distinct ways. The obvious way was militarily at the hands of the Japanese warrior, with a less obvious [and subsequent to the war] defeat by the people of Malaya. This second defeat was subtle and as history has shown us, a much bigger defeat which led to the total and permanent loss of a large part of our Empire. That the British lost Malaya militarily is not surprising given the enormous size of the country and the countless hundreds of routes a powerful enemy could invade through, but to lose the island of Singapore with only one small road connecting it to mainland Malaya without a real fight, could be considered a tactical blunder especially when one considers that the Japanese army took the island and not the Japanese navy. That the British lost post war Malaya is also not surprising given what follows in 2., below.

2.   In September 1945 the British returned to Malaya having played the major part in defeating the Japanese on mainland Asia. They set up the British Military Administration.
  Ethnicity was a major political issue after World War II. The 19th century Anglo-Malay treaties had obliged the British to preserve Malay interests and traditions. But in keeping Malay society much as they had found it and doing little to help the community progress, the British had inadvertently left the Malays behind economically. The result was a two-tiered British Malaya comprising a traditional, feudal Malay society on top of a more vibrant modern commercial layer peopled mostly by non-Malays.
  The British wanted to try and integrate the two worlds. When they returned to Malaya in 1945, they came with a plan for Malayan Union all worked out in London during the war without consulting the Malay sultans. It was a radical plan that essentially ended the privileged position of the Malays and treated all races equally. Non-Malays with enough years of residence could apply to be citizens and enjoy all the rights of citizenship including the right to vote and therefore the right to decide who would be in power.
  Giving non-Malays political rights meant that on top of economic power, non-Malays could well end up with political power, given the small Malay majority in Malaya. The consequence would be the eclipse of the Malay identity and they could stand to lose their political dominance. The very idea galvanised Onn bin Jaffar, a Johore Malay aristocrat, into forming the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in 1946 to oppose the Malayan Union plan. For the first time, Malay disaffection with the British and the other communities solidified on this issue of Malay privileges and the granting of equal citizenship rights to the other races.
  Without mass Malay support, Malayan Union could not succeed. The sultans could be sweet-talked into signing the treaty necessary to create Malayan Union but the leaders of UMNO could not be persuaded. Malayan Union lasted just two years and was replaced by the Federation of Malaya Agreement in 1948. This Agreement safeguarded the position of the Malays through preferential treatment and special rights and also by limiting the grant of citizenship to non-Malays.

3.  In December 1945, Singapore got its first political party, the Malayan Democratic Party [MDP]. By April 1946 the British Military Administration had ended, and Singapore only returned to civilian rule as a Crown Colony. As mentioned above, the rest of Malaya [99% of it] became part of the Malayan Union albeit for such a short period of time, a bitter blow to the British.

4.  In late 1947, there was much muttering about the draft constitutions of Singapore and the Federation of Malaya. Communist became active and menacing. In the interim between the Japanese surrender and the return of the British to reassert control over the population, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) which was mostly pro-communist and Chinese, came out from the underground and began taking revenge on supporters of the Japanese. Later, the MPAJA changed into an anti-colonial communist army and began an undeclared war against the British in Malaya. The result was the Emergency, declared in 1948. To help control communist activity, identity cards were issued. Everyone of legal age was required by law to carry their identity cards and anyone found without one was a suspected communist. This period saw a large increase in British Armed Forces, particularly the Army and Air Force, fighting the communists in the Malayan jungles, which sadly, despite its great significance, is a forgotten campaign. Many of these British fighters would find themselves fighting Chinese communists in Korea not too many months ahead [1950-53].

5.    In 1951, Singapore became a city within the Commonwealth.

6.  Throughout the 1950's there was much unrest in the Colony and in the Federation with the communists being seen as an ever growing threat. There were strikes, riots, bombings and civil disobedience. In 1957 Lee Kuan Yew entered government. The British had their hands full and thousands of servicemen and women were involved in the maintenance of law and order.

7.   By 1958, Malaya had become independent; and the House of Lords had passed the State of Singapore Act in London.

8.  In May 1959, Singapore had its very first General Election. Lee Kuan Yew refused to become the Prime Minister until politician, who had won seats in the elections but who where in prison for subversive activities, were release so that they could take-up their seats. This done, Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister and Singapore started its own self rule.

9.  In December 1959, Singapore got its own Flag and National Anthem

10.  July 1960 saw the end to the emergency in Malaysia and Singapore.

11.  In May 1961 The Federation of Malaya considers the formation of Malaysia. There is much talk and excitement about Singapore becoming a member of Malyasia. The idea was popular and lead to a referendum. Lee Kuan Yew takes a high profile lead in support of his country joining. The communists in the Singaporean government [PAP members] were against merging and becoming a part of Malaysia because it would bring them under the control of the Federation of Malaya, which had done much, with the British, to rid Malaya of communism.

12.   Talks between the Federation of Malaya and others, agrees that Singapore can retain control over education and labour, whilst defence, external affairs and security would be in the hands of the government of Malaysia. In late 1962 the referendum is held and Lee Kuan Yew travels widely drumming up support.

13.  In February 1963, a big security sweep codenamed Operation Coldstore arrested 113 prominent pro-communist politicians and trade unionists, among them Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan, pro-communists within the PAP. The Internal Security Council had ordered the arrests because of fears of the Brunei Rebellion spreading to Singapore. Earlier, Lim had been seen by the Special Branch with A.M. Azahari, a leftist who had led the Brunei Rebellion against the Sultan of Brunei in December 1962. An important consequence of Operation Coldstore was to give Lee and the PAP moderates a clearer field in the September 1963 General Election. Lee Kuan Yew declares de facto independence for Singapore within Malaysia.

