I had also mentioned some places in the vicinity being famous as World War II heritage sites like Bukit Batok Hill and Ford Motor factory.
From historical records, we learned that Bukit Batok and Bukit Timah were the places where some of the fiercest battles were fought between the defending British forces against the invading Imperial Japanese Army.
Though there is a heritage marker at the top of Bukit Batok Hill and another at Bukit Timah Hill, most people today do not know exactly where these battlefields were. I will take you to one of the sites of a battle at Bukit Batok.
One of the most tragic events of the war in Singapore happened at a place called Sleepy Valley.
Sleepy Valley was a rubber estate in then what was called West Bukit Timah. Today the area is called Bukit Batok.
During a retreat from the enemy forces, a whole battalion comprising 1500 Australian, British and Indian soldiers was trapped and almost annihilated by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Of the 1500 men, only 400 eventually managed to escape from the ambush.
A little background of the war till that time:
At 10.30 pm on 8th Feb 1942, the Japanese Army crossed the Straits of Johor and invaded Singapore through the Lim Chu Kang Sarimbun area. These areas were defended mainly by British soldiers from the Australian regiments.
By 9th Feb, the British forces were pushed backed where they formed a defensive formation called the "Jurong Line". The Jurong Line covered the entire stretch from Kranji River in the north to the Jurong River in the south. Tactically, this blockade would contain the Japanese forces within the western sector of Singapore island.
However, the Jurong Line didn't hold, and by the afternoon, the British forces began retreating again.
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| (Photo; Old Ford Factory Museum) |
The British 12th Brigade in the north retreated towards Bukit Panjang and defended its position there.
The British 44th Brigade located south at the Jurong River, retreated towards Pasir Panjang and the City.
In the centre, the British 15th Brigade and the Australian Special Reserve Battalion moved east towards Bukit Timah.
It is this last group of soldiers under the command of Brigadier Coates that re-grouped and fought the Japanese around Bukit Batok* area.
By the evening of 10th Feb, the commander realised that they were almost surrounded by the Japanese and made plans for his troops to retreat south through Sleepy Valley towards the British lines at Ulu Pandan. This was to be at first light in the morning of 11th Feb 1942.
(* I use the term Bukit Batok as a reference to the area found today. In 1942 the entire area was still called "Jurong/West Bukit Timah" . Bukit Batok region was named by HDB/MND after the 1970s.)
Unknown to the retreating British forces, the Japanese Army 18th Division, whom they had been fighting, had already bypassed them along the ridge line that borders today's Jalan Jurong Kechil. (See the black arrow movements above)
The British forces regrouped, in an area where today the Bukit Batok Nature Park and St Mary of the Angels Church lies, and was ordered to move in columns through Sleepy Valley.
AMBUSH !
This escape route was unfortunately open farmlands with little cover and the Japanese Army had them trapped when they closed the pincer movement at the end of the valley, a location where today's traffic turnoff from Toh Tuck Road to PIE lies.
The result was that 1100 men out of 1500 were killed at Sleepy Valley. By 10.30 pm, only 400 soldiers managed to escaped from the Japanese to the Australian defence line at Ulu Pandan.
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| An aerial view of the region where the British forces were caught in the open |
Today, this former battle site, Sleepy Valley, is long forgotten. Very few now have heard of it, much less know about its tragic history.
Bukit Batok East Ave 3 runs through it with Yusof Ishak Secondary School and condominiums like Park View and Burgundy Hill occupying the site where the massacre of British forces took place.
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| A graphic representation of the final movements of 15 Brigade and Special Reserve Battalion superimposed on today's street map showing the location of the Sleepy Valley battle ground. |
If you live in Bukit Batok or will pass through it, do remember this unmarked heritage site where once men fought and died for their country.
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| The Bukit Batok area today where the tragedy took place on 10th & 11th Feb 1942. (Click on photo for enlarged view) |
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| An aerial view of the intended withdrawal of British Forces from Jurong Road to Reformatory Road. (click for a detailed view) |
UPDATE: JANUARY 2022
I made a Youtube video about the Japanese Invasion of Singapore, more specifically about the Battle that occured at Bukit Batok and Sleepy Valley. Please watch the video at the link here for a better understanding of the entire battle.
https://youtu.be/07CuvhZFOGc
https://youtu.be/07CuvhZFOGc
Thank you for a well-researched blog about Princess Elizabeth Estate, the places where some of the fiercest battles were fought between the defending British forces against the invading Imperial Japanese army in 1942.
