Kranji War Memorial, Singapore Overview

The Kranji War Memorial, located at Kranji suburb of Singapore, commemorates the men and women from the Commonwealth who had lost lives during their service in the Second World War. The calm and beautiful cemetery has more than 4,400 white gravestones lined up in rows on the cemetery's slope, honouring men and women from Australia, Britain, Canada, India, Malaya, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

At the entrance, the register containing the names of the fallen soldiers is kept by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. As one takes the short flight of stairs to the hilltop terrace, four memorials are situated there. The largest one is the Singapore Memorial with a huge star-topped central pylon that rises to a height of 24 meters. This memorial has the names of more than 24,000 allied soldiers and airmen killed in SouthEast Asia, who have no known graves. Every year on a Sunday closest to the Remembrance Day on the 11th November, a memorial service is held paying tribute to those who have their lives. Next to the War Memorial is the Kranji Military Cemetery which is a non-world war site with more than 1,400 burials. Besides this lays the Singapore State Cemetery, where the country's first and second presidents, Encik Yusof Ishak and Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares are buried.

Layout of Kranji War Memorial

The Kranji War Memorial represents three branches of the military- the Air Force, Army and Navy. The segments in columns represent the Army, which marched in columns. The cover over the column is shaped like the wings of a plane, as a sign of respect to the Air Force. The shape at the top resembles the sail of a submarine, honouring the Navy.

The walls of the Memorial inscribe more than 24,000 names of allied servicemen whose bodies were never discovered. The names are spread over either side of the War Memorial. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the grounds of the hilly terrain. The Kranji War Memorial has been included into the photographic archive by the War Graves Photographic Project. Each grave has been recorded with every column on the memorials.

Kranji Military Cemetery

Kranji Military Cemetery is situated just next to the Kranji War Memorial. This is a non-war site where around 4,458 Allied servicemen are buried out of which 850 graves are unidentified. Also, the first and second Presidents of Singapore, Yusof Bin Ishak and Benjamin Henry Sheares respectively are buried in the northern end of this site. Besides this, there are also Military Graves for Commonwealth soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Konfrontasi and Malayan Emergency.

There are some special war memorials at this site. These are:

Singapore Memorial: This is popularly known as the Kranji War Memorial, which has been mentioned before.
Singapore (Unmaintainable Graves) Memorial: This memorial was built in the memory of the 250 troops which was killed in British Malaya. The bodies of these people were unable to maintain and could not be moved because of religious conviction.
Singapore Cremation Memorial: This memorial is home to cremated bodies of almost 800 casualties from Undivided India. The bodies are cremated as per their religious beliefs.
Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial: This memorial is a mass grave of civilians and servicemen who were brought to the hospital but unfortunately died.
Chinese Memorial: This memorial is a mass grave for 69 Chinese members of the armed forces who were killed while a part of Commonwealth forces.

Remembrance Day at Kranji War Memorial

The Remembrance Day is held every year on a Sunday that is closest to November 11th at the Kranji War Memorial. This memorial service is held to glorify and commemorate the fallen soldiers during the two World Wars and wars that followed. A remembrance day is also held in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations which come together to pay homage to the sacrificed lives.

How to Reach Kranji War Memorial

Bus: The best way to get to the Kranji War Memorial is to board a bus.

From Orchard MRT: Board the North-South line train going towards Jurong East Station and then alight at Newton Station. From here, walk up to the bus stop on Bukit Timah Road (Bus Stop Number: 40041) and board Bus 960. This stops at Kranji War Memorial after 25 stops.
From Jurong East MRT: Board the train towards Marina Bay Station and alight at Kranji MRT after five stops. After this, get on Bus 160, 170, 178, 925, 960 or 961 from Bus Stop 45139.
From Jurong East Bus Interchange: Board Bus Number 160 and get down at Kranji War Memorial after 29 stops.
From Outram Park MRT: From this location, board the train going towards Punggol Station- North-East line and get down at Little India MRT, Bukit Timah Road. After this, board a bus from Bus Stop 400011 and reach Kranji War Memorial after 29 stops.

MRT: The nearest MRT Station is the Kranji MRT Station, Exit A, from which the Memorial is at a walking distance of 10 minutes.