Showing posts with label Japanese invasion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese invasion. Show all posts

Monday, February 8, 2010

Hidden treasure found in OCH!

Okay, not really. But one of the crew found this old Japanese "banana" money during our daytime exploration of Old Changi Hospital... $1000. Part of a ceiling had fallen through and this was in a puddle in the rubbish. Maybe someone hid it up there a long time ago during the war? Is there more money there? Don't know... but apparently this war money has no real value anymore - even though it says "The Japanese Government PROMISES to pay the bearer on demand... One Thousand Dollars." Hmmm... ;)


Saturday, January 30, 2010

Real life horror - Japanese invasion of Singapore, WW2, mass executions

Currently finishing up the intro montage to our film. Basically, it tackles the history of Old Changi Hospital... specifically it's use as military barracks early on during the Japanese invasion of Singapore in World War 2. So we used lots of old 16mm footage from the National Archives. Very cool images... but haunting as well. To think that the Japanese forces executed up to 10,000 civilians and POWs in Singapore is truly horrifying. No wonder Old Changi is considered to be so haunted.


We're not going to share any footage from the movie yet, since we're still in production, but here's some archival photos and a YouTube video about the Japanese invasion of Singapore in WW2. It will hopefully give some perspective on the negative forces at work in during the early phase of Old Changi Hospital's history.




Some archival photos:


Japanese troops marching through Singapore, Feb. 1942


Japanese Ha-Go tanks parading through Singapore, Feb. 1942

Japanese troops guarding prisoners from British Suffolk Regiment, Feb. 1942

Japanese officer with katana sword used for beheadings.

Japanese officers led to hanging after war crimes trial in Singapore


"A Time of Silence" -- Painting by WW2 POW Ron Delavigne
Sources: National Archives and Imperial War Museum