Rosi & Jen's 11 Thousand Beach Odyssey Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do, then the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream...."

Changi Chapel

SINGAPORE | Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | Views [2382] | Comments [1]

Since I was a little tacker I have always wanted to visit Changi prison the site of the Prisoner of War Camp that affected the lives of so many Australian and allied troops and also civilians living in Singapore during the war. My father although he was never interred there knew men who were, and so it has always held a certain significance for me, as I’m sure it does for most Australians. Today we went to the site. The original prison no longer exists. It was demolished to extend the new Changi prison. But there is a museum that tells the story of what occurred during the Japanese occupation of Singapore and is dedicated to all who suffered during the dark days of World War 2. There is also a chapel rebuilt from existing photos of the original. It was a very moving experience and highlighted the true horrors of what these people went through and also celebrated the triumph of the human spirit. In the Chapel I lit candles and wrote dedications for my father Kevin and his brother Danny who were both soldiers in WWII. NO MORE WAR!

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Comments

1

I have the only known photograph of the original chapel taken by my father Staff Sergeant Harry Stogden the maker of the Changi Cross. I know the new chapel is just a replica but it is nothing like the original. The original was a converted mosque at the Indian lines in Singapore. The photograph is well worth looking at and for me it tells a much different story.

Bernard Alfred Stogden Jul 22, 2008 5:48 AM