14.   The 16th of September 1963 saw the Proclamation of Malaysia; it was also Lee Kuan Yew's birthday, and shortly afterwards a General Election was called. Philippines and Indonesia break off diplomatic ties. Indonesia declares Confrontation.
   Regional neighbours Indonesia and the Philippines were not enthused by the merger proposal between Singapore and Malaysia. It meant an expansion of Malayan territory and influence into Borneo, and Indonesia and the Philippines had a vested interest in the area.
   Rising Tension - In 1962, the Philippines laid claim to Sabah and in May 1963, Indonesia seized the disputed territory of former Dutch West New Guinea, now West Irian. President Sukarno announced plans to turn his attention to the British Borneo territories though he denied territorial ambitions. The Borneo territories, he said, should be given independence first then the formation of Malaysia could be discussed between Indonesia, Malaya and the Philippines.
   In June 1963, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaya met in Manila and mooted the idea of a confederation to be known as Maphilindo. Philippines and Indonesia also agreed to accept the formation of Malaysia provided the United Nations determined the will of the people of Sabah and Sarawak to merger. Malaysia Day was then put off to 16 September while the UN team toured the Borneo territories.
   Despite the UN team coming up with a pro-Malaysia report, Sukarno still maintained an anti-Malaysia stand. On Malaysia Day, Indonesia broke off relations with Malaysia. Demonstrators gathered outside the Malaysian and British embassies shouting 'Crush Malaysia!' In retaliation, crowds outside the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur threw stones and burnt a picture of Sukarno.
   Saboteurs - Numerous incidents of sabotage followed in the period that was to be known as Konfrontasi. Most of these took place in Sarawak and Sabah but there were incidents in Malaya and Singapore as well.
   In September 1963, a bomb went off in Katong Park. It was to be the first of several bomb blasts, one of which killed three people and injured 33 others in MacDonald House in early 1965. Two Indonesian agents were arrested for the sabotage, tried and sentenced to death. They were executed only in 1968 after the Singapore government turned down appeals for clemency. In protest, several hundred students sacked the Singapore embassy in Jakarta and the homes of Singapore diplomats. The Philippines also broke off diplomatic ties with Malaysia.
   In August 1964, Indonesian agents landed in Johore and 16 armed men were captured. On 2 September, Indonesian paratroopers landed in Labis, Johore. That same day, an old trishaw rider was found stabbed to death opposite the Geylang Serai market. A driver was attacked and some cars stoned. In a week of what the press described as Indonesian-inspired communal clashes, 13 died and 109 were injured.
   Confrontation affected Singapore's trade with Indonesia because, with the cutting of diplomatic ties, official trading came to a standstill. However, Indonesia's trade blockade was not 100 per cent effective partly because small-time barter traders, whose trading ties date back to colonial times, kept the links open .unofficially.
   In October 1965, the Indonesian army overcame the Indonesian Communist Party, bringing Suharto to power. It also ended Indonesia's communist-inspired anti-Malaysia stand. Indonesian Confrontation ended in June 1966. This is why my submarine and all submarines stationed in the Far East in the 60's had a big 4 inch gun sited on the casing.

15.  For the next few months there is political confusion and general unrest. Government leadership is unsure with the communists winning many more seats than hitherto. Among students and teachers there are boycotts. Street and building bombings take place, and as always as a common theme throughout these paragraphs, our troops were engaged, and when not so, they were confined to barracks.

16.  By July of 1964 the situation is bad. Communal riots are a daily occurrence. Politics are now little better than local politician supporting local/parochial things where minds are changed on a whim of scoring an advantage. In September Lee Kuan Yew orders a week of bonding between culture, religions, creeds and political thought hoping to get the country to pull together and avoid destruction. The troubles boil over into 1965.

17.  In May 1965, a Malaysian Solidarity Convention is formed with the aim of achieving a non-communal, multi-racial "Malaysian Malaysia". The concept raises the issue of immigrant rights. This issue is taken as an attack on Malay special rights [see reason for failure of the British Plan for Malayan Union in paragraph 2 above]. At an UMNO General Assembly, delegates call for Lee's arrest. Tungku Abdul Rahman [of the Federation] is subjected to increased pressure to have Singapore separate from Malaysia.

18.  On the 9th of August, Singapore leaves Malaysia. Lee Kuan Yew is heart broken. He has spent much of the recent months begging, imploring, writing letters, having meetings to try and save the situation, of his country remaining in Malaysia. His point was clearly obvious to all who were outsiders looking in. Everything that Singapore had was held in common with surrounding countries - the two areas fitting hand-in-glove and were natural partners. He was betrayed by member of the Singapore Government, and also by the lack of goodwill from the old Federation politicians who failed to seek a compromise on an issue which was surmountable.

19.  In conclusion, whatever ones view on Singapore, it cannot be refuted that Singapore is today what Lee Kuan Yew was yesterday. He bounced back from that period over Malaysia and through his efforts, he gained world wide respect for himself and all Singaporeans. He built a tiny country into a world player, and set standards which many other countries might do well to adopt. Finally, and be honest with me and yourself, when you were endeavouring to drain the largest vat in the Tiger brewery each night, were you aware of the potential time bomb ticking away under your seat [wherever you were seated]? Of course you were not! If you had been, would dear old Singer's have been such a desirable place to be?

Let us raise our glass to all Singaporeans, present and past. Good cheer!