Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Anthony Woo’s world opened up when he completed the dockyard apprenticeship scheme in 1961. He joined Shell Tankers and sailed to many ports in Asia and Australia. He reflects on the contributions of the engineering apprentices from the Dockyard Technical College in the 1950s and 1960s and their wish to mentor the young engineers of Singapore.

00:00 Internationally Recognised Scheme

03:47 Ships & Harbours

12:49 Working on a Warship

16:25 21st Birthday on a Ship

18:19 Joining Shell Tankers

27:17 Yokohama, Niigata, Sydney, Plaju

32:26 Contributions of the Engineering Apprentices

37:10 Contributions of Shell

40:47 Mentoring Young Engineers

Email me lkshis@gmail.com if you like a copy of the book, We Strived and We Thrived, by the Old Engineering Apprentices Association.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Historian John Solomon discusses his research on the elusive history of caste in colonial Singapore. He relates the struggles of the lower castes in India who migrated here in search of new opportunities and identities. These migrants, some of whom worked in Lorong Lalat (present-day Jalan Bersih), endured lower-paying jobs as well as acts of discrimination. John traces the development of reform movements that sought to remove the influence of caste.

00:00 Introduction

03:45 Caste in India

08:52 Caste in Textbooks

11:09 Migration & Caste in Singapore

19:56 Caste Across the Indian Communities

25:04 Insults & Discriminatory Acts

34:31 The Gandhian Movement

38:06 The Dravidian Movement

John Solomon, A Subaltern History of the Indian Diaspora in Singapore: The Gradual Disappearance of Untouchability 1872-1965.

https://www.routledge.com/A-Subaltern-History-of-the-Indian-Diaspora-in-Singapore-The-Gradual-Disappearance-of-Untouchability-1872-1965/Solomon/p/book/9780367875237

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Accidental restauranteur Frederick Puah recounts the unexpected beginnings of British Hainan – in his love for vintage items. He also relates the origins stories of Hainanese pork chop and laksa, as well as cooking two other signature Hainanese dishes – mutton soup and beef noodles. Whether you agree with Frederick or have heard alternative stories, drop us a note!

00:00 The Real Story of British Hainan

06:37 Vintage Collection

11:17 Hainanese Pork Chop

19:14 My Laksa Theory

28:42 Mutton Soup & TCM

34:10 Beef Noodles

39:06 Secret Recipe for Oxtail Stew

British Hainan: https://british-hainan.com/

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Indra Iswaran talks about three historic temples of the Ceylon Tamils – at Ceylon Road, Woodlands Road and Depot Road – and how the community has maintained them and rallied to rebuild them in times of redevelopment. She relates how the community used to live in the Ceylon Road area and in staff quarters built by the British colonial administration. She also highlights the contributions of Arumugam Vijiaratnam, a key member of the community.

00:00 The Ceylon Road Temple

09:38 Relocation of Temples

17:29 Renewal of Temples

28:28 Memories of Arumugam Vijiaratnam

37:26 Places of Residence

44:02 Staff Quarters at Sepoy Lines

48:36 Crush on Lee Kuan Yew

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Karen Brooks and Angela Bird talk about places they went to in Singapore and the region (Pontian, Johor) in the late 1960s. A sobering fact was that unlike them, their mum silently struggled to cope with living in a place far away from home with her husband often away from the family. For the sisters, the two and a half years in Singapore had a huge impact on their young lives.

In the middle of the episode are a number of old videos. We aren’t sure of some of the places, so do drop a comment if you know!

00:00 Exploring the City

04:20 Durian Adventure

08:04 Our Mum Struggled

15:04 Video Segments

17:12 Beach & Sea

24:53 Hong Kong?

28:33 National Theatre

31:07 Tiger Balm Gardens/Haw Par Villa

32:13 Chinatown & City

33:53 Leaving Singapore

40:04 Huge Impact on Us

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. To support his family, Anthony Woo enrolled in the engineering apprentice scheme at the Dockyard Technical College of the Singapore Naval Base in 1957. He was following in the footsteps of many young Hainanese like him and Cantonese who worked in the marine industry. He talks warmly about his British lecturers, classmates (including one legendary Chua Chor Teck) and the masters (sifu) who taught him.

00:00 Introduction

02:40 The Hainanese

09:18 Dockyard Technical College

22:13 My Lecturers

25:28 Chua Chor Teck

35:36 ‘Put your head in twice, come out once’

41:02 My Classmates

48:33 Learning from the Masters

54:49 My Sifu

Email me lkshis@gmail.com if you like a copy of the book, We Strived and We Thrived, by the Old Engineering Apprentices Association.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

00:00 Introduction

04:00 Food as Therapy is Easy

05:13 Herbal Soups are Nourishing

08:59 Cooking for the Family

12:00 Chinese Yam & Black Chicken

15:17 Arrow Root & Radix Codonopsis

21:11 Six Tastes Soup

23:42 Chinese Yam

25:28 Astragalus

27:25 Lily Bulb & Lotus Seeds

28:09 Food for Cooler Months

30:29 Fruits for Monkeys

31:48 Cold Drinks & Dampness

33:27 If We are Unwell

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Indra Iswaran is an active member of the Ceylon Tamil community in Singapore and the only female president in the history of the Singapore Ceylon Tamils Association. She talks about her ancestry in Malaya and Singapore dating back to the 1790s, the Ceylon Tamil pioneers and their allegiance to the British Crown, the matriarchal society, and the importance of the Tamil language.

00:00 Introduction

01:59 A Convent Girl

06:24 Ancestry from the 1790s

18:28 Arranged Marriages

20:52 The Pioneers

29:16 Allegiance to the British Crown

32:51 Similarities & Differences with Indians

39:50 The Matriarchal Society

44:23 The Tamil Language

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore