{"id":7275,"date":"2025-09-15T01:37:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T01:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/burnt-japanese-wartime-literature-helmets-found-at-alexandra-hospital\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T01:37:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T01:37:31","slug":"burnt-japanese-wartime-literature-helmets-found-at-alexandra-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/burnt-japanese-wartime-literature-helmets-found-at-alexandra-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnt Japanese wartime literature, helmets found at Alexandra Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wary that surrender was imminent in 1945, Japanese soldiers at Alexandra Hospital likely dug pits, filled them with literature and set the books on fire to cover their tracks.<\/p>\n

One such pit was uncovered during an archaeological excavation in 2021, where charred Japanese wartime literature was found alongside items such as fragments of Dainippon beer bottles and what were likely Seirogan anti-diarrhoeal pills.<\/p>\n

The hospital, which is currently being redeveloped, plans to exhibit these finds in a new heritage gallery, as well as incorporate salvaged building parts such as windows and door frames in its new facilities, which will open from 2028.<\/p>\n

It will occupy a site about 13ha in size when its new buildings are completed.<\/p>\n

The National Heritage Board (NHB) commissioned the 2021 archaeological study before redevelopment works began in June 2022.<\/p>\n

Artefacts at least several decades old were also discovered by contractors on three occasions in 2023, with British and Japanese helmets and two Japanese water bottles among the items found.<\/p>\n

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The construction of Alexandra Hospital began in 1938, when the institution was known as the British Military Hospital.<\/p>\n

Historically, it included a football field where military parades were held.<\/p>\n

But a 1910 map shows that the site’s healthcare use predated the war, as part of Alexandra Barracks.<\/p>\n

The outline of a building – labelled on this map as “offices, dispensary, and malaria wards” – was detected by a ground-penetrating radar scan in December 2020 that helped archaeologist Aaron Kao identify sites to be excavated.<\/p>\n

Through the items uncovered, said Mr Kao, “we are able to see things that go unrecorded in history”.<\/p>\n

“We have stories of the hospital’s architecture, we have stories from oral histories, now we have stories from objects – stories from the ground.”<\/p>\n

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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Underground finds<\/h2>\n
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The burnt literature was found underneath a concrete hard court.<\/p>\n

Recounting the excavation of the pit, Mr Kao said: “The whole pit was lined with this black gooey thing, and it took us a while to figure out it was actually carbonised paper, compressed by heat and pressure for so many years that it became unrecognisable.”<\/p>\n

“When the wind blew, the paper was basically destroyed – it’s that fragile – but that’s when we saw some (kanji) characters,” he said.<\/p>\n

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\"A
A close-up of a printout picture of the carbonized Japanese literature found during a 2021 excavation. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mr Tan DingXiang, a former employee of the hospital who supported its heritage-related efforts, believes a fragment of what was found came from a military doctrine book written by Fukuzawa Yukichi before World War I.<\/p>\n

Findings from the pit, Mr Kao said, were consistent with academic sources that note how Japanese military supplies – including paper documents – mysteriously disappeared around the time of the Japanese surrender.<\/p>\n

Ironically, being burned kept some of the paper preserved. Buried in its original form, he said, it would likely have disintegrated.<\/p>\n

Found in a nearby pit were glass ampoules that Mr Kao said were carried by Japanese army medics. They could have contained medications such as topical antiseptic lotions, painkillers or cardiotonics.<\/p>\n

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A close-up of the Japanese army glass ampoules necks (left) and bodies (right). ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

“The ampoules were obviously used… because the necks were all broken off, but the bodies were not broken,” he said.<\/p>\n

Over at the hospital’s football field, radar scans also picked up what is believed to be a rubble drainage system, spread out in a herringbone pattern, that was likely meant to prevent mosquito breeding.<\/p>\n

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\"FILE<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

NHB noted that this is the first time such an engineering feature from the colonial period has been documented in Singapore.<\/p>\n

Mr Kao said the field slopes gently downwards from its centre to its sides, which was likely part of the engineering that allowed the system to work.<\/p>\n

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\"FILE<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

On Jan 19, 2023, 53 British helmets in stacks, as well as a Japanese helmet and two Japanese water bottles, were also discovered just south of Block 22, the former quarters for married servicemen.<\/p>\n

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A photo, taken in a lab after the British helmets were recovered, showing how they were stacked on top of each other when found. PHOTO: NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mr Kao believes the helmets could have belonged to casualties taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n

He noted an account of the February 1942 Battle of Singapore that states that a pile of weapons belonging to these casualties was left near the hospital’s entrance.<\/p>\n

