Read a Straits Times obituary dated 24 Nov 2012 on the passing of Tan Chong Tee. You cannot find it in the internet.
The name caught my attention - Tan Chong Tee. Also the wife is mentioned ..Lee Shao Meng. In his youth, they are famed badminton players in the local scene.
http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article.aspx?articleid=straitstimes19390122.2.163
My interest in local history got me to read the accounts of Force 136 written by Tan Chong Tee, just very recently although the book has been out for more than a decade. The more well known hero was Lim Bo Seng who died as a martyr under Jap torture during World War 2.
What I find fascinating in the accounts are the stuff they tried to do - spying impersonating as businessmen in Perak, and there was one spy who fell in love with a socialite and caused havoc to the spy missions. There are plenty of interesting accounts in the book. And there is the alliance between the British and the communists led by Chin Peng, and the characters are part of the cast. The communists, once prominent figures in history, are not relegated to mere mentions in footnotes of history. Their hardships and sacrifices are totally not remembered in this generation.
Their bravery and exploits of Force 136 are worth a read. We heard of spy stories and thought these belong to places far way, and yet in our home soil, there are such real incidents that did happen.
Unfortunately, the world moves on and these are forgotten. Tan Chong Tee was born in 1916, and lived nearly a decade, witnessed enough real live events that we now read in history books.
Even the local news did not even bother to report his passing. I googled and found nothing. Yet I do reckon this is a real life war hero born here - thoroughly forgotten..
To me, this is the interesting part .. why do we not remember folks like them? ... folks who rose up in a period of strong patriotism during World War 2 and it is something the present generation just does not appreciate.
Even the local press could not be bothered ...
War heroes as they were
They fought for our future
The present does not bother
The past is irrelevance
Forgotten and just withered away
Anyway just write it out here, and see if folks here bother ...doubt so..
See below for more info on this war hero.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Chong_Tee
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id...onepage&q=tan chong tee lee shao meng&f=false
The name caught my attention - Tan Chong Tee. Also the wife is mentioned ..Lee Shao Meng. In his youth, they are famed badminton players in the local scene.
http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article.aspx?articleid=straitstimes19390122.2.163
My interest in local history got me to read the accounts of Force 136 written by Tan Chong Tee, just very recently although the book has been out for more than a decade. The more well known hero was Lim Bo Seng who died as a martyr under Jap torture during World War 2.
What I find fascinating in the accounts are the stuff they tried to do - spying impersonating as businessmen in Perak, and there was one spy who fell in love with a socialite and caused havoc to the spy missions. There are plenty of interesting accounts in the book. And there is the alliance between the British and the communists led by Chin Peng, and the characters are part of the cast. The communists, once prominent figures in history, are not relegated to mere mentions in footnotes of history. Their hardships and sacrifices are totally not remembered in this generation.
Their bravery and exploits of Force 136 are worth a read. We heard of spy stories and thought these belong to places far way, and yet in our home soil, there are such real incidents that did happen.
Unfortunately, the world moves on and these are forgotten. Tan Chong Tee was born in 1916, and lived nearly a decade, witnessed enough real live events that we now read in history books.
Even the local news did not even bother to report his passing. I googled and found nothing. Yet I do reckon this is a real life war hero born here - thoroughly forgotten..
To me, this is the interesting part .. why do we not remember folks like them? ... folks who rose up in a period of strong patriotism during World War 2 and it is something the present generation just does not appreciate.
Even the local press could not be bothered ...
War heroes as they were
They fought for our future
The present does not bother
The past is irrelevance
Forgotten and just withered away
Anyway just write it out here, and see if folks here bother ...doubt so..
See below for more info on this war hero.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Chong_Tee
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id...onepage&q=tan chong tee lee shao meng&f=false
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Singapore in a war):
