Remembering the fall of Singapore

15 February marks the anniversary of the Fall of Singapore, one of the worst military disasters to befall Australia, and one of the greatest defeats in British history. The battle for Singapore commenced on the night of 8/9 February when the Japanese landed on the northwest of the island. 

The Australian 22nd and 27th Brigades were the first British Empire troops on Singapore to meet the attack. The fighting was fierce, but by 15 February the Allied forces had lost control of the island’s reservoirs. That day Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, Commander of the British Empire forces in Malaya, accepted the Japanese demand for unconditional surrender.