Joel Chandran – Old Jalan Sembawang Kechil & Naval Base | Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Joel Chandran, who is retired, recalls the sheer feeling of joy growing up in Old Sembawang in the ‘50s and ‘60s. He lived with his family in a kampong house at Jalan Sembawang Kechil. He frequently sneaked into the nearby Naval Base, which felt like a totally different country. His friends were Chinese, Malays and Indians – they were all colour-blind. 00:00 Introduction 02:21 Jalan Sembawang Kechil 13:45 Studying in Sembawang 17:35 The Naval Base 25:22 Colonial Road Names 28:54 Kampong Happiness 37:41 No Racial Barriers 40:38 The British Pullout 47:42 Sembawang’s Heritage I’m Dr Loh KS, a people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to me if you have questions or thoughts on Old Singapore or want to come onto the podcast: [email protected] Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon:   / chroniclesofoldsingapore   Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Chronicles Research & Education is my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore