Old Ford Factory Facts

History 

The Ford Motor Factory began its illustrious history as the first Ford vehicle assembly plant in Southeast Asia in October 1941. The Factory’s modern assembly equipment was used by the Royal Air Force to assemble fighter planes during the Malayan campaign.

It served as the venue for the surrender of Malaya by British General Officer Commanding Malaya, Lt.-Gen. Arthur Ernest Percival, to the Japanese Commander, Gen. Yamashita Tomoyuki. The British surrender marked the beginning of the Japanese Occupation, the darkest period in Singapore’s modern history.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Factory was designated as a Japanese facility. Nissan took over the plant to assemble military trucks and other vehicles for the Japanese occupying forces.

Ford Motor Factory is located at Upper Bukit Timah Road. The historical event that took place there was the signing of the surrender papers which took place on 15th Feb 1942 during World War II. The British surrendered to to the Japanese invading forces which led to a three and a half years of Japanese occupation of Singapore, once known to be the “Gibraltar of the East”, an impregnable fortress.

Currently, the old ford factory has been converted to a museum named 'Memories At Old Ford Factory'. Like its name,  the museum features memories of singapore in the past during the before, during and after the Japanese occupation. Interesting and informative exhibition and displays can be found there :) 

Tapioca days video

This video features and explained the lives of local Malays during the japanese Occupation and has basis on oral accounts of survivors of the Occupation, archived photographs and history footages. The documentary covers quite a wide range of aspects including how the Malay Muslims continued their religious practices, how they cured illnesses using traditional herbs and the development of the Malay language and culture during the period. There are also accounts on Chinese families giving their children to Malay families to ensure their safety. At that time, tapioca was largely available and densely grown on their courtyards. Therefore, the presence of black markets, rise of food prices and food shortages left families with no choice but to survive on tapioca and palm oil. 

Reflections:

1. Have you learnt a lot more about the Japanese Occupation in this trip compared to what you have learnt in class last year? Explain.   

We really learnt a lot about the Japanese occupation, such as having first hand experience at looking at the exhibits. It was also very educational as there were many audiovisual exhibits and many interactive places which were interesting, thus we feel it let us absorb the information better and have more knowledge of the different happenings in the japanese occupation. We feel that this should also be the sabbaticals for the sec two as it would help them in their history lessons and enable them to understand the Japanese occupation more clearly.

2. Do you think that the displays at the Old Ford Factory should be placed in the Singapore History Museum instead? Why?  

Since it was the place where the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese, it has a historical and geographical significance and we think it is the best location to exhibit the artefacts for the Japanese occupation. This significance would have been removed if it was for example put in the Singapore museum.