ReplyDeleteJames, you mentioned that your blog "keeping alive my memories of my old home village" of Princess Elizabeth Estate which apparently refer to nostalgic memories after World War II.
The memories of the Japanese Occupation in Singapore is the darkest era which my late mother did not want to tell me these stories and experiences.
The wartime stories of Singapore's history should teach the younger generations the importance of war and peace, the respect of a sovereign, independent nation without the use of military weapons and altruistic powers to undermine smaller nations and the peoples.
Japan learnt the lessons of world peace from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On August 6th, 1945, at 8:15 A.M., Japanese time, a B-29 heavy bomber flying at high altitude dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. More than 4 square miles of the city were instantly and completely devastated. 66,000 people were killed, and 69,000 injured.
On August 9th, three days later, at 11:02 A.M., another B-29 dropped the second bomb on the industrial section of the city of Nagasaki, totally destroying 1 1/2 square miles of the city, killing 39,000 persons, and injuring 25,000 more.
On August 10, the day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese government requested that it be permitted to surrender under the terms of the Potsdam declaration of July 26th which it had previously ignored.
Lets pray for world peace for all nations.
Thank you very much for this post of a rather forgotten part of our past.
ReplyDeleteHello James, and thank you for this interesting article on Sleepy Valley. It is of great importance to me, as my late Grandfather William Cameron, of the Special Reserve battalion ,E Coy, 2/4th Machine Gunners, died in battle here.
ReplyDeleteHe died approx. 10am on the morning 11th Feb 1942 , whilst retreating from the Battle , and to this day our family does not know where he is buried.
According to Major Saggers some 10 months after the battle, the remains of approx. 62 Australian soldiers were buried in two separate common graves.
Would it be possible to obtain some good/ higher resolution copies of the maps and images used in this article please,as my wife and i are visiting im March, and wish to visit these areas along with changi museum, Bukit Timah hill, etc.
Thank you once again
Paul Cameron
Perth, WA
In the late 1980s when the workers were clearing the jungle near church at St Mary of the Angels, they discovered a grave belonging to a Japanese officer who fell in battle during world war 2. The Japanese Embassy was alerted and they exhumed the remains.
ReplyDeleteThis story was featured in the press.....
Yes, I have wrote about that event in my blog under Dec 2011 "A grave discovery".
DeleteI was working as the Parish Administrator at St Mary of the Angels Church at that time and saw the old grave marker. Pictures are in my blog article.
Dear Mr Tann,
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly for your excellent research on the tragic situation at Sleepy Valley on 10 February 1942. Next time I am in Singapore I will go there using your maps and information to pay my respects.
Best regards,
Garth
Hello Garth,
ReplyDeleteDo drop me a line if you intend to pass through Singapore.
I might be able to take you on a tour of the site at Sleepy Valley (today called Bukit Batok) as I did for Paul Cameron , whose grandfather fought and died at Sleepy Valley.
You can read about that in my article of Jan 2013, "Searching for an unmarked grave" and view Paul cameron's visit photos at this link:
https://www.facebook.com/james.tann/media_set?set=a.10200259095073967.1073741830.1650802845&type=3
thank you so much for this article. i had grew up in bukit batok, but i didn't know about this story.
ReplyDeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a really enlightening post! My late father who was a history buff like yourself would have been thoroughly fascinated by this account. He had a fortnightly column in the Straits Times Life! section from 1998-2002 known as 'Long Life' where he shared historical accounts about growing up in Singapore from the 1930s-1980s. After he passed away in June 2002, I compiled all his published writings and got them published as a book by Landmark Books with support from Lee Foundation in 2005. He had a chapter in the book entitled 'Battle Sites of WW2' and he recounts an unrecorded battle that took place in Upper Paya Lebar Road. You can read that chapter in the attached links below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5cQY69Tq5fISThOWXlURHlBMnc/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5cQY69Tq5fIcktjQnlOMFFhVEU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5cQY69Tq5fITUhaU0xET3V1NlU/view?usp=sharing
Wondering whether you might be aware of such a battle that took place in that vicinity as witnessed by my late father.
I think there might be quite a number of such unrecorded battles prior to the fall of Singapore in February 1942.
