The Light Tower

The Light Tower resulted from working on post ("Friday, November 7, 2008 - The Merlion Problem")

British Imperial Soldier Concept

This is a soldier of the British Empire, it is more heavily stylised than the last. This concept, I hope, will show the perception of Britain as a world superpower in the 1940s. I combined the Woselley helmet design with that of a Roman legionary's and increased the size of the chin strap.
The rifle is also designed like a musket to connect back to Napoleonic Wars, an important heritage of the British army. The design here will be used for the graphic novel.

The Merlion Problem

The Merlion is tourist mascot, so far the lion still remains our country's national symbol and it is rightfully so. I tried to create something from this and I stumbled onto the war monument at City Hall, but it was too grim for a unifying symbol in story-telling. Enough of "War Diary" and "The Awakening"(Singapore's first WW2 drama). I needed a universal symbol for the story.
The old British flag for Singapore has three castle symbols representing us, Penang and Malacca, all of which are it's main trading post in South East Asia. What I discovered was very little in Singapore was indigenious, everything was brought there by settlers, conquerors, travelers and traders. The city had already grew and extinguished once before the British arrived.

The city was built by migrant Asians seeking their fortunes after the rise of the European Imperial powers. This is in conjunction with decline of Asian civilizations, namely India and China. Once safely secured in their own nations, these poor and huddled masses are forced to leave their country for survival. For this story, I would classify this migration as the “Exodus.”

It is therefore note-worthy that people in Singapore created a city on their own with their own strength, creation out of nothing on an island that has little and the masses believed that they will succeed. The tales of returnees spread throughout South Indian and China and the region soon becomes a beacon of hope for them to rebuild their lives and more followed in their footsteps.

This concept of hope (“This is also very American”) is placed in the form of a “Light Tower” for my steam-punk Singapore. Hence, lion and light-tower became a Lighthouse shaped in the form of lion. It is a symbol hope for migrants and settlers in the story.

I have yet to complete a sketch for landmark which is now essential to my story and I will post it when it’s done. “Long live the people!”

Worlds of Change 1920s to 1930s

By the end of the First World War, the Empire of Britain was already on the decline. Having lost irreplaceable human capital, the British economy no longer functioned as efficiently as it used to. Some occupations vanish because, there were simply not enough young men to do them. The government is crippled by insufficient funds in the Imperial Treasury, a tall order of rebuilding its glory and governing principles that remain trapped in the Victorian, pre-Modern era.

Meanwhile, other world powers arose. Nationalist movements, a by product of the Industrial Revolution were soon poise to succeed the old world. Germany, Japan and Italy were some of the countries spearheading this revolution. Nation building was no longer link to resources and territories, but industrial capacity. The old order found itself rapidly out-built and out-paced, by these new societies.

In Asia, the status quo was also beginning to be influenced by these external forces, people in Indian had begun debating the possibility of independence. But some things will never change, the British had ruled Singapore for 120 years and expected to continue. For the citizens of Singapore, the British will always be there to stay.

The Skies over Singapore

When the common soldier arrived via the sea, he must seen aircraft like these in the sky. They were flown from airbases in Singapore, RAF Tengah, RAF Sembawang, RAF Seletar and RAF Kallang (RAF-meaning-Royal Airforce). They doing mainly peace-time flight drills.

The one in the foreground is a BrewsterBuffalo B339, it looks cumbersome mainly because it is armoured. It can easily be diassembled, boxed-up or crated for transport.

The one in the back is the Bristol Blenheim, Britain's cheif light bomber in the early years of World War 2. Large numbers ensure it is stationed at nearly every corner of Britain's Empire.

Other planes include the Lockheed Hudson and the good old MacDonald Douglas DC3 (Band of Brothers)

The British Soldier 1940-1942

This is a stylised appearance of British soldier. He wears Woselley helmet, unlike Victorian Pith helmets of the Zulu Wars, this one has a metal core.

The Alternate World of Colonial Asia

The year is 1941. Singapore sits in the centre of the Far East, in a crossroad of many maritime routes, where nations had met and fought to control their destinies in an ever-changing world. Colonial Asia is inter-connected by by rail, shipping, the telegraph and more recently by radio communication and air travel. The people there are fully in the industrial revolution, the fuel and the machine now makes up an important part of their lives.

In Singapore, cables run through streets and spread out into the rural lands. The cables link up all household machines where power is consumed and a sizeable fraction is channeled to the city's Light Tower, where it will stepped-up for transfer to Britain, via India.

Why I create?

World War 2 in Singapore is over and done by nearly 60 years. Writing on the subject is as dry as finding water in the desert. It is no longer relevant in today's context, in this information age, where everything digital is commonplace and taken for granted. As the subject is vast and it is impossible to cover every bit of detail accurately, I choose to re-create the past from stories passed down from my grandparents, books I read, sites which I have visited, people whom I spoke to and from my imagination.

My ultimate goal is to tell a story about goodwill regardless its origins, whether its from the aggressor, the defender or the innocents caught in between.