Wanted: Your NDP memories for this year's National Day special

Were you part of this group of schoolgirls from the 1968 National Day Parade's youth contingent, or have you participated in any of the other parades? We want to hear your story for this year's National Day supplement. Send an e-mail to stndpstories@
Were you part of this group of schoolgirls from the 1968 National Day Parade's youth contingent, or have you participated in any of the other parades? We want to hear your story for this year's National Day supplement. Send an e-mail to stndpstories@sph.com.sg and tell us how the Parade was special for you. ST FILE PHOTO

A group of schoolgirls from the youth contingents stood in the rain at the Padang, their white canvas shoes soaked in large puddles of water, hands gripped around poles mounted with Singapore flags.

It was August 9, 1968, Singapore's third National Day Parade (NDP), one that older Singaporeans would remember as the NDP which took place amid a heavy downpour.

This year, for the annual National Day special that is published with The Straits Times on Aug 9, the paper is inviting parade participants over the last five decades to share interesting memories of their involvement to celebrate 50 years of NDP.

Singapore celebrated its first National Day as an independent nation in 1966, a year after its separation from Malaysia.

The theme for the special report is "50 Years of National Day Parades", which will feature a visual look back on past parades as well as one NDP participant from each decade, in both print and online.

The Straits Times' picture editor Stephanie Yeow will helm the project with help from chief photographer Joyce Fang and executive photojournalist Neo Xiaobin.

"The National Day Parade is an event that Singaporeans look forward to every year. We are involved in it one way or another, whether as participants or watching it live on TV. We would like to invite participants from parades over the last 50 years - in big or small ways - to write in to share your stories with us," said Ms Yeow. "We want to compile them in this upcoming National Day supplement, which will be a visual commemorative for readers to keep."

Besides those from marching contingents or mass displays, The Straits Times is also looking for people who participated in other ways and with an interesting story to share. They could include ushers, army boys who helped to set up the stands and pilots involved in the parade flypast.

To submit your story, e-mail stndpstories@sph.com.sg and tell us how you were involved in the parade and why it was special for you in 500 words or less.

You must include a photo of yourself in the parade that we can publish alongside a current photo of you. Include your full name, contact number and the last four digits and alphabet of your NRIC.

The final five selected to be featured in the special report will each receive a coffee table book sponsored by SingPost entitled Our Collective Memory, which was produced in celebration of SG50, and a pair of tickets to this year's National Day parade held on August 9.

The coffee table book chronicles Singapore's history and nation-building over the last 50 years in stamp images and also comes with an SG50 miniature sheet.

Ten more entries with good quotes selected for the feature will each receive a SingPost Past Street Scenes presentation pack, which consists of two mint stamps, and a pair of tickets to the National Day Preview 1 held on July 23.

The closing date for submissions is Sunday, July 3.


Correction note: An earlier version of this story stated that this year's National Day Parade will be Singapore's 50th. That is incorrect. We are sorry for the error.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 13, 2016, with the headline Wanted: Your NDP memories for this year's National Day special. Subscribe