Medical Auxiliary Services MAS Singapore Malaya

Lee Kip Lee, extreme left. Picture probably taken in front of his house at 19 Amber Road where a pillbox was located at the sea front ( manned by SVC "A" Company in Dec 1941, later, by the Manchester Regiment)

Medical Auxiliary Services, Singapore Malaya


Lee Kip Lee probably joined the Medical Auxiliary Services (MAS) during his days in Raffles College when he enrolled in March 1939 at the age of 17.

December 9, Lee was informed to report for duty at the MAS Post at Raffles College. His cousin, Victor has been mobilized for active duty as member of the “E” Chinese Company of the Singapore Volunteer Force. He did not survive the war. Lee’s uncle Chua was also an Auxiliary Driver for the Passive Defence Service.

In fact, Lee’s father, Lee Chim Huk, was with the Singapore Volunteer Corps. At the age of 26, he was involved in the February 1915 Indian Mutiny of the 5th Light Infantry in Singapore. He was mobilized for active service but was only in static guard duty. He has a passion for ships and soldiers, being an ex volunteer, and would take Lee Kip Lee on the first Monday of each month to the Padang to watch the “Beating The Retreat” performed in the late afternoon by the band of the British Regiments garrison in Singapore. The ceremony had the band marching and counter-marching and ended with the lowering of the Union Jack and the bugles sounding the “Last Post”.

Lee Senior was fond of the Malay Regiment band – the members were fitted in songkok, white Malay baju and trousers, over which they wore a short sarong. He admired their precision marching and smart responses to commands.

Back to Lee’s encounter in the MAS, he was to be mobilized in December 1941 and to work 6- hour shifts providing transportation in an ambulance and first aid services. The daily scale of pay was: $1 for stretcher bearers, $1.50 for first-aiders, $1.65 for corporals and $2 for sergeants. The ambulance was a converted Singapore Traction Company (STC) omnibus. Lee’s sister, Alice, was a volunteer for the MAS post at the Kandang Kerbau Hospital.

The MAS post at Raffles College was split into groups – called combines, with a corporal in charge of a combine. The Raffles College was converted into a Military Hospital to take in convalescent cases from the Alexander Military Hospital.

By Feb 9 1942, Lee in his ambulance responding to a call at Bukit Panjang, noticed long lines of British and Australian stragglers making their way to the city, just hours after the Japanese army landed in Singapore from Kranji to Pasir Laba.

Feb 10, 1942, orders were given to nurses stationed at the Raffles College post to be evacuated to Kadang Kerbau Hospital. Raffles College will be taken over by the Indian Army as a casualty station and the MAS post would report for duty at the General Hospital in Sepoy Lines, Outram Road.

Instead of reporting to the MAS post, Lee decided to go home and his family decided to move back to No. 19 Amber Road from Cairnhill.

There, Lee met with men of the Manchester Regiment occupying a pillbox in front of the house, guarding the southern beaches of Singapore. They shared with Lee some tin food and informed him that the Japanese were not far away.

On 15 Feb 1942, Chinese New year’s Day, the British surrendered.

Extracted from "Amber Sands - A boyhood memoir" by Lee Kip Lee

Queen Street, Heart of Singapore War time

Rudy Mosbergen, 1956 Melborne

Rudy would have been 11 yrs or older during 1941. In 1935, he was sent to CHIJ Kindergarten at age 5, and enrolled in St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) through St Joseph Primary. By mid of 1941, the impending war was looming and Rudy’s parents had an air raid shelter erected in their house at Queen Street.


The Singapore Volunteer Corps were also mobilized in 1941. Various units of European, Eurasian and Chinese reported first at the Drill Hall along Beach Road and then were assigned garrison duties across the island. Rudy’s neighbor, Private Joe Grosse, a volunteer was called up but did not survive the war. Corporal Benet Nerva and Corporal Kenny Eber, whom were in the Cathedral choir with Rudy, was also mobilized but survived the war. The Singapore Volunteers did not engage the Japanese in Malaya but only saw action in Singapore.

Even during this period, every Sunday there was the Regimental Military Brass Band or the Singapore Police Force Brass Band playing at the Waterloo Bandstand which was located near the Raffles Museum. The Britannia Club behind Capitol Theatre was for OR in the British Army. Indian Officers and sepoys were not allowed in. British Army officers mess was located in Tanglin Barracks and in Fort Canning. There were also more restaurants serving western style food to cater for the newly arriving military forces. Names such as Mooi Chin along North Bridge Rd, Tiong Wah and Hock Loke Kee ( renamed Rendezvous Restaurant) along Bras Basah Rd were run mainly by Hainanese Chefs; serving steaks, salads, fried rice, sweet sour pork and sago puddings.

Shortly before December 1941, the public had undergone emergency drills for enemy air-raids. The population would have accustomed to the sound of wailing sirens including the “take cover” and “all clear” signals. Rudy was taught simple first aid exercise. Even the cadets at SJI and RI (Raffles Institutions) were taught weapons training without ammunitions. The ARP and MAS which was the air raid precaution units and medical auxiliary services were engaging the people in fire-fighting exercises and red cross activities.

At the time of the surrender of Singapore, Sunday 15th February 1942, Rudy, with his Dad and his Grandfather continued to attend the 8am High Mass at the Catholic Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The Church was practically empty with only two families in attendance with the celebrant, Fr Michael Bonamy. Just as the mass ended, they have to rush home as the air raid sounded. Bombs landed in SJI but missed the chapel and the Brothers’ quarters, one landed in front of the Cathedral and one landed on the town convent, killing Mrs Paulo and Mrs Nora De Souza who have taken refuge there. They must have been the last civilians killed in the Battle of Singapore.

Extracted from “In the grip of a crisis – The experiences of a teenager during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore 1942-45”, by Rudy Mosbergen.

Convent of Holy Infant Jesus, Singapore Seremban Penang

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, Seremban

January 1942, Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ), Seremban


Sister Pauline, Brother Joseph ( Principal of St Paul’s, Seremban), and the Parish priest set out across the padang to King George V School where the Japanese Military Governor had taken up residence. Sister Pauline made a case that it would be shameful if it was known that the Japanese Army had defiled a convent, a sacred place full of nuns and innocent children. She won the case and returned to the convent with a scroll to be hung on the convent main gate:

“Entry forbidden unless authorized by the governor. Soldiers found disobeying this order will be beheaded”

The Infant Jesus convents had a longstanding and distinguished role in Japan from the 1870’s, where the first students were Japanese ladies from the Imperial Court .In fact, all Infant Jesus Convents in Japan bore the prestigious name of Futaba (two leaves). As such, the governor would have heard of the convent or Futaba schools in Malaya and would help an institution with imperial links.

Extracted from : “A Cloistered war- behind the convent walls during the Japanese occupation” – by Maisie Duncan

Convent of Holy Infant Jesus, Singapore, Seremban, Penang

Mrs Maisie Duncan ( Mdm Maisie Prout )

August 1941 : Katong Convent Beach, Singapore


Wash of warm wavelets on the gritty sand

Bath-capped nin’s head bobbing up and down on the shallows

Muffled drumbeats rising to a crescendo

As khaki-clad, sinewy ‘drumsticks’ pound their way past the front

Fence and round the corners towards the boarders dormitory.

Its heavy-shuttered windows crash open

As if on cue to reveal a cloud of disembodied balloon faces

Shadowy against the interior gloom, straining towards the exterior

Sunlight and the jetstream of turbulence raised by the wild marching

Feet on the gravelled laneway below.

Hoots and laughter, wolf whistles and snatches of song

Greet the dramatic window-stage appearances of faces.

A current of excitement builds up between

The pale cloistered, curiousity-filled girls above

And the sunburnt, devil-may-care, slouch-hatted warriors below.

