Syonan Reflections (Part 2): How to build an ‘Army’

by Alvin Lee

I have been crazy about plastic models of German Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV) since primary three. But I loved the small plastic German soldiers even more, in particular their uniform and equipment variations. It was every boy’s dream to own a German WW2 helmet (the predecessor to the modern PASGT shaped helmet). In… »

Syonan Reflections (Part 1): Who We Are

by Alvin Lee
“Excuse me. Where did you get this uniform from?” This is perhaps the most asked question we get. Nope. We are not a vendor at Beach Road’s buzzing army market. We are a sub-culture of collectors of original and reproduction World War Two militaria
If the word “militaria” is new to your ears, then… »

Politics of Defence Acquisitions: Singapore and the Hawker Hunters (Part 2)

by Koh Zhongwei, Alvin
Continuing Politics of Defence Acquisitions: Singapore and the Hawker Hunters Part 1

The implication of going along with the Singaporeans was that to do so would well place the Kuala Lumpur conference in jeopardy. A row between the local partners at this stage could very well have led to an Australian and New… »

Politics of Defence Acquisitions: Singapore and the Hawker Hunters (Part 1)

by Koh Zhongwei, Alvin

Singapore acquisition of Hawker Hunters from the United Kingdom in 1970 seemed a straight-forward economic transaction in theory, but in reality proved anything but simple.[i] Despite British obligation to help Singapore build up its armed forces in light of their accelerated withdrawal[ii], the British government was highly reluctant to sell such sophisticated… »

Not Just a Foreigner’s War: A Review of “The Battle of Pasir Panjang Revisited”

by Edgar Liao

“The worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history”
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s un-mincing pronouncement prefaces not a few accounts of the fall of Malaya and Singapore to a relentless Japanese invasion from December 1941 to January 1942. While no expert on the Malayan Campaign at all, it seems to me that… »