1951 Air Crash at Upper East Coast – Final Resting Place of Sergeant Pilot Howson

Royal Air Force clearing the debris with the family of Paul looking on in the background. (Source: NAS)

** This post is dedicated to relatives and friends of George Edmund Howson, RAF who lost his life in the Aug 1951 air crash at Upper East Coast Road.

Since my blog post on the 1951 air crash at Upper East Coast, I have received comments and emails from unexpected quarters. There was this cheery young lady Ling who live at Calypso whose friend Paul’s grandparents own the house that was almost hit by the plane. The family was delighted to read the news articles; a photo of them standing outside the house looking on at the debris clearing can be found in the archives, captured for posterity. Even more unexpectedly was a comment earlier this month from Matt who made a shocking revelation – the pilot who perished in the crash was his granduncle!

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Lesson from Passport Terrorism - Which are our National Icons?

Singapore (biometric) passport

Earlier on, I blogged about the declining standard of our Singapore passport. Of course I don't mean the embedded technology used in the new biometric passport. Look carefully at the landmarks chosen as the backdrop for the passport page. Does the skyline (and choice of Esplanade in the foreground) remind you of Singapore in 2010?

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Answer to Quiz (7) - A Rainforest in the Best Airport

Source: Skytrax World Airport Awards

That I found the fabled rainforest inside Changi Airport was the result of serendipity. For many years I have heard of some very unique "attractions" in our airport but never got to find out their location. Honestly, how many of us have actually made used of those world-class amenities and facilities in the best airport?

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Acts of Terrorism in My New Passport

My Singapore Passport

What has Terrorism got to do with Passport? You see, recently I renewed my passport and I must say the online system (APPLES) has made it so convenient to renew our passport now. On collection day I dutifully presented myself at ICA and couldn't wait to lay my hands on the little red book. Finally the tangible feeling that citizenship has its benefits! On flipping the pages, I reeled back in shock and horror.

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Yours Truly In International Conference - When Nations Remember

I am deeply honoured to be invited by NLB to speak at their international conference - When Nations Remember.

This two-day event brings together renowed international and local speakers who will share with us their work on the creation and preservation of memories. From the programme outline, day 1 will be sharing and discussion of memory-building initiatives from an institutional perspective. Day 2 will have a more local flavour where sharing and discussion will be based on personal and community perspectives.

I will be co-presenting with Chun See - local heritage blogger of Good Morning Yesterday fame - in the morning session 0900 - 0930. From 1345 - 1500, we will have an Up Close session with the audience. Our focus will be on capturing memories through blogs.

As a panel speaker, I get to participate in the different sessions - free of charge. Lunch and tea breaks are provided and there is even a conference dinner on the evening of the first day.

Though it is a conference, not all activities are conducted within the hotel. Do look out for these walking tours which participants can sign up:

• Mad About Singapore Buses
• How The City Built Itself
• Kampong Nostalgia
• Singapore Brands
• Vanishing Sights and  Trades of Singapore
• Behind Street Names