:: Home :: Contact Us :: About Us :: To Advertise :: Forums ::

<< Singapore                           Before Raffles

Despite being so far from the main action Singapore did feel the effects of the slaughter in Europe that history has deemed fit to glorify as World War 1. Many of the planters and commercial wallahs signed up in some form or other while families separated with many wives and children heading for the perceived safely of Australia and South Africa. One ripple effect of the damage the German battleship Emden, (see Penang for more about this story) was that the captured enemy sailors were sent to Singapore to see the war out. They were in good company as they were many interned German civilians, previously upstanding members of the community but now just locked away for the duration. Here they played a supporting role in an action that showed how weak British power really was.

The defence of Singapore was in the hands of a few Indian regiments some of whom were Muslim. Rumours were rife they were to be sent to France or Hong Kong or they were to be sent to Turkey where they would be expected to fight their co religionists, something that was abhorrent to their faith. It so happened some of these soldiers had been deputed to guard the newly arrived German POWs from the Emden some of who could speak Hindustani. At the same time an Indian shop keeper with less than pro British feelings was passing messages between the upset troops and in the Turkish embassy and inciting an uprising. In the blame game that followed the Mutiny’s aftermath the British sought to blame everyone but themselves; one theory was that the German sailors led the Indians to believe that if they helped them to escape they would be assisted outside by the German navy. There is of course a slightly paternalistic view to this for it implies that the Indians were incapable of mutinying without outside help, that the poor troops were led astray by the Machiavellian Germans. And of course it overlooks the religious aspect. And it neatly overlooks the fact that units involved were short of British officers and that those there didn’t get on too well together. 

Whatever the truth word on the street was that something was afoot among the troops, the only surprise was that when it did erupt there were people who were surprised. Chinese New Year in 1915 was 15^th February and gun fire was heard in the vicinity of Tanglin Barracks where the Germans were being kept. Many shrugged off the bangs as the traditional fireworks celebrating that most Chinese of festivities but word spread that something was happening involving the 5^th Light Infantry. Events were unfolding quickly but access to hard information was difficult due to poor communications. However it was serious enough for stumps to be drawn on the Padang at a cricket match and serious enough for the CO of the MSVR (Malay States Volunteer Rifles), a Captain Smith, to be woken up after his lunch but he was unimpressed, barked at people to go to hell and went back to sleep. 

It seems that Marjorie Binnie, an 18 year old expat, had better sources for her kitchen assistant advised her and her family to keep away from the town because the sepoys were firing at any Europeans they came across. She heeded the warning and dined at home with her and subsequently shat bricks when they heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs at their house. Fortunately for them it as a friend advising the women and children to get down to the harbour where a ship was waiting for them. The unspoken memory no doubt among all the Europeans that day was the Indian Mutiny of 1857 where the sepoys in Northern India had turned on their white masters; tales of Cawnpore and Lucknow were well known.  

Sixteen German POWs escaped from Tanglin in the chaos, 6 were caught later, the rest made it across to Sumatra. A few soldiers were killed in the early hours as was a planter enjoying a stengah on the verandah of his house. A just married couple were killed n their car while in another instance a sleepwalking MSVR volunteer was shot dead. Marjorie made it to the harbour where she stayed on board a ship for 3 days with hundreds of others in sweltering conditions. By Saturday evening more troops had landed and a cordon had been placed around the city centre. On Alexandra Road a band of rebels had been beaten back and slowly the Europeans got their act together. By the second day some of the mutineers started handing themselves in. evidently if there had been a plan it hadn’t worked and any promised support from he Germans had been absent. Alone and leaderless, a ringleader had been arrested on the first day, the fight went out of them and they tried to flee north to Johor, where the Sultan there had them returned, or just handed themselves in. One group of 40 were detained by a volunteer who barked out a few simple commands and their discipline returned indicating that they had indeed been poorly officered leaving them susceptible to the promises of others.

 The British knocked out summary justice and started executing people. The Indian shop keeper was hung but the rest were shot, many outside the walls of Outram Road gaol to a background of Muslim death chants from the inmates. In the blood lust dressed up as justice that followed the mutiny there were however more temperate voices. While the Europeans had been quivering on their ships in the port their domestic staff had been running errands, doing the laundry, keeping the garden tidy. Some of the German internees stayed in the prison after the breakout, patiently waiting the return of the British officered warders. One final point about this sorry tale was that the Japanese, then allied to the British helped in the mopping up operations when the mutiny had run its course. The next Japanese military involvement would not be so benevolent.