Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:Sir Stamford Raffles Developmen…

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:Sir Stamford Raffles Development of Singapore

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.41

Keywords

About MeWhen in 1819 Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) persuaded the English East India Company to purchase Singapore from the Sultan of Johore the island was an almost uninhabited swamp. Today its population is over two million, three-quarters of them being Chinese. Since 1965 it has been an independent republic and it remains one of the great ports of the world. Raffles was employed by the East India Company before becoming governor of Java after its capture in 1811. When that island was restored at the peace settlement, he was determined to find some suitable harbour in that area which would enable the Company to extend its trade into the East Indies. The deep water harbour at the 200-square-mile island of Singapore seemed to provide the answer. Having persuaded the Company to purchase it, he had the harbour surveyed and set up the necessary administrative machinery on the island before he retired in 1823. As well as being a tireless and imaginative empire-builder, Raffles was an enthusiastic botanist and zoologist. During the three years before his death he took the first steps to found the London Zoo.

The importance of Singapore increased in the age of sail as trade with China developed, but it became still more important in the age of steam, as a coaling base. At that time the naval squadron on the China Station was comparatively large, but after the signing of the Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1902 ships were gradually withdrawn. When the Japanese Navy became the third largest in the world after the Washington Treaty in1921, it was decided to ensure the security of Hong Kong by establishing a naval base at Singapore.

Though large graving docks and other port facilities were provided before the beginning of the Second World War, no attempt had been made to provide landward defences for the base, since it was always assumed that an attack could only come from the sea and a fleet would be sent to defend it. But when the Japanese landed on the mainland in December, 1941, only the Prince of Wales and Repulse were available, the aircraft carrier Indomitable, which was to have accompanied them, being out of action. Admiral Sir Tom Phillips therefore sailed without air cover and his ships were sunk by aircraft on 10 th December. General Perceval and the army on the island surrendered on 15th February, 1942.

After the war, Singapore reverted to its colonial status until 1965, when it became an independent republic

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.