FLAGS and STAMPS: Rise, Fall and Rise and Becoming of the Republic of Singapore:

Rise, Fall and Rise and Becoming of the Republic of Singapore
(FLAG EVENTS ARE INTERPRETIVE SYMBOLISM)

Singapore had been a part of various local empires since it was first inhabited in the second century AD.
Modern Singapore was founded as a trading post of the British East India Company by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 with permission from the Sultanate of Johor. The British obtained full sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British Straits Settlements in 1826.

The facsimile of the letter on the $2 stamp, written by Sir Stamford Raffles to Col. Attenbrooke on 10 June1819, reads ".... I have just planted the British Flag....", an archival document of the British colonisation of Singapore.

Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in World War II

On this day 15 February 1942, British forces in Singapore were forced to surrender unconditionally to the Japanese exactly seven days after the Japanese troops first stormed the island.

Lt Gen. Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, walks under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942 (Source: Wikipedia)

The Japanese insisted that Lt. General A.E.Percival, GOC in C, Malaya, himself march under a "White Flag" to the Old Ford Motor Factory in Bukit Timah to negotiate the surrender.

A lithographic print of a painting by an unknown Japanese artist showing the signing of the surrender documents in Singapore. General Percival is second from the left in the foreground opposite General Yamashita.

The table, on which the surrender of Singapore was signed (Australian War Memorial)

Jubilant Japanese troops on the Singapore waterfront on 16 February 1942, the day after the surrender of British forces in Singapore. Singapore was called "Syonanto" from 1942 to 1945. It was the name in Japanese.

The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8–15 February 1942. It resulted in the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. About 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the Malayan Campaign. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the ignominious 'fall of Singapore' to the Japanese the "worst disaster" and "largest capitulation" in British history. In just seven days, Singapore, the "Impregnable Fortress", had fallen.

(Source: Wikipedia)

With the turn of events in the World War II and the irony of fates on 15 August 1945, Japan announced its surrender.

The formal signing of the surrender instrument was held at City Hall, Singapore, then known as "Municipal Hall", on 12 September 1945. This was followed by a celebration at the Padang, which included a victory parade. Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia Command, came to Singapore to receive the formal surrender of the Japanese forces in the region from General Seishirō Itagaki on behalf of General Hisaichi Terauchi. A British military administration utilizing surrendered Japanese troops as security forces was formed to govern the island until March 1946.

The formal surrender by Japanese General Itagaki Seishiro of his sword, Kuala Lumpur,1946. Gen. Seishiro commanded the Japanese Seventh Area Army in Singapore and Malaya prior to the surrender. From a collection of official photographs collected by Major General (later Lieutenant General) Sir Frank Walter Messervy.(National Army Museum Copyright).

The Advertiser, Adelaide, South Australia, September 14 , 1945

The British Union Jack flies above a cheering crowd during the arrival of the 5th Indian Division at Singapore, which marked the end of three and a half years of Japanese occupation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SE_004648.jpg)

- See more at: http://app.singapore.sg/about-singapore/national-symbols#sthash.WTEdcbZ6.dpuf

The British granted internal self-government of Singapore in 1959.

The above two stamps, released in 1960, are the first stamps depicting new National flag of Singapore to have the words “State of Singapore” printed on them.

On 31st August 1963, Singapore declared independence from Britain. Singapore became part of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965. On 9 August 1965, it broke away from Malaysia and became a fully independent sovereign nation styled as the Republic of Singapore.

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Toh Chin Chye, who in 1959 headed a committee to conceive and create the National Flag and the State Crest, explained the need for National Symbols in an oral history interview with the National Archives of Singapore:
"They were necessary symbols… since although we were not really independent in 1959 but self-governing, it was necessary right from the beginning that we should rally enough different races together as a Singapore nation." - Dr Toh Chin Chye, 1989.
- See more at: http://app.singapore.sg/about-singapore/national-symbols#sthash.WTEdcbZ6.dpuf

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Toh Chin Chye, who in 1959 headed a committee to conceive and create the National Flag and the State Crest, explained the need for National Symbols in an oral history interview with the National Archives of Singapore:

"They were necessary symbols… since although we were not really independent in 1959 but self-governing, it was necessary right from the beginning that we should rally enough different races together as a Singapore nation." - Dr Toh Chin Chye, 1989.http://app.singapore.sg/about-singapore/national-symbols

FLAGS and STAMPS

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Rise, Fall and Rise and Becoming of the Republic of Singapore:

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