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Singapore veteran returns after 50 years
Tuesday, 1pm - A BRITISH Forces veteran spent two weeks visiting Singapore, 50 years after his tour of duty in the country finished.
Tuesday, 1pm - A BRITISH Forces veteran spent two weeks visiting Singapore, 50 years after his tour of duty in the country finished.Maurice Whincup, 78, of Northcliffe Road, joined other veterans from the RAF Seletar Association on the trip back to Singapore to see the camp where he lived and worked with his young family between 1957 and 1959.
Maurice, who was a wireless fitter in the RAF, said: "There was about 38 of us altogether who went out, including some people who spent part of their childhood in the country while their parents served in the forces.
"We visited the station itself where we were based but quite a lot has been knocked down now. It's a shame but they can't take away the memories of what it was like there."
The trip back to Singapore attracted the attention of the media in the country and Maurice was interviewed for a feature in The Straits Times.
Maurice said: "We just happened to bump into the editor at an evening meal and it led to them writing a story about me. It was mainly about the changes to Singapore since we were there.
"The station itself is changing a lot but also the whole country. It used to be that people lived in wood huts but now they are mostly in big apartment complexes.
"They say Singapore is suffering in the recession but you can't tell - they never stop building. The change in 50 years has been incredible."
Maurice plans to return to Singapore again in the near future.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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