Sembawang's Secret History: Life At Largest British Naval Base In Asia | Let Me Tell You A Story S2

It’s easy to overlook Sembawang – a quiet suburb in northern Singapore. But beneath its streets lie the stories of an empire’s ambition. From the 1930s to the 1970s, Sembawang was home to Britain’s largest Naval Base in Asia – one of the world’s most powerful military outposts of its time. For the first time, seniors who grew up around the Naval Base share how crocodile-infested mangroves were transformed into a bustling township, drawing their ancestors from distant lands to its shipyards. From rowdy sailors in Navy pubs, to football legends born in a town obsessed with the sport, from racial divides between the British and Asians, to the labour strikes that brought the base to a standstill, we uncover the rise and fall of one of Singapore’s best-kept historical secrets. WATCH MORE Let Me Tell You A Story    • Let Me Tell You A Story | Full Episodes   00:00 Origins of Sembawang Naval Base 01:31 British navy arrivals 03:47 Employees and families from India 06:21 10,000 workers lived and worked on site 10:00 Segregated by race 15:14 Why Sembawang was chosen 18:14 How residents got groceries and clothes 21:01 Different ways of life, inside and outside 24:38 Food and entertainment nearby 27:35 Weekly salaries and celebrations 29:01 Christmas at the naval base 30:26 Where Singapore's best footballers came from 33:17 Bars where sailors gathered 37:29 Low salaries lead to workers on strike 41:30 1968: Britain closes down the naval base 44:32 How we remember the naval base ==== About the show: These are the stories of the last surviving historians among us. Hear the vivid memories of a time gone by, told by a generation who grew up in a completely different Singapore nearly 100 years ago. ======== #CNAInsider #LetMeTellYouAStoryCNA #Singapore #SingaporeHistory #Navy For more, SUBSCRIBE to CNA INSIDER https://cna.asia/insideryoutubesub Follow CNA INSIDER on: Instagram:   / cnainsider   Facebook:   / cnainsider   Website: https://cna.asia/cnainsider