S'porean historian gets British honour for heritage contributions

Singaporean historian and heritage entrepreneur Jeya Ayadurai has been made an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire.

In a statement yesterday, the British High Commission in Singapore said Mr Ayadurai, 61, was honoured "for his contributions to preserving Singaporean, British and Commonwealth military history and war remembrance in Singapore".

It said Mr Ayadurai's companies - heritage consultancy Singapore History Consultants and tour operator Journeys - have made significant contributions to Singapore's heritage through their work on sites such as Labrador Battery, Changi Museum, the Battlebox at Fort Canning Hill, Chinatown Heritage Centre and Haw Par Villa.

Mr Ayadurai is a director at Singapore History Consultants, which operates the Battlebox, a former underground command centre turned museum. He set up the consultancy in 1995.

Journeys currently operates Haw Par Villa.

Mr Ayadurai has been organising commemoration ceremonies to mark important war anniversaries for over 25 years, said a press release by Singapore History Consultants issued yesterday. Since 2015, these ceremonies have brought together former World War II combatants from Singapore, other Commonwealth countries and Japan.

The firm said Mr Ayadurai plans to build museums and memorials at Kranji War Cemetery and other historical war sites, and pursue a campaign for Haw Par Villa to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

Mr Ayadurai said his team has "communicated with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and spoken to various Commonwealth governments regarding the possibility of building a museum at Kranji War Cemetery".

As for Haw Par Villa, he said his team believes the site qualifies for Unesco inscription, and intends to propose this to the Singapore Tourism Board, which owns the site.