Chronicles Research & Education

11/06/2026

Pre-orders are up! SGD20 minus postage.

https://www.gerakbudaya.com/product/shopkeepers-of-chinatown

Can also wait for the book to arrive in SG bookstores like Kino and Popular.

By tracing the evolution of shopkeepers in Chinatown, Singapore, this book reveals the ebb and flow of Singaporean society, its changing values and the effect of gentrification upon a cultural stalwart. It looks beyond the usual narrative of celebrat

07/06/2026

Hear LTC (Retd) Mejar Gill recount the neglected history of 1 and 2 SIR. The first especially was formed by David Marshall in 1957 before Singapore became independent.

When 1965 arrived, the government launched a crash programme to build new military facilities and recruit Israeli ('Mexican') advisers. There was an unexpected windfall - the British were closing down their bases and there were excellent facilities and camps to take over.

Spotify | https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/loh-ks/episodes/Mejar-Singh-Gill--Soldiering-in-the-Early-SAF-Part-2--Chronicles-of-Old-Singapore-e3keek0

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW4QIH0UU6I

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian, and I document people’s 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.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Hear LTC (Retd) Mejar Singh...

06/06/2026

Always good to head to Chinatown and get the latest news with Tea Man (Kenry Bai) and Chinatown Boy (photographer Victor Yue).

Hatching some ideas for my book launch as well as the history of bak k*t teh.

More to come.

04/06/2026

Listen to Jason Boh talk about the Naval Base era coming to an end in Singapore. The 14th Mile village was demolished when the British forces left and the villagers and base families dispersed. The Sembawang experience has forged in him a can-do spirit and a curiosity about the world.

He hopes that the old colonial houses will be preserved as a second round of redevelopment sweeps the north of Singapore.

Spotify | https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/loh-ks/episodes/Jason-Boh--Hainanese-of-the-Naval-Base--Sembawang-Part-2--Chronicles-of-Old-Singapore-e3kaicm

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qVvwKbAiCg

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian, and I document people’s memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jason Boh talks about his s...

03/06/2026

After the previous post on the Chinese gentlemen of Pulau Brani, here is my corridor chat with two former Malay residents, one from Telok Saga and the other from Selat Sengkir (my first from this kampong!). On the right is the ever helpful Adam Salleh formerly from Pulau Sekijang Bendera (St. John's) who arranged the meeting. So all were islanders.

Am looking to speak to Brani's islanders. They were richly diverse not only ethnically but also occupationally. Gentleman on the left had operated the ferry between Brani and the mainland. There were British servicemen and their children, who still have fond memories of Brani. Also Malay servicemen who were the other ranks in the forces. Employees of the Marine Department and Straits Trading Company (who might be the hardest to locate). Chinese shopkeepers. Footballers who played at a high level. Later, Singapore's first naval servicemen served at Brani Naval Base.

Every one of these communities left behind a special history. Let me know if you know someone who lived or worked on Brani. Thank you.

02/06/2026

02/06/2026

In 2009, Choy and Bala, a couple of kind former Sembawang Shipyard folks drove me to the old Naval Base, where the Canberra Asian quarters once stood. Soon, Sembawang Shipyard will also be gone.

31/05/2026

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Find out how a major military installation like the Naval Base in Sembawang was filled with human life and warmth.

Thanks to ChanPeew Wan and other ‘Navalites’ for the photos and memories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfx0I-PeZcU

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian, and I document people’s memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Find out how a major milita...

28/05/2026

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Baba Andy Gwee opens an old box of 60 yok tua (Chinese medicinal prescriptions). I recognised the word 'tua' only when he pronounced it.

Andy talks about how his grandfather Gwee Peng Kwee had collected the prescriptions and why they contained both Chinese and Baba Malay words. Because the Peranakan could not read Chinese, they had the prescriptions written down to take to a TCM physician or medical hall.

The video is also a guide on doing oral history. As Andy was talking about his grandfather, I had to (politely) verify how he came to know what he was telling me.

Tik Tok | https://www.tiktok.com//video/7644742624032591112

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjYY1Y4d-Bo

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian, and I document people’s memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Baba Andy Gwee opens an old box of 60 yok tua (Chinese medicinal prescriptions). He talks about how his grandfather G...

26/05/2026

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Abdullah Hussain & Saiful Nizam talk about the silat elders in Seni Gayong and female members, the Ibu Gayong (‘the mothers of Gayong’). We reflect on their achievements in researching the history of silat, but also challenges in training the younger generation as well as documenting silat as Malay heritage martial arts.

Spotify | https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/loh-ks/episodes/Abdullah-Hussain--Saiful-Nizam--The-Many-Styles-of-Silat-Part-2--Chronicles-of-Old-Singapore-e3jt4ql

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STNXrISrJI8

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian, and I document people’s memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Abdullah Hussain & Saiful Nizam talk about the people in Seni Gayong – the silat elders as well as female members cal...