Cipher Office

1. The Battle Box is the underground command centre constructed under Fort Canning, Singapore as an emergency, bomb-proof command centre of the British HQ Malaya Command during World War 2.

2. Located nearly 9 metres beneath the Fort Canning hill, the Battle Box complex was constructed as emergency bunker for the Combined Operations Headquarters. It was constructed with one metre thick (3 feet) reinforced concrete walls to withstand direct hits from bombs and shells

3. Cipher Office The Battle Box included a telephone exchange connected to all military and most civilian switchboards in Malaya, various signals and operations rooms, sleeping quarters and latrines. The Battle Box also included a cipher room for coding and decoding messages.

4. Apart from the Fotress Command, there were 21 other rooms in the Battle Box including sleeping quarters and latrines

5. On 8 February 1942, Japanese troops then crossed the Straits of Johor in a successful landing on the north west coast of Singapore Island, followed by a second landing near the Kranji River.

6. The decision to surrender Singapore was made by Percival in a meeting on the morning of February 15, 1942. Held in the 'Commander, Fixed Defence Room' of the Battle Box, a number of senior officers were in attendance, including Generals Bennett, Heath and Simmons. With diminishing water supplies, and no viable options for launching a counterattack, the decision was made to seek terms with the Japanese.

7. General Percival marches under a flag of truce in order to surrender the British forces to the Japanese on 15 February 1942.

8. Exit of the Battle Box Coming out of the Battle Box The Battle Box was later occupied by Japanese forces during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore and was used for communications right up to the time of the Japanese surrender