Twilight tour of Fort Siloso to give public a taste of the chaos of World War II

SINGAPORE – In the weeks leading to the surrender of Singapore by the British on Feb 15, 1942, British gunners in Fort Siloso would likely have been nervous and anxious, worried about the prospect of a sudden attack by Japanese planes.

As they traversed the tunnels and rooms of the fort that was built in 1878, these soldiers would probably have held oil lamps to light the way through the fort’s narrow staircases and corridors.

For three weekends starting from Feb 15, members of the public will be able to get a taste of what the British Royal Artillery soldiers at Fort Siloso went through in the 1940s as the chaos of World War II descended on Singapore.

Wielding battery-powered lamps, participants will walk through Fort Siloso’s tunnels as the sun sets – this is part of the Fort Siloso Twilight Tour, the signature programme of this year’s Battle For Singapore initiative, a series of programmes organised by the National Heritage Board (NHB) and its partners to mark Singapore’s fall during World War II.

The 90-minute tour, which runs from 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays between Feb 15 and March 2, will cost $25 per participant.

The tour is led by historian John Kwok and Mr Saifullah Kamaludin, a heritage enthusiast who is a deputy manager overseeing recreational nodes for the Sentosa Development Corporation.

Dr Kwok said participants, who will get exclusive access to the fort after its usual 6pm closing time, will “experience the feel of being deployed here and operating the fort in the hours of twilight”.

He said at a media preview of the tour on Feb 10: “The message is that not all things happen in the day. At night, you’re supposed to rest and recover, but gunners at the fort were anxious, not knowing what was happening on the mainland.

“We want participants to come and experience what may have taken place here at that time.”

Dr John said that before reconstructing the experience, the team running the tour consulted historical sources such as newspapers and journals to piece together what might have happened in the lead-up to Feb 15, 1942.

One example is an article published in The Straits Times in 1939, which noted that Singapore’s first compulsory blackout, held as a rehearsal from the night of March 16 that year, was “completely effective”.

Under the blackout, organised by a British department called the Air Raid and Bombardment Precautions, lights had to be switched off by 11pm, while a traffic ban was in force from 3am to 4.30am, with the only moving vehicles on the streets, “showing very dim lights”, belonging to the police.

The conditions that participants of the Fort Siloso Twilight Tour will experience are closer to that of a brownout, where minimal lighting is used.

A 1941 ST article said brownouts and blackouts were “for hindering hostile aircraft”.

Noting that aircraft technology then made it relatively easy for an aircraft to locate and bomb its target, the article said restricted lighting “was not specifically to protect the general public, but to make it difficult for the enemy to find his way”.

As part of the tour, participants will also get to learn about the fort’s role in World War II.

For instance, despite being built to defend Singapore from a seaward attack, the fort’s guns were turned towards the mainland during World War II to fire at advancing Japanese troops in Singapore’s west.

In total, Battle For Singapore 2025 will feature more than 20 free and paid programmes.

Other tours being run for the first time include a bus tour exploring the contributions of naval volunteers and defence sites, led by heritage author and blogger Jerome Lim, as well as a bus tour that grants access to Tengah Air Base, which came under Japanese control during World War II.

Children aged seven and above, and their parents can participate in an experiential programme led by military uniform and equipment collector Alvin Lee, in which they will learn about what soldiers ate during the 1940s and how they groomed themselves.

NHB director of international and museum relations Goh Chour Thong said: “The stories of those who were impacted by the events of WWII in Singapore remain fascinating and compelling even after an increasing passage of years and significant developments in our landscape and way of life.”

“We hope this year’s participants will continue to be stirred and moved by being able to experience this pivotal period in Singapore’s history,” he added.

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