“Nice young ladies”, we were informed, “do not wave and call out to strange young men, especially not to soldiers” - Girl Boarders at The order of the Holy Infant Jesus (Les Dames de St Maur), Katong Beach Convent.

Extracted from : “A Cloistered war- behind the convent walls during the Japanese occupation” – by Maisie Duncan

Malay States Volunteer Rifles (MSVR)

Ernest Kenneison, Bandmaster, Federetaed Malay States Volunteer Force (FMSVF)

Violet, Wife of Ernest (left) and Ernest Kenneison (right) cir. 1930s

Ernest Kenneison joined the army on 10 August 1895 and was enlisted in the Leicestershire Regiment, to become a Sergeant Drummer. The battalion was sent to the Boer War and was involved in the siege of Ladysmith.

Ernest left the army when the regiment was in India – Fort St. George, Madras in 1905 where he joined the Indian Police and then to the Railways. He also served with the Kolar Goldfield Rifles and the Mahratta Railway Rifles.

1911, he went to Malaya and promptly joined the Malay States Volunteer Rifles( MSVR).He was mentioned in dispatches for actions in Singapore during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1915.

From 1917, he began to develop the Band and Drums of the MSVR. By end Dec 1920, the MSVR became the MSVF ( Malay States Volunteer Force) and the band was disbanded in 1925 due to fall in number of European drummers, not before being inspected by the Prince of Wales.

In 1924, Ernest got to work in the band of the Malay Volunteer Infantry ( MVI, a non European force which became part of the FMSVF). The MVI was given 11 drums in 1936 which were painted by Hugh Le Fleming. Besides building up the volunteer’s band and replacing drum skins at home, Ernest worked in the cement works and progressed to running his own cement business in 1921 – the Kenneison Brothers.

On 3 June 1933, Ernest was awarded the MBE. When the Malay Regiment was formed in 1933, Ernest gave them a gift of 6 silver bugles and every year, he would judge a regimental music contest at Port Dickson.

During the Malayan Campaign, Ernest and his wife evacuated Singapore by HMS Giang Bee on 12 February 1942. They were to leave by Devonshire on 5 Feb 1942, but owing to chaos at the waterfront and the streets, they missed the departure.

Ernest had left his business at Batu Caves since December 1941on the wake of the invasion, to Singapore. However, he believed that Singapore would hold and that he has to ensure his family were safely evacuated before he left.

HMS Giang Bee was blocked by a Japanese Destroyer 160m south of Singapore near Banka Island and was shelled after the occupants was lifted away by limited lifeboats.

Ernest was in the waters, hanging on to his granddaughter, Betty who was on a lifeboat. Unfortunately, his strength eventually sapped and he slipped away into the waters.

Extracted from “Playing for Malaya - A Eurasian Family in the Pacific War” by Rebecca Kenneison

Sir Richard Winstedt, FMS Civil Service

Sir Richard Winstedt, KBE, CMG, FBA, D. Litt (Oxford), MA, Hon LLD (Malaya)

Sir Richard arrived in Malaya as a “griffin” in the Federal Malay States Civil Service. About late 1902, he was posted to Taiping as a junior administrator. His impression of the Colonel Walker, Commander of the Malay State Guides (MSG) based in Taiping, was pretty hilarious – “old hooky, as he was then known (his nose was broken by one of Kipling’s Lang men of Laut) was recalled through one of the many incidents:

The guides (MSG) fighting a few of the Malay rebels, after many empty days of pursuit, the Indian Sepoys fired wildly and shot one of the Colonel’s greatest friends, the Civil Commissioner, through the back. “My God” shouted the Colonel, “he’s killed. Open a bottle of beer.”

Colonel Walker was also figured in Miss Bird’s travel book, the Golden Chersonese.

“ Because a man wears khaki and a solar topi and has traveled 1,000 miles in a British Ship to a British Colony to live among British settlers, the world is disposed to fancy that his life bas been more venturesome than life in London. Are not Conrad and Somerset Maugham witnesses that the Malay Archipelago pullulates with romance?”