The same account also states that there was a lone Japanese patient who was separated from the other casualties for security reasons – who Mr Kao believes could be the owner of the sole helmet and water bottles found.<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up
Close-up of a Japanese army type 94 water bottle that was found, marked with its owner’s initials. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

On April 6, 2023, workers found British ceramics that could have been used in a hospital canteen near Block 21, including a broken mug that dates back to 1949 and bears the mark of King George VI.<\/p>\n

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A broken Swinnertons mug that was found near Block 21 dates back to 1949 and bears the mark of King George VI. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

And on July 11, items such as blue-and-white porcelain shards and parts of an earthenware cooking pot – possibly once used by local hospital staff – were recovered from a roadside trench.<\/p>\n

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A whetstone (left) and fragments of an earthenware cooking pot (right) were among items found near Block 19 on July 11. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

No human remains were recovered in 2021, which means a significant number of the estimated 200 to 300 who were killed by the Japanese over two days from Feb 14, 1942, remain unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

The remains of about 70 to 100 people who were killed in the hospital and on the battlefield were exhumed from its compound in 1946 and reinterred in Kranji, said Mr Kao.<\/p>\n

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\"Project
Project archaeologist Aaron Kao examining a broken mug that was retrieved from the grounds of Alexandra Hospital. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

He said that on the whole, the 2021 excavation helps archaeologists to prepare for future studies of the site, if any, and added that there is potential for more artefacts to be found on the hospital’s grounds.<\/p>\n

The rubbish heap where the burnt paper was found, for instance, measures roughly 4m by 6m based on radar scans, but only a small portion of this area was excavated.<\/p>\n

NHB said the artefacts found are being cleaned and catalogued, adding that it plans to make the research and findings publicly accessible.<\/p>\n

Built heritage<\/h2>\n

Three Alexandra Hospital buildings were given conservation status in 2014 – blocks 1, 2 and 6 – meaning that they will not be torn down.<\/p>\n

A heritage assessment was carried out from end-2020 to mid-2022 by architectural conservation specialist consultancy Studio Lapis, which ranked the hospital’s buildings according to their heritage significance.<\/p>\n

The firm’s founding partner Ho Weng Hin said this entailed considering the relationship between buildings and the various types of buildings needed in a functional hospital.<\/p>\n

Six of the buildings found to be most significant are among those that will also not be torn down.<\/p>\n

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\"Alexandra
Alexandra Hospital’s Block 1 is among its three conserved buildings. PHOTO: ST FILE <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Alexandra Hospital chief executive Jason Phua said blocks 18 – formerly home to the hospital’s commanding officer – and 19 – which housed nurses – were found to be among the most significant, and will be incorporated into the hospital’s new community space, Village Square.<\/p>\n

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A hard court in front of the hospital’s Block 19, where an archaeological excavation took place in 2021. The block will be part of the hospital’s future community space called Village Square. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The others are two L-shaped blocks – 4 and 7 – as well as Block 24, a former pathology lab, and Block 29, previously a canteen and corporals’ mess.<\/p>\n

Noting that Alexandra Hospital is the oldest hospital compound in Singapore that remains in use today, Dr Phua said the hospital’s leadership was conscious of retaining as much of its built heritage as possible as it planned for its expanded healthcare facility.<\/p>\n

Since redevelopment works began in mid-2022, about 20 of the hospital’s 50 or so buildings and structures have been demolished. Dr Phua said there are currently no plans to tear down more.<\/p>\n

For structures that were demolished or refurbished, some parts were salvaged and will be incorporated into the new hospital buildings.<\/p>\n

One example is concrete slabs from the hospital’s old water tower – a structure that incoming chief executive Margaret Lee said was well loved by many hospital staff because of its uniqueness.<\/p>\n

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The hospital’s water tower was built in the mid-1960s and has since been demolished as part of redevelopment works. PHOTO: ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

She said the hospital plans to make its heritage more accessible to the public in three ways – a heritage gallery that will incorporate the archaeological artefacts, a self-guided heritage trail, as well as guided heritage tours, which the hospital has hosted on an ad hoc basis over the years.<\/p>\n

“We are not the only owners of this space, we are just stewards, and so we are looking at ways of bringing the community in – perhaps as volunteer guides, we don’t just need healthcare volunteers – and that will bring a lot more meaning to our existence here,” said Ms Lee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Burnt Japanese wartime literature, helmets found at Alexandra Hospital<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wary that surrender was imminent in 1945, Japanese soldiers at Alexandra Hospital likely dug pits, filled them with literature and set the books on fire to cover their tracks. One such pit was uncovered during an archaeological excavation in 2021, where charred Japanese wartime literature was found alongside items such as fragments of Dainippon beer…<\/p>\n

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