Sacha Represents PAST2020 at the 78th Anniversary of the Fall of Singapore
Saturday 15th February 2020
Sacha (Year 10) represented the Premiers ANZAC Student Tour 2020 (PAST2020) and Mt Lawley Senior High School at the 78th Memorial of the “Fall of Singapore” on Saturday, 15 February. This moving ceremony was held at the Stirling Civic Gardens and attracted close to 100 guests. Sacha laid a wreath and had a special mention for being a member of PAST2020 – students carrying the torch of remembrance for future generations.
USA President Roosevelt may have said that the 8th December “would go down in infamy” (regarding Pearl Harbour), but to those living in Singapore the bombing of their city also began on that day, but to Singaporeans February 15th 1942, was a day of ‘infamy’. A day of mourning, of collapse and desolation. It took the Japanese Imperial forces from 31st January until 15th February to invade and claim all of Malaya and Singapore. Close to 15,000 Australian soldiers plus 35,000 British were taken POW.
Singaporeans were immediately ordered to come in for questioning after the Imperial Japanese Army took over. Their homes were looted and destroyed by the Kempeitai, the secret Japanese police.
During the occupation, there were many tragedies. such as the Sook Ching Massacre began on February 21, 1942. The mass murder of Singapore residents ages 18 to 50, was targeted at eradicating anti-Japanese sentiments. Victims of the massacre were either Chinese, suspected of being pro-Chinese, anti-Japanese, or Communist. The Singaporean officials claim the number of victims was at least 50,000.
Sacha will travel to Singapore for ANZAC Day this year and will be part of the commemoration of this very sad time. He will also travel to Darwin prior to Singapore to commemorate the disastrous bombing of Darwin on 19th February bringing destruction and more than 230 deaths, the real number not being known. Darwin was the gate to Australia, it took the largest Japanese hit on Australian soil. The extent of the disaster was kept secret from the Australian population, to stave off fear in the whole population. We look forward to Sacha’s report on Darwin and Singapore.
