An SHC docent gives a tour of the bunker. Photo: SHC
THE Battlebox, a preserved military command facility and museum in Singapore, was relaunched yesterday nearly three years since coming under the management of the Singapore History Consultants (SHC).
The facility was in 1942 used by Allied forces to plot their battles after Singapore was attacked by the Japanese imperial army, a brief but turbulent period famously termed the Fall of Singapore. It was also here where the decision was made to surrender Singapore to the Japanese.
Today, nearly a decade after the site became a museum in 1997, SHC is hoping to raise it back into prominence.
The revamped museum will bring a fresh focus on “military strategies and tactics and the causes for military defeat”, shared Jeya Ayadurai, director of SHC.
In addition, the site received massive infrastructural improvements with support from the National Parks Board.
New exhibits include commissioned videos and artwork. Artefacts, such as those recently uncovered by archaeologist Jon Cooper from the final 1942 battle site of Adam Park, have also been added.
Meanwhile, SHC has retained mannequin impressions of the bunker’s military inhabitants inherited from the museum’s prior operator.
“The Battlebox is now poised to become an important heritage and educational site of relevance to a varied audience from local students to tourists to military professionals,” said Winston Choo, retired lieutenant general of the Singapore Armed Forces and Guest of Honour at the relaunch event.
Since the soft launch of the Battlebox tour in February, number of visitors has totalled about 7,000.
Darshini Tamilselvan, assistant manager at SHC, said: “We have seen greater interest from tourists as well as group bookings from government bodies and schools.”
Moving forward, the museum has plans to incorporate handheld multimedia devices, interactive activities and content on the post-war period, according to an SHC statement.
The museum runs three one-hour tours on Mondays between 13.30 to 17.00. For all other days of the week, five slots are available from 09.45 to 17.00. Prices start from S$18 (US$13.30) for adults and S$9 for children.
