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rediscovered the Battle Box, claims 29 rooms. The bunker was constructed with one metre thick (3 feet) reinforced concrete walls to withstand direct hits from bombs and shells. The complex included a telephone exchange connected to all military and most civilian switchboards in Malaya, various signals and operations rooms, sleeping quarters and latrines. The bunker also included a cipher room for coding and decoding messages, but by the time of the fall of Malaya, this work had been shifted elsewhere and the cipher room was used as sleeping quarters. The
Commander of Fixed Defences, Brigadier Curtis, co-ordinated the coastal artillery strikes on naval targets from the bunker.
64:
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416:, with Lieutenant-General Percival shifting the Combined Operations Headquarters to Fort Canning Bunker on 11 February 1942. By the latter stages of the battle for Singapore, the Japanese were bombing the Central Area of Singapore, including Fort Canning Hill, at will. Fort Canning Hill was also within range of the Japanese artillery, forcing personnel into the bunker. There were around 500 officers and men in the bunker in the latter stages of the battle.
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While admission is free, visitors will be charged if they wish to enjoy some of the enhancements such as an audio tour. To ensure the historical accuracy of its experiences, Global
Cultural Alliance has put together an advisory team led by independent curator Tan Teng Teng, who was involved in establishing The Battlebox as a museum when it first opened to the public in 1997.
468:. The Fort Canning Bunker, having remained empty and unused since the war, was sealed off in the late 1960s due to safety concerns and its exact location forgotten. It was brought back into the public eye when it was "rediscovered" by a journalist in 1988, who was following a number of leads claiming the existence of an underground bunker complex on Fort Canning Hill.
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and 'General
Officer Commanding, Malaya', authorised construction of a new Combined Operations Headquarters at the Royal Air Force headquarters in Sime Road. The construction of this new headquarters began in 1941, and was finished in December of that year. Although Combined Operations Headquarters
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The
Battlebox reopened to the public on 15 February 2024, operated by non-profit arts and culture organisation Global Cultural Alliance, who were awarded a contract by the National Parks Board on 20 February 2023 after an open tender. Admission to the Battlebox is currently free for all visitors.
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and used for communications right up to the time of the
Japanese surrender. At the conclusion of the Second World War, the bunker complex itself appears to have been looted in the aftermath of the Japanese surrender. Upon re-entry to the complex in 1988, evidence of a number of excavations were
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Located nearly 30 feet beneath the hill, the Fort
Canning Bunker, also known as the Headquarters Malaya Command Operations Bunker, was constructed in 1936 and completed by 1941. Sources vary as to the number of rooms in the bunker; one states 22, while another, authored by the journalist who
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The decision to surrender
Singapore was made by Lieutenant-General Percival in a meeting on the morning of 15 February 1942. Held in the 'Commander, Anti-Aircraft Defence Room' of the bunker, a number of senior officers were in attendance, including Generals
362:, which included Singapore, became a crown colony in 1867, a fort was constructed on the hill. However, by the turn of the century, the construction of other defences around Singapore rendered the Fort Canning fortifications surplus to requirements.
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The Fort
Canning Bunker was developed into a museum depicting the final days of the Battle of Singapore. The museum, called the Battle Box, was formally opened on 15 February 1997, on the 55th anniversary of the surrender of Singapore.
386:, who as the 'Fortress Commander, Singapore', was responsible for the defence of Singapore Island. The Anti-Aircraft Gun Operations Room and Naval Extended Defences offices also remained at the bunker.
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as their headquarters in
Singapore, with a number of buildings built for this purpose in the 1920s. However, the lack of a headquarters combining all three services present in Singapore – the
397:, on the north east coast of Malaya. Rapidly retreating through Malaya, Allied forces were forced back to Singapore Island by 31 January 1942. On 8 February, Japanese troops then crossed the
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to counter the growing influence of the
Japanese, who were regarded as being the logical threat to Britain's interests in the Far East and the Pacific. To counter this, the
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and Simmons. With diminishing water supplies, and no viable options for launching a counterattack, the decision was made to seek terms with the Japanese.
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was constructed on the north shore of Singapore Island. The base, and its associated defences, required a large British military presence on the island.
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After the war, Fort Canning Hill was again used by the British as the Singapore Base District Headquarters. The British handed over Fort Canning to the
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Given its position in the western Pacific ocean, Singapore had long been recognised as being strategically important for the
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By 1941, the bunker was considered to be too small for its intended use. Percival, having returned to Malaya as a
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on the north-west coast of Singapore Island, followed by a second landing near the Kranji River, at the
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Secrets of the Battlebox: The History and Role of Britain's Command HQ in the Malayan Campaign
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The Japanese invaded Malaya on 8 December 1941 by moving south through Siam (now known as
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observed, presumably attempts to find loot that may have been concealed by the Japanese.