Cheers
Keen Len
Hi Keen Len,
ReplyDeleteI believe I have seen and read your book at the National Library.
I am very sure that there are a lot more battles that have been unrecorded. Even for the battle at Sleepy Valley, I had to peruse several records before having a clear idea of what happened there. All these because the official records normally skim through the events. In this case, maybe it was because it was debacle for the British forces and so left untold the better? After all, as they say, history is written by the victors. For the story of Sleepy Valley, I had to go back to the Unit records and stories told by the soldiers themselves of what happened there.
There are also several mentions of fights at Nee Soon, Mandai and Woodleigh. The Woodleigh battle would be part of what your father described at Paya Lebar as the Japanese Imperial Guards were ordered to take the Woodleigh Pump station around the 13//14 Feb 1942. There is a detailed record of the fighting that took place at Keat Hong defended by the Indian Hyderabad unit and the Argylls and Sutherland boys but even this battle is seldom quoted.
Wow, thanks for throwing more light on this battle which my father witnessed! Great stuff! Now when I pass through Woodleigh area I will view it a little differently. Any chance of you putting up some accounts or records of the Woodleigh and even the Keat Hong battles?
ReplyDeleteHi KeeN,
DeleteI may come round to write about the battles at Ama Keng and Keat Hong as it's closer to where I live and can somehow tie it into my blog ?? Recently I was recounting the battle movement of the Imperial Japanese Guards to a friend who gave a talk at RI. The Guards moved and fought across what is now RI and the former san teng cemetery as part of the strategy to capture Woodleigh and MacRitchie. Even the boys weren't aware that Bishan was a battleground.
Excellent info in your story James. I have a distant cousin who was killed and one of the 62 identified by Major Saggers and originally buried at that spot. Thanks so much for this blog.
ReplyDeleteRoberta
Hello Roberta,
DeleteMay I know the name of your cousin who was killed there?
Is he interred at the Kranji war cemetery?
Maybe I can check it up for you.
Hello James and Roberta
DeleteI have read both your blogs with interest. My Uncle was part of "X" Battalion and also killed in the area, on the same day, 11/2/42. "X" Battalion were located about 500-1000 yards North West of Sleepy Valley. They were ambushed as they slept at 3.00am 11/2/42. 280 soldiers were killed with only 120 escaping. The Japanese 18th Division then drove further SE towards Sleepy Valley.
We would dearly like to know more about events of that early morning and particular what happened to the bodies of "X" Battalion. Any help or leads would be gratefully appreciated.
Regards
Wayne Evans
Blue Mountains, Sydney
Australia
Hi Wayne,
DeleteCould I have the name of your uncle and any other identification? Prior to being in X Battalion, which unit was he in?
Hello James
DeleteI thought my reply didn't go through hence my later the e-mail.
My Uncle's name is Reginald Max Bedggood,NX35342 though he was called Max.
He was attached to the 2/19 Battalion A.I.F., B Company. He was stationed at the NW coastline when the Japanese invaded Singapore on 8/2/42. Casualties were so high that the Battalion no longer existed and was reorganised into a composite "X" Battalion with about 150 former 2/19. On 10/2/42 the Battalion moved position to it's assigned area, then called West Bukit Timah and now called Bukit Batok. More specifically, they made their way to 9ms Jurong Road which is now opposite Bukit View Secondary School. They arrived there about midnight on 10/2/42. The Japanese 18th Division were coming down Jurong Road and attacked at 3am 11/2/42. It appears the Japanese were aware of "X" presence and waited for the appropriate time to attack. Their attack was aided by burning fuel tanks nearby, brightly illuminating the sky. About 280 soldiers were killed and only about 120 escaped. The Japanese army then went on to Sleepy Valley where your article picked up.
I would very much welcome any comments about this evening and particularly the aftermath in terms of what happened to the bodies of these men.
It would also be good to hear from Roberta, Paul and any other people who may have some connection with this area.
Thank you again for what you done so far.
Regards
Wayne Evans
Blue Mountains NSW
Australia
Hi Wayne,
DeleteAccording to the CWGC reords Corporal Bedggood, your uncle, is inscribed on the Singapore Memorial at the Kranji War Cemetery (column 121) under the 2/19 personnel.
This means that his body was never not found or clearly identified after the war.
