In a report by British General Wavell to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Australian soldiers were singled out for criticism of their actions in the Fall of Singapore. A criticism that led London Newspapers to write “Australian cowardice led to the fall of Singapore”. But a closer look reveals where the real responsibility for the Fall of Singapore lies.

In 1927, the British Government commissioned a review of the coastal defences for Singapore. The review was to focus on the protection of the seaward approaches to the new naval base to be built in the north of Singapore on the Strait of Johore which separated Singapore and Malaya. As a result, several improvements were to be made to existing fort facilities and, as the centrepiece of the review, included the construction of two new gun batteries that would house land-based 15” naval guns.