The Changi Museum Website Intro (Singapore)

The Changi Museum was relocated to its new home on 15th February 2001and was officially opened by our Trade and Industry Minister BG George Yeo. This date was also chosen to coincide with the 59th anniversary when Singapore fell into the Japanese hands in 1942. The new Changi Museum replaces the Old Changi Prison Chapel and Museum (built in 1988) that had to be torn down to make way for the expansion of the Changi Prison. In honouring the spirit and commitment of those who rose from the depths of adversity, the Museum inspires future generations to come and deepen their appreciation of the heroic and inspirational stories that took place in Changi. The Changi Museum is dedicated to all those who lived and died in Singapore, in particular the Changi area, during the dark years of World War II. Through documentation of significant events of the Japanese Occupation, The Museum also fulfills as an important educational institution and resource centre. As for the Prisoners-of-war (POWs) and their families, it is a site that allows closure of the many emotional scars of the war years. The Chapel was a replica and representative of the many chapels that were found in various parts of Singapore and Malaya during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945. It stands as a monument to those who kept their faith and dignity in the face of seemingly hopeless odds. From the fall of Singapore in February 1942 till the Japanese surrender in September 1945, life was a daily struggle against humiliation, loss of freedom, hunger and disease. Yet, it was in the midst of these difficult conditions that the human spirit rose to new heights. With simple tools and determination, the Chapel was finally built out of twigs, branches and any other things that they could find during that time. The original Changi Chapel in Canberra, Australia Side View of the original Changi Chapel in Canberra, Australia Canberra, Australia At the end of WWII, the Chapel was dismantled and relocated in Canberra, Australia. During the war, a British POW, Sgt. Harold Stogden fashioned a simple cross from a spent artillery shell and the priest of the Chapel saved it and brought it back to the UK. The wife of the priest later returned the cross on permanent loan to the Chapel in Singapore in 1995. In 1988, the Changi Prison Chapel and Museum was built next to Changi Prison. The building stood until 2001, when the Prison authorities decided to enlarge the size of the prison to house all prisoners around Singapore at Changi. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) took over and acquired a piece of land, 1km away from its previous site and erected the new Museum. On 15th February 2001, the son of Sgt. Harold Stogden was invited to place the cross in the new Chapel. As with the previous Chapel, memorabilia and notes are pinned on the notice board of the chapel, which serves as a poignant reminder of that particular episode in our brief history.

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