The final days of an army

Built in 1936 and completed in 1939, the Battlebox served as the headquarters for the defending Allied forces against the invading Japanese army in the final days of the Malayan Campaign (8 Dec 1941 — 15 Feb 1942).

It was here that Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and 11 other commanders made the decision to surrender Singapore to the Japanese, resulting in possibly the greatest defeat of a British army ever in battle and the beginning of 3 ½ years of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.

Restoration of the Battlebox

Today, the rooms in the Battlebox are recreated based on historical records to what it could have been like during those final fateful days leading to the fall of Singapore.

Accompanying texts and photographs outline the function of the spaces within the bunkers, the experiences of those who worked there, key aspects of the Malayan campaign and the Japanese Occupation.

Managed by Global Cultural Alliance

Global Cultural Alliance (GCA) is a not-for-profit organisation which focuses on building communities and bridging borders.

At the Battlebox, GCA is committed to engaging visitors through new and unconventional ways by incorporating digital technology and enhanced experiences into the bunker. GCA has vast experience in conceptualising, producing and project managing both in-person productions and virtual projects. Through arts and cultural programmes, GCA is committed to developing an inclusive Singapore society and positioning Singapore as a cultural hub for the exchange of ideas and shared experiences. Find out more at globalculturalalliance.sg.

Our Partners

The Advisory Team

To ensure accuracy of the narrative in Battlebox, our advisory team is led by independent historian Tan Teng Teng, who after years of research, planned and presented the recreated historic site to the public in 1997. She devoted a decade of her youth to the hill, and has returned in 2023 to resume advocating Battlebox as a place of learning for all. Our advisory team also includes:

Prof. Kwa Chong Guan, the last Director of the old National Museum, who initiated the opening and restoration of the Battlebox in 1988. He has held various advisory roles in the museum community, and is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor (Hon) at NUS and a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He is the co-author of Seven Hundred Years; A History of Singapore (2019) set for a revised publication in 2025.

Peter Stubbs, a post-war military veteran and independent historian who served in Singapore in the 1960s and researches historic military fortifications. He runs a web portal on military history, covering sites like Fort Canning, Fort Siloso, the Changi Murals, and the Kranji Cemeteries.

Prof. Kevin Tan, founding president of the International Council of Monuments and Sites Singapore and former President of the Singapore Heritage Society, is a leading legal historian with numerous publications on Singapore’s history, politics, and law.