“Much as I enjoyed the free local life of outstations, my temperament hardly fitted me to find romances there was in types a born novelist would have loved; the Scottish planter, the Australian miner, the New Zealand surveyor, the Irish doctor, the Cockney Inspector.”

Sir Richard’s personal motto following a Malay saying:

“If you really want (to do) something, there are 1,000 ways achieving it”

Another favourite saying and quote:

“When you tread the soil of a country and live beneath the skies, follow the customs of that country”

Extracted from Sir Richard Winstedt’s “Start from Alif, Count from One”

70th and the 20th Burma Rifles Regiment 1919 to 1936, Taiping, Perak : Malaya Garrison Troops

Burma Rifles Range Shooting ( Army life in the "90s, P. Warner)

The Burma Rifles was the Garrison Troops for Malaya, based in Taiping, Perak from 1919 ( after the disbanding of the Malay State Guides 1873 - 1919 ) to 1936 ( Replaced by the 1^st Battalion 2^nd Punjab Regiment 1936 - 1938 )

-The Burmese Pioneers was raised in late 1915. Gurkhas and Sikhs formed the backbone of the various forces raised in Burma

-Sep 1917, Burmese Pioneers turned into an Infantry Regiment, becoming part of the Indian Army as the 70^th Burma Rifles. The Regiment depot was at Meiktila and Maymyo for recruitment.

-Altogether, 4 Battalions were raised for 70^th Burma Rifles. British and native officers commanded the battalion on same pattern as regular Indian army regiments. Few of the British officers learn the language or learn about the Burmese ways

-1^st Battalion 70^th Burma Rifles sent to the Suez in May 1918 at Tel El Kebir to guard the Lines of Communications and Turkish POWs.

-2^nd Battalion 70^th Burma Rifles was sent to Egypt after the fighting ended and was assigned garrison duties.

-April 1918 and June 1918, the 3^rd Battalion and 4^th Battalion were formed respectively.

-a second Regiment, 85^th Burma Rifles was raised in Mandalay on Jul 1917 mostly with Indian Volunteers from the Burma Military Police(BMP); Burma’s oldest military formation . It trained in India before going to Basra Iraq.

-The 4 companies comprised platoons of Sikhs, Punjabi Muslims, Gurkhas, Burmans, Karens and Kachins. Garhwali’s & Kumaonis were enlisted when the Burmans & Karens quota was not met.

-The 85^th was 1,500 strong by end of WW1

-The BMP was a colonial gendarmerie made up of Indian troops. Origins dated back to the annexation of upper Burma in the third Burma war of 1885. Irregular Indian troops were recruited to pacify countryside and crush remains of royal Burmese army

-the Indian levies formed the bmp and the battalions were recruited for a period as needed in various areas and later disbanded. At any one time, 12 battalions existed and more than 50 battalions were formed through the years

-units were named after region or locations where they served i.e. Southern Shan States Battalion, Ruby mines battalion. Each battalion had a mounted infantry often Sikhs and duties included providing Governor’s bodyguard

-British policy used paramilitary forces for internal security as they handle broad array of task and far cheaper to equip and run than army units

‘The bmp is a semi military force intended to perform at the cheapest cost as

a- Frontier watch and ward duties

b- Deal with minor insurrections amongst the less civilized hill tribes

c- Transport treasures

d- Guard and transport long term prisoners to from jails

-1920, 70^th and 85^th merged in a single regiment as 70^th Burma Rifles. Burmans, Karens & Chins formed the backbone of the new formation

-1921, the Regiment was restructured into 4 Battalions- 1/70^th Burma Rifles, 2/70^{th Burma} Rifles, 3/70^th Kachin Rifles & 4/70^th Chin Rifles

-1923, the Regiment became 20^th Burma Rifles as part of 1922 reorganisation of the Indian Army – with mixed class and race units. They were 1/20^th Burma Rifles, 2/20^th Burma Rifles, 3/20^th Burma Rifles, 10/20^th Burma Rifles ( Depot & Recruitment Battalion) & 11/20^th Burma Rifles ( Territorial Battalion)

