1942-1950
Brother Dorothe Joseph was the Director of St . Joseph ' s Institution during the Japanese Occupation . For one and half years the local Brothers were allowed to teach after the Japanese fashion . The emphasis was on drill and the singing of the Japanese Anthem a daily routine . The teaching of the Japanese language was made compulsory . Brothers who were foreign citizens at war with Japan were interned . All the local brothers went to the Catholic Colony in Bahau , Negri Sembilan . Before their departure for Bahau , the Brothers had to dispose of their movable property , most of which were kept for them by the
priests and friends , pending their return to Singapore later .
The first batch of Brothers left for Bahau on 28th December 1943 . The Bahau Catholic Colony was opened by the Bishop to serve th ~ Catholic population of Singapore as it was felt that in the allied counter - attack , the Japanese forces would resist fiercely making the shortage of food inevitable .
Life in Bahau was a harrowing for the Brothers . experience
For the most part of their stay there , malaria was a constant scourge . Two Brothers Kiaran and Christian succumbed to celebral malaria and were buried in Seremban . The last batch of Brothers left for Bahau on 5th March 1944 .
With the situation in Bahau deteriorating daily , the Japanese surrender on 15th August 1945 came as a great relief to the Brothers in Bahau . They returned manner thoroughly to Singapore in the quickest possible , although many were weak and unfit . Three weeks after the arrival of the British on 15th September Institution resumed her normal lessons .
1945 , St . Joseph ' s
The " opening day " saw thousands of men , women and children occupying the compound of
St . Joseph ' s Institution trying to get their children admitted . Brother D . Joseph , the Brother Director , with the help of some ten to twelve lay teachers were involved in the registration of pupils . Eight classrooms , with a teacher in each , were opened on the ground floor to register former students before the Occupation . Hundreds of applicants whose children were not in the Brothers ' schools had to be refused admission . Enrolment of the school by then had reached 1,400 .
With such a large enrolment , accomodation was poor and there was an acute shortage of desks and chairs . However , some Irish servicemen ,
( who were friends of the Brothers ) gave the school pen , paper , pencils , ink and rulers from Japanese dumps to help Sr . Joseph ' s get back on her own feet . Moreover , most of the electrical fittings such as lamps , switches and wires were looted during the interim period between the Japanese surrender and the return of the British .
Food was supplied to the Brothers by several Army friends who appreciated the Brothers . the good work of
The British Military Administration ( which controlled Singapore after the Japanese Occupation ) were ignorant of what " Government - Aided schools " were and hence despite appeals for help , no " official " help ever reached the Brothers . To illustrate the plight of the Brothers during this difficult period , there was no salary given to them or the staff . It was only after a barrage of explanations , protests and registered disgust that eventually forced the authorities to give a few dollars to the Community .
In fact , red tape was redder and thicker during the B . M . A . than ever before . The same appeal for funds was repeated every month until the restoration of civil government in 1946 . Despite all these problems ,
by the end of the British Military Administration in 1946 , the " lamp of knowledge " in St . Joseph ' s
Institution was re-kindled . By the second half of 1946 , the school was
back to normal . During the break of 3 % years , the
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