Memorial
Changi Lychgate
Current Location
The National Memorial Arboretum, Croxall Road, Alrewas, Lichfield, Staffordshire, DE13 7AR, England
OS Grid Reference
SK 18164 14683
Names listed on this memorial
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© WMR-1297
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- Type of Memorial
- Gate
- WMR Reference Number
- 1297
- Description
- Lych gate with tiled, gabled roof supported by wooden uprights (4 each side) which incorporate 2 slatted, wooden benches (1each side). The memorial inscription and the national emblems (English rose; welsh leek; Scottish thistle; Irish shamrock) are carved inside, on the four wooden beams supporting each side of the roof. A later inscribed plaque is on one of the supporting uprights, and the label describing the history of the gate is mounted separately, on a board outside and to the right of this. The gate is set on a paved area with stone flower tubs and a grassed area.
- Inscription
- Under roof on suporting beams: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY Plaque:THIS LYCH GATE/ WAS RE-ERECTED/ AND DEDICATED/ ON THIS SITE/ ON/ 16TH DECEMBER/ 1952 Label mounted on wooden stalk alongside gate: THIS GATE WAS ERECTED ON THIS SITE IN SEPTEMBER 1972. IT WAS BUILT BY BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR, HELD BY JAPANESE IN CHANGI JAIL SINGAPORE IN 1942 AS AN ENTRANCE TO THEIR PRISON CEMETERY, THEY BURIED NEARLY 600 OF THEIR DEAD THERE. WHEN THE CEMETERY WAS CLEARED AFTER THE WAR, AND DEAD REINTERRED ELSEWHERE, THE GATE WAS REMOVED AND PLACED OUTSIDE ST GEORGES GARRISON CHURCH IN TANGLIN. IN APRIL 1971 DURING THE RUNDOWN OF THE BRITISH GARRISON IN SINGAPORE, THE GATE WAS DISMANTLED AND SHIPPED TO ENGLAND FOR RE-ERECTION ON A NEW SITE. FOR THE MOST PART, THE PRISONERS OF CHANGI BELONGED TO THE 18 DIVISION, WHOSE REGIMENTS WERE LARGELY FOUND FROM EAST ANGLIA, A SITE WAS SOUGHT AND DEPOT THE QUEENS DIVISION IS PRIVILEGED TO HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS A PERMANENT HOME FOR THE CHANGI GATE. / IT WILL SERVE AS A LASTING MEMORIAL TO ALL THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE 18TH DIVISION AND IN PARTICULAR TO THOSE WHO DIED IN CHANGI. (PLAQUE ON GATE) THIS LYCH GATE / WAS ERECTED / ON THIS SITE / ON / 16TH (?) DECEMBER / 1953
- War
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Maker(s)
Captain Cecil Pickersgill, Architect
- Maintenance History
- c.1942: Lychgate built at Changi cemetery c.1952 removed and re-erected at Tanglin, Singapore. Date unknown: lychgate moved and placed in storage Sept 1972: gate was restored and re-erected at Bassingbourn camp.
Ceremonies
Dedicated
16/12/1952
Rededicated
September 1972
Previous Location(s)
St Georges Church Tanglin, Singapore, Not applicable, Not applicable, Overseas
Year of move
April 1971
Reason for move
British Garrison in Singapore was being run down so gate was dismantled and shipped to England and relocated at Bassingbourne Barracks before being moved to The National Arboretum in 2003.
Entrance to Changi PoW Camp Cemetery, Changi Jail, Changi, Singapore, Not applicable, Not applicable, Overseas
Year of move
c Dec 1952
Reason for move
After the War the cemetery was cleared and the bodies re-interred elsewhere so the gate was dismantled and moved to Tanglin, Singapore.
- Custodian
- Queen's division, Bassingbourne
Components
- Board
Made from: Wood
Condition: Good
- Plaque
Made from: Brass
Condition: Good
- Gate
Height: 2900 mm
Width: 3990 mm
Depth: 2790 mm
Made from: Wood
Condition: Good
- Source: Image Library NIWM
- The Times /19 Aug 1995 Letter to the Editor from Mrs Elizabeth Smith
- www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm92ZN_Changi_Lych_Gate_The_National_Memorial_Arboretum_Croxall_Road_Alrewas_Staffordshire_UK - accessed 18 July 2022