Victory in Asia Tour
Margie Hall, our military and nature guide, led a fascinating tour to celebrate the official surrender of
the Japanese that took place in Singapore on September 12, 1945.
The tour began at the site of the surrender of the British to the Japanese at the Old Ford Factory. We
watched a very informative documentary about the Japanese occupation of Singapore and its effect on
the local population. Margie very cleverly interwove stories that made this time come alive .The Ford
Factory’s visual displays reinforced the information and all tour members were actively engaged with
Margie and her story.
Our trip to Kranji was very moving, as we learnt the story of Force Z an Australian sabotage team that
were captured and later executed at Changi. The layout of the graves and the design of the memorial at
Kranji gave us a better insight into the work of the war graves association.
To complete our Kranji tour we laid a poppy wreath made by the ANZA community to commemorate
the Japanese surrender.
At Changi Chapel and Museum we shared a delightful lunch at the Bark Café and then wandered
through the thoughtfully designed galleries covering the POW experiences at Changi and The
Thai/Burma Railway. The engaging personal artifacts and artwork gave us a richer understanding of the
war and occupation.
This was a fascinating tour for our history buffs brought alive by our guide Margie.