When we think of Changi Prison in the context of wartime internment, what often comes to mind is the deprivation, malnutrition, illness, suffering and ill treatment at the hands of merciless captors, that was an undeniable part of the experiences of both the civilians and prisoners of war who were held captive within and in the immediate vicinity of the old gaol’s infamous 20 foot walls. Beyond the stories of pain and immense suffering however, there are also stories of courage, of how the strength of the human spirit was able to triumph over the most adverse of conditions.
One of the stories that I shared during a tour that I recently conducted to the conserved section of the gaol’s old wall as the outdoor part of a twinned session with Changi Chapel and Museum for the National Heritage Board’s Battle for Singapore 2024, was that of a shipwrecked teenage ship’s boy who was able to use his time in reluctant exile in wartime Singapore and particularly, the time he spent as a civilian internee in Changi to set himself up for life. One of less talked about aspects of internment in Changi is perhaps the opportunities that were available for internees to received an education. This was just what the ship’s boy in question, Tommie Ryan, through sheer effort and determination, was able to do.
Tommie or Thomas Ryan, was born into an impoverished Liverpudlian family on Christmas Day 1924. Having faked his age, he signed on as a ship’s boy with shipping line Canadian Pacific Steamships in 1940. His first voyage, as a fifteen year old cook’s boy on the SS Beaverbrae, ended with him surviving its sinking after being struck by German bombers in March 1941. Tommie would survive a second attack, this time on the SS Empress of Asia, a converted troopship carrying 2325 troops with a crew of 416 into Singapore. The ship was in a convoy that was attacked by Japanese bombers close to 11 am on 5 Feb 1942 in Singapore waters off Sultan Shoal, anchored, and then abandoned, before eventually sinking in shallow waters. Remarkably, a great majority of those on board survived the attack and sinking. Ryan and over 120 members of the ship’s catering crew were brought to Bidadari Camp before being sent to the General Hospital to help out.
The fall of Singapore brought young Tommie, then barely 16, to Changi Prison as an internee. Also interned were former headmasters and teachers, such as H R Cheeseman and D R Swaine, who were able to organise schooling for the child internees including Tommie — who also helped out in the prison hospital. Tommie, who was moved with other civilian internees to Sime Road in May 1944 before eventually going home after the war ended, would be repatriated not just with a Cambridge School Certificate issued at Sime Road Camp, but also with a keen interest in medicine developed from his interactions with camp doctors and from his work in the camp hospital’s pathological laboratory. Once back home, Tommie would receive the break that was needed and was able to eventually qualify as a doctor. He would move to Australia, serving as a surgeon in the Royal Australian Navy before eventually moving to South Africa. More about Thomas Ryan can be read in a book written by his son Christopher Ryan, “A Child Prisoner of War: The Story of Thomas Ryan : Singapore 1942-45 : Changi and Sime Road Camps”.
Changi Prison Wall — Singapore’s 72nd National Monument
Demolished in the early 2000s, the (re-sited) entrance gate of the wartime Changi Prison, a 180-metre stretch of the prison wall, and two corner turrets have been retained. These have collectively been gazetted as Singapore’s 72nd National Monument in Feb 2016.
The Long and Winding Road 