Kranji War Cemetery

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Kranji War Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Kranji War Memorial with the War Cemetery in the foreground during the Remembrance Day Ceremony proceedings on 13 November 2005
Used for those deceased 1942-1945
Established 1946
Location 1°25′05″N, 103°45′29″E near Kranji, Singapore
Designed by Colin St Clair Oakes
Total burials 4461
Unknown
burials		 850
Burials by nation
Specific figures are not available
Burials by war
World War I: 64
World War II: 4394
Statistics source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Kranji War Cemetery (Chinese: ; Malay : Tanah Perkuburan Perang Kranji) is located in Kranji, Singapore, and is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942-1945 and in other parts of Southeast Asia during World War II.[1]

There are 4,461 World War II casualties buried or commemorated at this cemetery, of which more than 850 of these are unidentified. There are 64 World War I headstones, of which three commemorate casualties known to have been buried elsewhere but whose graves could not be found on concentration.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

The Kranji area was previously a military camp. At the time of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the area was in use as an ammunition magazine. After the fall of Singapore, the Japanese established a prisoner-of-war camp at Kranji and a hospital nearby at Woodlands. After the war, the small cemetery at Kranji was developed into a permanent war cemetery.[2]

The site was expanded by the concentration of graves from surrounding areas and from Saigon in then-French Indochina (now Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam).[3]

[edit] Special memorials

Special memorials exist to commemorate specific deaths or graves that could not be found. These memorials are mainly clustered around the main Singapore Memorial.[4]

[edit] Singapore Memorial

See main article: Kranji War Memorial

The Singapore Memorial, known locally as the Kranji War Memorial,[5] stands over the war cemetery with the names of 24,346 Allied soldiers inscribed on its walls.[6]

[edit] Singapore (Unmaintainable Graves) Memorial

This memorial commemorates over 250 troops killed in action in British Malaya whose graves, whilst known, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission were unable to maintain and whose bodies could not be moved due to religious conviction.[2]

[edit] Singapore Cremation Memorial

This memorial is to almost 800 casualties, mostly from Undivided India, who were cremated as part of their religious beliefs.[2]

[edit] Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial

At the end of the occupation of the island, wounded civilians and servicemen were brought to the hospital in large numbers. Many of these died and a mass grave was established for more than 400 of the bodies. After the war, rather than disturb the grave in a largely futile attempt to identify any single casualties, a cross was built over the grave and the site was consecrated by the Bishop of Singapore.[2]

[edit] Chinese Memorial

This memorial, located further from the Singapore Memorial, is a collective grave for 69 Chinese servicemen serving with the Commonwealth forces who were killed at the start of the occupation.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pagenation.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Commonwealth War Graves Commission: KRANJI WAR CEMETERY. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  3. ^ Digger History. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  4. ^ Kranji Cemetery Plan. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  5. ^ Uniquely Singapore. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
  6. ^ Kranji Memorials. National Library Board, Singapore. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


[edit] Bus Services

Alight from Kranji MRT Station and take these busses:


Service Between And Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
160 Jurong East Bus Interchange Kota Raya II Bus Terminal (JB)
170 Queen Street Bus Terminal Larkin Bus Terminal (JB) Red Plate
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
178 Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Boon Lay Bus Interchange
960 Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Marina Centre Bus Terminal
961 Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal
961C Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal