Life After Bahau: From Adversity in War to a Lifetime of Achievement

By Peter GS Lim

This memoir tells of the hardship faced by my family escaping from the Japanese invasion in once peaceful Singapore. Running away from my home to another country, without decent food or any future, at only 6 months old, how I survived with no milk but solely on sweet potatoes grown by my mother and siblings with their bare hands from soil that was mainly clay, and unsuitable for agriculture.
Despite the disadvantages of being over age for schooling, and with the hard life that was brought to my family, I was considered most fortunate among my siblings to have survived from the war, despite the lack of nutritional food.
I was even later in my teen ventured to London from Singapore, hoping to better myself, by land through treacherous countries and learn about the different cultures. Graduated as a graphic designer from the London College of Printing, came back to Singapore to set up a design studio, operated a childcare centre, and years later attached to a Multinational IT company as an Education Councillor before my retirement in 2018.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jul 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543757750

Peter GS Lim

Curious as to how he managed to survive through the treacherous years at the tender age of only 6 months without nutritional food. How he beats the odds of facing so many obstacles in life, and to tell this remarkable story of his success in live

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Copyright © 2020 by Peter GS Lim.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

IN MEMORY OF

My late parents. I live in gratitude that they raised me

and kept me alive and safe throughout the brutal years.

My late eldest brother who worked with fortitude

to feed a family of nine, passed on in 2003.

My late second brother who entertained me during

my childhood days, passed on in 2005.

DEDICATED TO

My third brother Philip; fourth brother Simon; and my sisters

Rosa and Paulette for their guidance and contributions.

My sons, Nicholas and Gerard, who are

successful in their respective careers.

My only grandson, Brandon, who posed for a

picture in a Playhouse Daycare Centre uniform.

My nephew Adrian for helping in the

Photoshop work for the cover design.

Last but not least, my beloved wife, Shirley, who is

both my partner and friend, has, throughout the years,

been the pillar by my side, and whose encouragement

and moral support has made this writing a reality.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1     JAPANESE OCCUPATION

CHAPTER 2     SETTLEMENT IN BAHAU

CHAPTER 3     INFORMER

CHAPTER 4     LIBERATION

CHAPTER 5     THE OFFICIAL HANDING OVER

CHAPTER 6     OUTINGS AT THE PADANG

CHAPTER 7     PRIMARY SCHOOL

CHAPTER 8     NIGHT HAWKING AND DAILY LIFE

CHAPTER 9     MY FATHER’S FALL

CHAPTER 10   PEANUT CANDIES

CHAPTER 11   THE PASSING OF MY FATHER

CHAPTER 12   SEA SCOUTING

CHAPTER 13   JOURNEY TO THE UNITED KINGDOM

CHAPTER 14   LIFE IN LONDON

CHAPTER 15   BACK TO SCHOOL

CHAPTER 16   GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDIO

CHAPTER 17   CAREER DIVERSIFICATION

CHAPTER 18   BACK TO SEA SCOUTING

CHAPTER 19   PICTURE OF AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1

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Japanese Occupation

I WAS BORN IN SEPTEMBER 1943 at Niven Road, Singapore, the youngest in the family—seven children and our parents. My parents were from Fuzhou in the Fujian Province in China. It was quite a feat that both my parents managed to sail to Singapore in their time, which was more than forty years before I was born. They managed to come all the way in a boat over the rough ocean of the South China Sea. The journey would have taken them several months. Singapore, at that time, was still an underdeveloped island that belonged to the British Empire. What made them decide to leave China is still a mystery to me, as I didn’t manage to find out when they were still alive. Hence, I missed this valuable part of the story forever. Nonetheless, the little information I received from my siblings was that my father was working for the Singapore Traction Company (STC), a Singapore bus company, as a conductor, and his job was to collect commuters’ fares and issue bus tickets for their journeys. My mother was a housewife; she took care of the children and the family.

When the Japanese invaded Singapore on 15 February 1942, they came down swiftly from the north of Singapore and advanced across the Straits of Johor, Peninsular Malaya. The surprise appearance of the Japanese Imperial Army, who had positioned their tanks on the streets, baffled not only the residents, but more so the British soldiers, as they were expecting the assault to come from the south. In the course of the occupation, the Japanese soldiers randomly entered houses to search for young male members of the families, whom they thought might likely be engaged in organised resistance. These men were taken away and were never heard from or seen again. This story was related by some of our surviving neighbours whose siblings had been snatched away from them.

The situation was very tense as the Japanese soldiers roamed the streets day and night to ensure the residents did not create any resistance in the early days of the occupation.

Like the leaders of many other families, my parents had to drag my brothers and sisters and move us quietly in the dark to avoid detection. Roman Catholic priests helped families, and like all families, we often stayed in churches for our safety. My brothers and sisters were not allowed to go out freely, as we were living in fear and didn’t know exactly what was happening around us.

Having secured the town, the Japanese Imperial soldiers started rationing our food by issuing vouchers, which provided barely sufficient provisions for the families. Gradually food