Don’t Stand Under the Pili Nut Tree

During the period, right before the Japanese invaded the Malay States and Singapore, everyone seemed to be marking time. Europe was in turmoil; Britain was at war and only just hanging on. The diminishing British population in Singapore believed that the empire was strong and that Japan would not pick a fight. Only cursory attention was given to civil defence and the protection of the vulnerable. True, more troops were sent to protect the colony but they were supplied with little modern weaponry, making the essentially untrained force potential cannon fodder for the battle-hardened Japanese army. At the time, the first priority of the largely middle-aged British was to be seen by the native population as being still very much in charge. Preparation for war was therefore only reluctantly permitted by the colonial authorities and much of the time, any preparation was treated as a social opportunity.Few people dared question the status quo; after all, it had worked for more than a hundred years. So, a false world was inevitable; it was some sort of dream that must turn one day into a nightmare. 3