The British Military Administration (BMA) was the interim military government established in Singapore and Malaya during the period from the Japanese surrender to restoration of civilian rule on 1 April 1946.[1] During World War II, Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942.[2] British plans for retaking Singapore and Malaya via an amphibious military campaign had to be aborted after Japan suddenly surrendered on 15 August 1945.[3] The abrupt ending of the war brought special difficulties for Singapore because the time taken for dealing with the post-war aftermath had to be accelerated considerably.[4] Two days after the Allied forces under the orders of Southeast Asia Command (SEAC) landed in Penang on 3 September 1945, British reoccupation forces arrived in Singapore.[5] A military administration was immediately proclaimed and Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was then the Supreme Allied Commander Southeast Asia, assumed full judicial, legislative, executive and administrative powers and responsibilities.[6]
From 5 September 1945 to 31 March 1946, Singapore and Malaya were administered under the BMA, which was headed by Major General Herbert Ralph Hone, Chief Civil Affairs Officer for Malaya.[7] Deputy Chief Civil Affairs Officer Brigadier P. A. B. McKerron was responsible for Singapore and Brigadier H. C. Willan was his counterpart for the Malayan peninsula.[8] This period of military administration, in which Singapore and the Malayan peninsula were to a degree administered separately, was replaced by the Malayan Union comprising the nine Malay States, Penang and Malacca on 1 April 1946.[9] Singapore was administered as a separate crown colony with Franklin Gimson appointed as governor.[10]
References
1. Murfett, M. H., et al. (2011). Between two oceans: A military history of Singapore from 1275 to 1971 (p. 282). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic. Call no.: RSING 355.0095957 BET; The change-over. (1946, April 1). The Straits Times, p. 1, Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Singapore forced to capitulate. (1942, February 16). The Times, p. 4. Retrieved December 20, 2013, from The Times Digital Archive.
3. Japan surrenders. (1945, August 15). The Times, p. 4. Retrieved December 20, 2013, from The Times Digital Archive; Murfett, 2011, p. 282.
4. Hone, H. R. (1946). Report on the British Military Administration of Malaya: September 1945 to March 1946 (p. 5). Kuala Lumpur: Malayan Union Government Press. Call no.: RCLOS 959.506 HON.
5. Singapore is British again! (1945, September 7). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Springhall, J. (2001). Mountbatten versus the Generals: British Military Rule of Singapore, 1945–46. Journal of Contemporary History, 36(4), 635. Retrieved December 24, 2013, from JSTOR.
6. British Military Administration, Malaya. (1945, September 7). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Springhall, 2001, p. 635.
8. Hone, 1946, pp. 53, 84.
9. Hone, 1946, pp. 33, 132.
10. Hone, 1946, p. 132.
The information in this article is valid as at 2014 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.