Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery, War Memorial and State Cemetery Visit

Kranji War Memorial

The Kranji War Memorial looks very imposing indeed and has a very sterile and clean look since it is made up of mostly bare concrete that blends well with the cemetery headstones.




The plaque gives a short tribute to the fallen whose names are inscribed on the walls of the memorial.



 
Like most of the inscriptions found in and around the cemetery and memorial, the inscriptions on the walls of the memorial are carved out in the bare concrete.




A typical part of the wall is just filled with names and are grouped according to the units they belonged to. This one shows Commonwealth units of Indian origin.




Here is a shot of the memorial with a Cross of Sacrifice at the left foreground.




And here is another shot of the memorial further back and from a more sideways angles




Finally, a close up shot of the ball and star found on top of the Kranji War Memorial. No idea how it is maintained so well up there.





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Back: The Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery

Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery, War Memorial and State Cemetery Visit

Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery

The entrance leading up to the Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery are flanked by 2 small stone shelters and along the way there are a lot of small sets of steps up. Not that wheelchair friendly I must say.




The left side shelter contains a register so that one can look up for a particular person who is interred. For the life of me I cannot fathom why brochures about the Kranji countryside are found on the lower left side of the register. Some cross promotion idea??? Seems out of place to me...




The right side shelter is the rest area with seats for people to rest in the shade away from the sun.




As you can see below the cemetery flanks the sides and back of the Kranji War Memorial. Looking at the rows of immaculately maintained headstones, one can sense history on these hallowed grounds.



 
Here is a view taken from the other end of the cemetery. You can see that there is a gentle slope all the way up to the memorial and it has a very dignified and serene when looking backwards. The left and the right side of the cemetery is another story unfortunately as there is some construction going on (this is common feature and sight in Singapore!).




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Back: Memorial Plaque

Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery, War Memorial and State Cemetery Visit

Memorial Plaque & Surrounding Areas

A couple of memorial plaques are placed just outside the steps to the cemetery and memorial. They are well maintained and are like works of art themselves as the plaque below illustrates. It is a tribute to the men of one of the failed operations during WWII.




National Heritage Board has a heritage trail which the Kranji War Memorial is a part of. For more information, visit their website.




Each historical spot has a sign board to mark it and one side explains the historical or cultural significance and the other side has a simplified map of the trail and the list of sites like below.




As you can see below, we have fought up to ELEVEN world wars! ROAR! why?! Also some of the other sites sound really boring like poultry farm, frog farm and fish farms.





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Back:The Entrance

Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery, War Memorial and State Cemetery Visit

The Entrance

The entrance to the cemetery is has the brown signboard like all places of interest. It is listed in English, Chinese, Malay and Japanese. Hey where is the Tamil folks? :)






Transportation into the Cemetery is slightly poor with buses 160, 170, 178, 960, 961 and 961C stopping at the Woodlands Road bus stop and one would have to walk a couple of hundred metres in.

Kranji MRT is somewhere in the vicinity too. Heh.




As you can see below it is a long lonely stretch of road in.




As you come up to the entrance you will see the War Memorial framed by this U-shaped gate and it is striking how perfectly aligned they are to each other.




Also for some reason part of this area is considered a State Cemetery as shown by the sign on the right hidden partially by a stubborn bush. I found out later that this is the Kranji State Cemetery which is maintained most likely by taxpayers' money unlike the Kranji Commonwealth Cemetery and Kranji War Memorial which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).





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Back: Prologue

Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery, War Memorial and State Cemetery Visit

Prologue

After perhaps what was years of procrastination, I have finally made my way with my Dad to Kranji War Memorial to visit the Kranji War Memorial. These men and women who had sacrificed more than anyone of us and it is with no small sacrifice of these people whom I strongly believe that we owe a lot to, but somehow sadly seem to overlook often, that has brought our nation where it is today.

Perhaps more would come I hope in the future to pay tribute, look around those who are no longer here and just say in their hearts a simple "thank you" and to carry on their memory. A small thing to do no? for something as intangible and invaluable they gave up. Whether it was for us, for comrades, for someone else, for King or for country, they deserve a note of thanks and gratefulness from us.

Someone summed it up nicely with an epitaph inscription in The War Cemetery in Kohima, Burma which reads "When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today".


Before we begin, for those who want a more in-depth background of the site and surrounding features, here are the recommended links below

1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission link about Kranji War Cemetery. A PDF of the layout can be found at the CWGC website in a linked "View Cemetery Plan" on the right side.
2. Wikipedia Page about Kranji War Memorial
3. Wikipedia Page about Kranji State Cemetery
4. YourSingapore a Singapore Tourism Board destination brand site about Kranji War Memorial
5. Wikipedia Page about Cross of Sacrifice

Next: The Entrance