Could you send me an email direct to hjtann@mac.com so that I can attach a few notes to you.
Cheers
James
Thanks James, I'll do that. I was in Singapore in 2000 and visited the Kranji War Cemetery and was able to see Max's plaque as you mention. What a moving, yet beautiful place.
DeleteRegards
Wayne
Hi James
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I didn't realise you had replied to my post. My Dad's cousin was Douglas Arnold White, he ended up in the Special Reserve Battalion and was killed on 11 Feb 1942. His body was one of those identied by Major Bert Saggers when the Japanese allowed him to return to the spot to bury his men ten months later.
We're currently in Singapore so went out to Eng Kong Gardens today to visit the spot where he was found at Eng Kong Gardens. Such a peaceful spot and quite moving to be there - but a shame there is no plaque or monument to mark that tragic event.
Doug was re-interred by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and buried at Kranji after the war. Doug's nephew has supplied me with much of the information I have and has visited Doug's tombstone at Kranji which is marked 'Buried near this spot'.
We have visited Kranji ourselves in a previous visit, but at the time I didn't realise Doug was buried there.
Many thanks for your posts - it was vital in helping me compile the facts around Doug's death.
Regards
Roberta Edes (from Brisbane, Q'ld)
Hi James and Roberta.
ReplyDeleteRoberta, I read your very interesting article on The Battle of Sleepy Valley in the GSQ Newsletter which led me to re read the book "To Hell-Fire, Purgatory and Back" by Ian Saggers, the son of Major Saggers.
My father was a soldier with the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion and a POW on the railway. Due to injuries he received in Burma my father became a medical orderly working with Dr Albert Coates.
Thank you Roberta and James for keeping the history and the stories alive. I am returning to Singapore next year to revisit areas of interest such as the Battle Box which was closed for renovations on my last visit.
Regards
Margaret Thompson, Brisbane, Qld
Dear james
ReplyDeleteI have seen your photo on the location of X battalion final ambush. Can you tell me exactly where it was located. Give me sufficient details where I can find it. Many thanks.
Leslie Goh
I am a Singaporean. I lived in marine parade.
X Battalion was ordered to defend the area along Jurong Road around what was then marked as the "Jurong Trig Sta I" (Jurong Trigonometry Station No. 1).
DeleteThis hill was removed and the area flattened during the development of Bukit Batok.
It was located where the Bukit Batok Industrial Park A is today.
Thank you James. My grand father was in X battalion that night but died during the retreat.
DeleteThank you for this James. My G’father was Ray Harris (2/20 & X Bns) and was killed along with Richardson near that old Trig point. Later this month, I am taking my father / his son for a final trip to Singapore (he’s 78 and not well). He’d ask me to try and narrow down where Ray and Richardson had gone missing. Many many thanks.
ReplyDeletePaul Harris, Canberra Aust
Thanks James. Important stuff. My G’father was Ray Harris of 2/20 and X Bns who went MIA with Lt Richardson following that X Bn attack. Later this month I a, taking my father / his son for a final trip Tom Singapore. He’d ask me to try and narrow down the area where his was likely killed.
ReplyDeleteMany many thanks.
Paul Harris, Canberra Aust
Thanks, James! 1st time i am learning of all these n i just realised i actually drove through Sleepy Valley this evening ! As i drove near Old Toh Tuck Rd n noticed the hilly terrain, i even wondered what the industrial estate looked like in the old days!
ReplyDeleteAppreciate if anyone has any battle accounts at Bukit Mandai especially Jelebu Hill by 27th A. Bde.
ReplyDeleteHi there. Have you read "To Hell-Fire, Purgatory and Back" by Ian Saggers, the son of Major Saggers. The book by Peter Thompson 'The Battle for Singapore' may also give some background info., but James has the best information put together about Sleepy Valley.
ReplyDeleteHi Roberta,
DeleteYes I have read Ian Sagger's book and was in fact in direct contact with him during the time I was research details of the battle. I have a personally signed copy of his book!
I have another article somewhere in the blog about his father, Major Bert Saggers and how he led his men to safety the day before the ambush at Sleepy Valley. Thanks for visiting my blog
Hi may i know where exactly is the burial site as indicated in one of your pictures above in bukit batok? Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteHi ongong,
DeleteThe location is given above under the related links.
Click on the item "Searching for a unmarked grave at Sleepy Valley"