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had been relocated to Sime Road, the Fort Canning Bunker remained the Headquarters of
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Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress: A Study in Deception, Discord and Desertion
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in 1968–69, and the buildings of Fort Canning Hill served for a time as the
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The Fort Canning Bunker was later occupied by Japanese forces during the
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is the popular name of the Fort Canning Bunker, formerly known as
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749:"Free entry to the Battlebox in Fort Canning Park from Oct 2023"
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292:. The Battle Box is currently a museum and tourist attraction.
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Stairs at an entrance leading down to the underground level
812:. Cambridge Commonwealth series. London: MacMillan Press.
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Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II
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The Sime Road location had to be abandoned during the
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448:The Battle Box ticketing office, Fort Canning Hill
358:had built a residence there in 1823, but when the
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810:The Rise and Fall of the Singapore Naval Base
274:Headquarters Malaya Command Operations Bunker
77:Headquarters Malaya Command Operations Bunker
52:One of the entrances to the Battle Box museum
24:Headquarters Malaya Command Operations Bunker
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774:. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions.
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848:Singapore 1942: Britain's Greatest Defeat
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466:Singapore Command and Staff College
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793:. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
570:. National Library Board Singapore
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1320:Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
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564:"Fort Canning Bunker (Battlebox)"
1579:1997 establishments in Singapore
1528:The Maritime Experiential Museum
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808:McIntyre, W. David (1979).
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1371:Labrador Nature Reserve
1246:Chinese Heritage Centre
850:. Singapore: Talisman.
789:Elphick, Peter (1995).
229:Renovated into a museum
117:1.296111°N 103.846194°E
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1149:Civilian War Memorial
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846:Warren, Alan (2001).
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87:Location in Singapore
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1305:Singapore Art Museum
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1134:Bukit Batok Memorial
1116:Jewel Changi Airport
770:Bose, Romen (2005).
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672:Warren, 2002, p. 247
618:Bose, 2005, p. 60-61
609:Bose, 2005, p. 48-49
522:Elphick, 1995, p. 15
314:Singapore Naval Base
276:, constructed under
248:Garrison information
122:1.296111; 103.846194
1465:Beauty World Market
1260:Images of Singapore
1250:Former Ford Factory
1174:Kranji War Memorial
995:Fort Tanjong Katong
980:Buona Vista Battery
568:Singapore Infopedia
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1184:Old Tao Nan School
1164:Founders' Memorial
1054:Esplanade Theatres
1015:Integrated resorts
957:NTUC Downtown East
831:. London: Viking.
729:Bose, 2005, p. 127
708:Bose, 2005, p. 120
663:Bose, 2005, p. 101
591:Smith, 2005, p. 22
543:Warren, 2002, p. 2
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310:Singapore strategy
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924:Coastal PlayGrove
857:978-981-04-5320-6
838:978-0-670-91341-1
781:978-981-261-064-5
753:The Straits Times
717:Bose, 2005, p. 54
690:Bose, 2005, p. 64
681:Bose, 2005, p. 17
654:Bose, 2005, p. 92
645:Bose, 2005, p. 87
636:Bose, 2005, p. 74
627:Bose, 2005, p. 70
600:Bose, 2005, p. 45
552:Bose, 2005, p. 39
534:Bose, 2005, p. 40
330:, Royal Navy and
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108:103°50′46.3″E
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1434:Night Safari
1334:Nature parks
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1204:The Cenotaph
1144:CHIJMES Hall
1111:Helix Bridge
1091:Orchard Road
1079:Merlion Park
1059:Geylang Road
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572:. Retrieved
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346:Construction
324:British Army
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308:devised the
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234:Battles/wars
191:Site history
157:Open to
150:British Army
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1547:Volcanoland
1513:Punggol Zoo
1403:Oceanariums
1255:Fort Siloso
990:Fort Siloso
440:Present day
395:Kota Baharu
211:In use
120: /
105:1°17′46.0″N
96:Coordinates
1573:Categories
1470:Big Splash
1376:Pulau Ubin
1232:Baba House
763:References
302:Royal Navy
255:commanders
182:.battlebox
1421:MWG parks
1381:Chek Jawa
1126:Monuments
1106:Snow City
574:8 January
306:Admiralty
282:Singapore
170:Renovated
167:Condition
80:地下指挥中心博物馆
39:Singapore
27:地下指挥中心博物馆
1361:HortPark
480:See also
391:Thailand
288:and the
152:(former)
37:in
1453:Defunct
1214:Museums
1084:Merlion
1044:CHIJMES
928:Sentosa
422:Bennett
401:at the
296:History
216: (
201: (
175:Website
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340:Dobbie
136:bunker
973:Forts
502:Notes
426:Heath
196:Built
146:Owner
852:ISBN
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776:ISBN
576:2018
328:Army
253:Past
226:Fate
218:1945
214:1945
203:1936
199:1936
133:Type
184:.sg
180:www
162:yes
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