I was 12 years old when my father died at the Siam Death Railway in 1943.

We became desperate, so my elder brother and I took my father's clothes to Sungei Road and sold them.

Encouraged by this, my mother started growing bananas and tapioca to sell at the market.

In 1945, I went to school when the schools reopened, but my elder brother, at the age of 16, was forced to go to work.

But every weekend, I was at Sungei Road selling fruit and vegetables.

This went on until I left school in 1950 and went to work as a junior clerk.

For seven years, the Sungei Road market helped support my mother and my six siblings.

I am now 85 years old, and still have fond memories of that market.

Justin Morais