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Assembly Timeline
From the epoch of war and empire to independence and progress, this former car factory charts Singapore’s history.
BY YE SUILING
PHOTO NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD
n a crowded boardroom bristling with insignias and white-knuckled anticipation, a wan Lieutenant-General Arthur E. Percival sits pensively between his officers, pen in hand. The commander of the British Forces is visibly cowed before General Tomoyuki Yamashita, commanderin-chief of the Japanese 25th Army, whose body language conveys the absolute: It is time for the British to formally surrender Singapore to the Japanese.
The sombre event, which would mark the start of the three-yearlong Japanese Occupation of the erstwhile British colony, unfolded in the former Ford Factory in Upper Bukit Timah Road. Today, the leafy artery is more synonymous with prime real estate than stinging military humiliation, but its historical gravitas is not lost.
The Art Deco factory, set atop a hill, is dwarfed by a breezy stretch of resort-style condominium complexes that wear the patina of domestic bliss. Design enthusiasts would argue, however, that their older, stockier neighbour is a rose among a tangle of suburban conformity, with its strikingly clean lines and sharply defined geometric details.
Designed by French engineerarchitect Emile Brizay, it is distinguished by features that include three towering greenglazed windows set in 10m-high stepped openings that are framed by cleft panels of smooth plasterwork. A flagpole rises from the building, which can be accessed through bevelled doorways. Within its roughcast walls once chuntered Southeast Asia’s first car assembly plant established by the Ford Motor Company, relocated from its original premises in Anson Road in 1941.
Shortly before the fall of Singapore on Feb 15, 1942, the factory was requisitioned by the redoubtable Japanese commander-in-chief as his headquarters. Here, military vehicles were cranked out under the Japanese marque of Nissan.
Following World War II, when Singapore returned to British rule, the factory was used as a repair depot for British Military Administration vehicles, before resuming its operations under Ford Malaya till 1980. Later, it served as a warehouse, before being acquired by the Hong Leong Group.
Following talks between the property developer and Singapore government agencies in the 1990s, part of the moss-swathed building was demolished to make way for a condominium, while the remaining structure was gazetted as a national monument by the National Heritage Board in 2006, and restored as a museum called Memories at Old Ford Factory by the National Archives of Singapore.
Today, visitors can trace the Lion City narrative at a permanent exhibition showcasing World War II-related records and artefacts culled from the public. Watch newsreel footage of the poignant moment Singapore was officially handed over to Japan’s hegemony in a replica of the “Surrender Room”. In a more upbeat section, glimpse the city-state’s post-war progress or download an augmented-realityenabled mobile app to access activities and close-up views of archival materials.
“My parents lived in Singapore prior to the Japanese Occupation, so learning about the country’s history was special to me. Viewing the exhibits that follow the nation’s milestones — from colonial days to independence — it occurred to me just how tenacious and fiercely determined Singaporeans are,” says Gareth Townsend, a Briton living here, who visited the museum recently.