Warning: This blog contains details of the horrors of war that some may find confronting.

The Kranji Memorial contains nearly 4,500 graves in the war cemetery and over 24,000 names on the walls of the Singapore Memorial for which there are no known graves. Each grave, each name has a story. All have died in the service of their country.

On Panel 125 of the Singapore Memorial is the name GH MacDougal, a lance-sergeant in the 2/20th Battalion AIF. A man who was a hero to the end. This is the story of one of the greatest (if not the greatest) atrocity that occurred during the Fall of Singapore.

Only 48 hours before the invasion of Singapore Island by the Japanese, a composite battalion was formed to help strengthen the Australian numbers defending the North West corner of the island. Known as the Special Reserve Battalion (SRB), it comprised men from the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC), Ordinance units and a company from the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion. The AASC (cooks, mechanics, drivers, clerks etc.) were relatively untrained. Such was the desperation of the time.

The blog “Operation Rimau” told the story of the ill-fated commando raid on Singapore Harbour. Not only did the raid have little effect, the entire group would lose their lives either in their escape or by the controversial executions that occurred only a month before the Japanese surrender.

In their escape, some would get a far south as Surabaya, Indonesia and Dili, Timor. So close to Australia before they died!! This is the Roll of Honour.

Lieutenant John Thompson Meiklejohn was a member of the Australian 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion which was part of the Australian 8th Division’s 22nd Brigade. His story of heroism while leading his men, is the story of the initial invasion of Singapore on the night of the 8th February 1942.

On the night of the 26th September 1943, six men in three small collapsible canoes paddled into Singapore Harbour. Limpet mines were attached to several Japanese cargo ships and their timers set. As quickly as they arrived, they left. Shortly after, massive explosions rocked the area and about 39,000 tonnes of shipping were sent to the bottom of the harbour.

The Kranji Memorial (War Cemetery) is the final resting place for about 4,000 allied service men and women and also listed on the walls of the Singapore Memorial, are some 23,000 names of those who have no known grave. Each a hero, giving their life while in the service of their country. But some if not many, have a special and rather unique story. In this case, a story that shows the best and the worst in humanity having a dramatic outcome when four allied POW’s stood before a firing squad at Selarang Beach on the 2nd September 1942.

All cemeteries around the world, both civilian and military, contain a wealth of stories about the people who have been buried or honored there. The Kranji Memorial, the war cemetery at Singapore, is no different. The allied soldiers buried there and names of those who have no known grave and are recorded on the walls of the Singapore Memorial, all have their story. Some may have died in battle, some may have died because of the harsh treatment of the Japanese while in captivity and others may have died in more sensational circumstances.

At the Kranji Memorial (war cemetery), a small monument is discretely located at the eastern end of the Singapore Memorial. The Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial lists the names of 107 allied soldiers buried in a grave at the Singapore General Hospital.

Kranji Memorial (War Cemetery) in Singapore, has the graves of nearly 4,500 servicemen. Also at the cemetery is a winged structure known as the Singapore Memorial. On its walls are the names of over 24,000 servicemen who have no known grave.