-1925, Burmans were removed from the 20^th Burma Rifles; recruiting Chins, Kachins, Karens and other minorities as doubts of Burman loyalty and ingrained prejudice was the main reason

-1 April 1937, Burma became a separate British Colony and administrative control from India was shifted to London. The 20^th Burma Rifles left the Indian Army and was the foundation of the New Burma Army

Extracted from Forgotten Regiments, Barry Renfrew

1859 to 1915 : Troops in Penang

1859 – 1915 : Troops in Penang

1860 reports on conditions of barracks in Penang. The hospital for the European and Native artillery requires ventilation and more for Sepoy dispensary. The Sepoy barracks was in good condition but the grounds need to be well drained and vegetation cleared.

1 Apr 1862 Penang Garrison of 20^th Regt Madras NI was down to 243, after a detachment was sent to Labuan . After 183 on duty daily and 35 hospitalised, only 25 men was left for fatigue duty.

With completion of fortifications on Singapore, necessary to form “Local Company” of Madras Artillery for re-allocation of artillerymen in Straits Settlements. The whole of the “Local Company” was stationed in Penang.

1871 discussion of replacement of sepoy regiments with regiments of the British Army. 1872 last Sepoy regiment , 19^th Regt Madras NI returned to Trichinopoly, India. The first “European Infantry” regiments arrive; the 80^th(Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of the Foot arrived 17 March 1872

The regiment marched 3 miles from the docks to Tanglin Barracks Singapore. March 1872, D company moved to Malacca under Capt Charles Tucker

20 April 1872, A & B companies moved to Penang under Major Charles F Amiel. The remaining 5 companies stayed in Singapore

1894 Reduction of European force was discussed with replacement of certain elements with Native Troops. Proposal was rejected by Colonial Defence Committee in Feb 1894.

“Asiatic Artillery” were to be employed in the garrison. Approval was requested in June 1894, and was actually given on 29 Nov 1896.

March 1900, 16^th Madras Infantry arrived to take over garrison duty from British troops due to the need to have British units available for service in South Africa.

16^th Madras Infantry was relieved November 1901 and replaced by 2 regiments from the Indian Army – the 3^rd Madras Infantry and the 13^th Madras Infantry.

After the close of the South Africa war, the decision was made to increase Straits Settlements Command from 1 Battalion to 2. – One from British Army and the second battalion supplied by the Indian Army. As a result, 1^st Battalion Manchester Regiment arrived in Singapore on April 1903 to relieve the 3^rd Madras Infantry whilst 13^th Madras Infantry remained until relieved by the 73^rd Carnatic Infantry in Jan 1904.

With the outbreak of WW1 1914, British Infantry battalions were once again withdrawn leaving the 3^rd Brahmans, which was relieved by the 5^th Light Infantry that mutinied on February 1915

29 April 1915, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, disturbance broke out ( 1 Police Sergeant Killed). Lt Col C W Brownlow with a force of 163 men from the 4^th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry ( Territorial Force), 50 men from the Royal Garrison Artillery and 21 men from the Singapore Volunteer Infantry arrived at Pasir Puteh on 5 May 1915. The Malay States Guides (MSG) with 140 men and two machine guns reinforced the force on 13 May 1915. The HMS Cadmus shore party supplemented the expedition. After 10 days, the disturbance subsided with little oppositions and the force returning to Singapore and the MSG detachment left behind to police the area.

The MSG remained in Kelantan until Sep 1915 when they departed for overseas duties in Aden. They were relieved by a force of 1 officer and 38 men from the Malay Company, Penang Volunteers and 2 officers and 24 men from the Singapore Volunteer Infantry. After their departure on Nov 1915, the Special Constables ( later the Kelantan Volunteer Rifles) took over control of the area.

Extracted from British and Indian Armies in the East Indies by Alan Harfield