Brief History Garrison Theatre, 1946 Singapore was an important trading centre in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is said to have been attacked and devastated by the Javanese in 1252. At the time when it passed by treaty to the East India Company in 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles persuading the sultan and Tumenggong of Johor to cede it to him, it was wholly uninhabited except by a few fisherfolk living along its shores. It was at first subordinate to Benkulen, the company's principal station in Sumatra, but in 1823 it was placed under the administration of Bengal. It was incorporated in the colony of the Straits Settlements when that colony was established in 1826. In 1942, the colony famously fell to the Imperial Japanese Army who had sped through Malaya quicker than any British commanders had anticipated. It joined Malaysia in 1963, leaving it to become an independent state in 1965.

Imperial Flag 1819 Map of Singapore River 1840 Map of South East Asia 1854 Map of South East Asia 1901 Map of South East Asia Map of Straits Settlements Admiralty Chart for Singapore Port, 1914 1942 Map of Singapore 1944 Map of Singapore 1965 Map of Singapore Singapore was part of the Straights Settlements. see the Malaya section. National Archive Singapore Images Administrators 1826 - 1946 Audio Witness: Singapore A BBC audio program about the Fall of Singapore in 1942 Articles A Splendid Little Colony: British Singapore 1819 - 1963 Samuel T.W. Wee makes a compelling and comprehensive argument that modern Singapore should fully appreciate and incorporate the fact that it was a former British colony into its national story. He believes that the British contribution made a decisive impact on both the history and culture of present day Singapore and that to downplay or ignore its influence would do the City State a disservice. The Story of Singapore to 1959 and Beyond: Real Truths, Hidden Truths And Forgotten Truths. David Brent gives his insight into why Singapore and Malaysia's paths diverged in the era of decolonisation and the threat of communism. Escape from Singapore Tom Roebuck gives an account of how he managed to escape from the island of Singapore in 1942 as the Japanese forced the British and Empire forces to capitulate. Escape from Singapore Lieut. Col. P.A.B. McKerron gives an account of how he managed to escape from the island of Singapore in 1942 as the Japanese forced the British and Empire forces to capitulate. The Legacy of Empire in Singapore Adrian Peers discusses just how much the British influenced the development of Singapore, its institutions and its culture. Resources British Documents on the End of Empire: Malaysia Further Reading Tales from the South China Seas by Charles Allen The Parting Years: A British Family and the End of Empire by Sheila Bevan Footfalls Echo in the Memory: A life with the Colonial Education Service and the British Council in Asia by Verner Bickley Singapore Patrol by Alex Dixon Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress by Peter Elphick Hardly Ever a Dull Moment (History of Development Studies) by Ernest (Fred) Fisk Four Wheels and Frontiers: The First Overland Singapore To England Willy's Jeep Expedition by Roy Follows An Eastern Cadet's Anecdotage by Andrew Gilmour My role in the rehabilitation of Singapore: 1946-1953 by Andrew Gilmour Priest in Prison: Four Years of Life in Japanese-occupied Singapore, 1941-45 by John Hayter British Civilians and the Japanese War in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-45 by Joseph Kennedy Life and Death in Changi: The Diary of Tom Kitching Who Died in Japanese Hands in Singapore in 1944 by Tom Kitching Sunset of the Raj - Fall of Singapore 1942 by Cecil Lee Changi, the lost years: A Malayan diary, 1941-1945 by T.P.M. Lewis Shenton of Singapore: Governor and Prisoner of War by Brian Montgomery Nippon Slaves by Lionel de Rosario