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For a detailed description of the Ford Motor Company Factory see FORTRESS SINGAPORE, The Battlefield Guide, pp. 50-53, Maj. Yap Siang Yong, Romen Bose, Angeline Pang, Times Books International, Second Edition 1995. Available at most major book sellers in Singapore.
The old Ford Motor Company factory, off Upper Bukit Timah Road, at Bukit Batok, is the site of the British surrender to the Japanese. At 6:10 p.m., on 15 February 1942, Lt. General Arthur Percival unconditionally surrendered the British forces of Malaya and Singapore to the Japanese commander, Lt. General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the "Tiger of Malaya."
The factory was Yamashita's second Singapore headquarters. He moved here from a rubber plantation north of Tengah airbase, near the original invasion point. Yamashita and his staff had crossed the Straits on Monday, 9 February.
The factory is in a rather run down state. Condominiums are erupting all around the site. There is a sign posted that infrastructure improvements are going to be made. The sign is not clear what changes are in store, but this is another sight in Singapore that should be seen as soon as possible, since it may not be long for this world. There is a glimmer of hope, Insider's Singapore author David Brazil maintains that he has, "personal assurance," from, "BG (NS) George Yeo, Minister of Information and the Arts, ... 'The Surrender Room at the Old Ford Factory will be conserved.'" Let's hope the rest of the building makes it with the Surrender Room.
| The not so inviting entrance to the old Ford Motor Company Factory. | |
| From the photos I've seen, this looks to be the entrance Lt. General Percival used to enter the building to meet with Lt. General Yamashita. Looking at the general condition of the factory it rather dilapidated, and has most recently been used for small business offices. |  |
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Lt. General
A.E. Percival, General-Officer-Commanding Malaya (extreme right) with Brigadier Torrens,
Brigadier Newbrigging and Major Wild, being led by Japanese Staff Officer Sugita to
negotiate the surrender terms on 15 February 1942. The talks began about 5:00 p.m. From the Changi Prison Museum |
Above is a recreation, using wax models, of the British surrender at the Ford factory, as seen at the Images of Singapore Museum. Yamashita is sitting, second from left. Percival is on the far right signing the surrender document. The Images of Singapore Museum is located on Sentosa, opposite the cable car station. |
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Another view of Lt. General Yamashita, shown with his fist clenched. Below is a copy of the actual photo as seen at the Changi Prison Museum. |
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"The Tiger of Malaya," Lt. General
Tomoyuki Yamashita on an inspection tour of Singapore, 23 September 1942. From the Changi Prison Museum |
Copyright © Glenn Griffin 1999, 2000 and 2003. All rights reserved