Kranji War Memorial in Singapore

The Kranji War Memorial is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the men and women from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, Malaya, the Netherlands and New Zealand who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II, it comprises the War Graves, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves.

The War Memorial represents the three branches of the military – the Air Force, Army and Navy. The columns represent the Army, which marches in columns, the cover over the columns is shaped after of the wings of a plane, representing the Air Force, and the shape at the top resembles the sail of a submarine, representing the Navy.

The Memorial’s walls inscribe over 24,000 names of allied personnel whose bodies were never found, spread over both sides of 12 columns of the war memorial itself. On the Kranji War Memorial the names of 191 Canadian airmen are inscribed.

Location Information The Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Kranji War Cemetery is 22 kilometres north of the city of Singapore, on the north side of Singapore Island overlooking the Straits of Johore. It is located just to the West of the Singapore-Johore road (Bukit Timah Expressway) on Woodlands Road, just to the south of the crossroads with Turf Club Avenue and Kranji Road. There is a short approach road from the main road. The Cemetery is known locally as Kranji Memorial and one must be sure of the address before boarding a taxi as most taxi drivers do not know the Cemetery. There are also bus stops on the main road facing the Cemetery. The Kranji MRT (train) terminal is a short distance from the Cemetery, approximately 10 to 15 minutes away by foot. A previous visitor has advised us that a small map of the route can be obtained from the MRT ticket office. Visiting Information Kranji War Cemetery is open every day 07:00-18:30. The cemetery is constructed on a hill with the means of access being via three flights of steps, rising over four metres from the road level, which makes wheelchair access to this site impossible.

Kranji War Memorial honours the men and women from the countries of Sri Lanka, India, Malaya, Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Netherlands who died defending Singapore and Malaya during the Second World War. The war memorial has 12 standing memorial walls that have inscribed on them the names of 25,000 allied soldiers killed in the war whose bodies were never recovered. The war memorial has the war graves, the state cemetery, the memorial walls and the military graves. Every year, on the Sunday nearest to November11, Singaporeans observe the Remembrance Sunday or Veterans’ Day to pay tribute to the brave people who gave their lives to defend Singapore.