“I was only 12-years old when the Japanese invaded Singapore, which meant that I had to frequently head to air-raid shelters whenever the siren came on. Back then I stayed along Rowell Road with my uncle who was living in one of the Government Offices. Whenever the Japanese came, we would have to stand at attention while they inspected us. We had to make sure we never looked directly at them. Once there was a lady who the Japanese picked at random, they stuffed a pipe in her mouth and forced water into her belly before jumping on it to force the water out. Everyone helped one another, it didn’t matter if you were Chinese, Indian or Eurasian like myself, everyone had to survive. We ate yam and even tapioca skin, which we finely shredded to make mee siam! Those that were desperate even roasted rats on the street, and I remember some of them passing away due to it. Each time the siren sounds on 15 Feb, part of me still remembers the air-raids that happened and those that weren’t so fortunate to survive.” - Helen Joseph, 85, WWII survivor at the exhibition Battle for Singapore - Case files from the Singapore War Crimes Tribunal #totaldefence #sghistory #peopleofsingapore #peopleofsg #sgmemory #instadaily #igdaily #remeberingsingapore #nms #nationalmuseumofsingspore #nationalmuseumsg #heritage #sgheritage #sgcultute #igsg #exploresingapore #exploresg by alistsg

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