Ford Factory Singapore

The American Company, Ford, opened its factory in Singapore on October the year 1941 as the first Ford’s factory in Southeast Asia.

When World War II started, the factory closed but reopened in the year 1947 after the war ended before closing in 1980. The Singapore government gazetted the remains of the factory as a National monument on the 15th of February 2006 and opened its doors the next day as a tourist attraction.

The site has a history as being the place where British forces surrendered after losing battle to their Japanese counterparts in February 1942 (World War II).

The Singapore National Archives developed a permanent exhibition showcasing the events that took place when the Japanese forces occupied Singapore. Further, the factory marks as a place where the Japanese commander, General Yamashita met with the British Commander, General Arthur Ernest, to discuss the signing of the surrender document.

Notably, the then prime minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, said that that moment marked the worst disaster in British history. Indeed, the surrender of the British seemed like the start of anti-colonialism in South-Eastern Asia.

Singapore’s National Archives took custody of the Old factory and converted it to a gallery which includes maps, newspapers clips and a huge range of artefacts. Visitors to the factory have the chance of viewing the boardroom where the British and the Japanese generals met to sign the surrender papers. Although Australia took the original table, tourists will view a replica of the original table. Other attractions in the monument are a map of Malaya and a clock set at the time when the surrender took place.