CHIA Boon Leong
Sports Personalities of Singapore,
Accession Number 001813
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 27
Total Reels
- Chong Ching Liang
Interviewer
- 13:09:24
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 27
Metadata
- 12 Sep 1997
Recording Date
- 00:30:34
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Family background. Childhood in Pasir Panjang neighbourhood. Childhood hobbies and games. Descriptions of kampung. Childhood football (soccer) using tennis balls. Why he chose forward position. Opium-packing plant. Football games at Pepys Road. Witnessed artillery firing at targets towed near Pulau Bukom. About Pasir Panjang Beach. Swimming at beach. Primary education in Pasir Panjang English School. Participation in school sports. Inter-school soccer friendlies. Bare -foot soccer. Not aware of sports beyond kampung scene. Transition to English school. Entrance to Raffles Institution recommended by individual primary school principals. Transition to secondary from primary schools in 1930s.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 2 of 27
Metadata
- 12 Sep 1997
Recording Date
- 00:26:53
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Student in Raffles Institution (RI). Classification of classes in 1930s. Active sports participation in Standard 8. Sports houses. How he was elevated to RI's first team. School sports attire. How he strenghtened his left foot for soccer. About Singapore League. Community and Armed Forces Club teams. History of Pasir Panjang Rovers. Couldn't participate in league due to its non-communal orientation. Incentives for forming Rovers. Player-coach of Rovers died in WWII. Formed in 1936. Rovers' player can be Malay or Chinese. Malaya Cup. Anson Road Stadium; descriptions. Remembered friendly between Singapore Chinese and Hong Kong. Completed studies in 1941.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 3 of 27
Metadata
- 21 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:28:43
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Expectation of war; his feelings. Air-raid Precaution (ARP) unit. Joined ARP; its aims. Moved to Tiong Bahru. Narrow escape. Description of Tiong Bahru. Media report of Japanese advances. Confidence in British triumph. Prince of Wales and Repulse ships. Australian and Indian reinforcements. Feelings towards them. Bombing runs. Bomb shelters in Tiong Bahru. Bomb raid in Tiong Bahru area. About refugees. Reasons for not evacuating from Singapore. Last days of Malayan campaign. Memory of Chinese resistance in Bukit Timah. Feelings at British surrender. Mood at Lunar New Year. Identifying Japanese soldiers. Stories of rapes after Japanese arrival in Singapore.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 4 of 27
Metadata
- 21 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:44
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Precaution against rapes. Transition phase when rapes took place. Mass screening (sook ching). At Tiong Bahru Sook Ching centre. "Jian" chop. Screening process. Feelings at being screened. Heard sook ching stories months later. Conversion to Japanese currency. Why he learnt Japanese language. Learning how to behave towards Kempeitai. Decapitated heads at Dhoby Ghaut; descriptions of scenes. Enrolled in Queen Street Japanese school; his classmates. Worked at Kokyu Denshin (Telegraph), Robinson Rd, 1943. Learnt Morse code. Sent telegrams in Japanese. Transportation available. Javanese slave labour. Corpses on Outram Rd. Food then.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 5 of 27
Metadata
- 24 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:05
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Dietary change. Food situation deteriorated. Home vegetable plot. Black market. Types of vegetables cultivated. Companies with Japanese Military Administration (JMA) links offered additional rations. Rations given. Sold cigarettes in black market through friends. Learnt of Syonan Sports Association (SSA). Registration process. Good response; its reasons. Formation of SSA. Clubhouse location; description, activities. Memories of Shinozaki and Goh Hood Kiat. Shinozaki's surrender announcement. Speeches by Goh. Syonan Football League's (SFL) teams. Multi-racial concept evolved in Syonan. Pasir Panjang Rovers status.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 6 of 27
Metadata
- 24 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:57
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
"Goodwill tour" to Malaya. First State representation. Selection process. Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) only stadium because Anson Road Stadium destroyed. State team's composition. State trips. Friendlies with certain State teams. Mode of transportation. Bahau visit, 1944. Toured with hockey team. Win-lost records. Accompanying officials. Routines after games ended. Travelling on train and bus, types of accommodation. Also toured Penang. Morale of teams. Racial composition of team. Work-Sports schedule. Descriptions of Bahau. Interactions with settlers. Forward Service Corps (FSC); its duties. Mobilised during Allied B-29s' bombing raids. Civilian casualties at Jalan Besar. FSC uniforms. Mobilisation procedure. Lack training.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 7 of 27
Metadata
- 29 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:50
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Forward Service Corps (FSC) Sunday drills. Dimensions of trench dug. FSC's route-march. Shinozaki's unauthorised announcement on Japanese surrender. FSC's additional duties. Meiji(Tenno)-Setsu celebration in Padang. Description of day activities. News of impending Japanese defeat. Heard of A-bombs through brother. Japanese reaction. Witnessed return of British. First wave consisted of Indian soldiers. Surrender ceremony. Reaction to Japanese officers. Feelings that day. Incident on Rovers prior to arrival of British. Family's financial loss when Syonan currency declared void. Tough times in British Military Administration (BMA). Found work at 233 Base Ordinance Depot from Oct 1945-1948. Sports in immediate post-war.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 8 of 27
Metadata
- 29 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:02
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Experience playing with British footballers. Rovers resumed playing through friendly at Farrer Park or Jalan Besar Stadium. Played regularly for post-war Chinese team. "Whirlwind tour" of Malayan Chinese team to East and Southeast Asia. Four Singaporeans in team. Matches played. Travelled via chartered plane. Harrowing first trip by air. Memories of that flight. Funding for tour. Results of tour. Hectic schedule. Played in almost entire scheduled games. Lian Hua jersey colours. He was popular in Hong Kong and during tour. Tributes paid to him. His speed revolutionalised old game of positional play. Kept fit though matches.
Remarks
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Reel/Disc 9 of 27
Metadata
- 29 Sep 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:34
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
High profile during tour. Coach's role minimal then. Team cohesive from start. Team captain controlled team on field. His chances of making 1948 Chinese Olympic team. Languages of communication within team. Pre-Olympic trials in Hong Kong. Guest player in Indonesian-Chinese team. Sponsors for his travelling expenses. Brief description of selection process. Hong Kong dominated China's Olympic football team lineup. Fund-raising from private philanthropist. Pre-Olympic exhibition matches to raise funds. Trip to Hong Kong to join Olympic squad. Colours of uniforms and jerseys. Paid handsome allowances. No superstar status.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 27
Metadata
- 9 Oct 1999
Recording Date
- 00:29:39
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Sixty-minute game for Singapore. Adjusting to 90-minute game in cold weather in Shanghai. Reasons for 60-minute game. Afternoon games till 1954. Post-match reception in Shanghai. His reaction. Playing against larger-sized players. Rest and recreation tours. His appraisal of communist victory in China. Chinese Olympic selection trials controversy. Cause and effects of controversy; its resolution. Three Malayan players represented. Malayan Chinese Football Association (MCFA). Dual citizenship existed in colonial times. Allowed to represent Singapore after representing China. Biennial Shanghai All-China Games (1948). Number of sports involved. Did not play in Games.
Remarks
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