Happy 44th Birthday to Singapore
and happy National Day to Everyone!
The History of Singapore and Saint John Ambulance
Singapore
The Republic of Singapore began when Singapore gained its independence and became a republic following a secession from the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965.
After the separation, the fledgling nation had to become self-sufficient, and faced problems including mass unemployment, housing shortages and lack of land and natural resources .
During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration curbed unemployment, raised the standard of living and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. The country's economic infrastructure was developed, racial tension was eliminated and an independent national defence system was created.
The Saint John Ambulance Brigade
St John Ambulance was first introduced in Singapore in 1935. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the government re-assigned all St John personnel to form the nucleus of the Medical Auxiliary Service (MAS) which was part of the Passive Defense Services of Singapore and Malaya.
It was the crisis of 1938 just before the second World War, that it became increasingly apparent to our citizens how vital our work was, and at that time recruiting was brisk. The St John Council was established in 1952 and became the National St John Council when Singapore became an independent sovereign nation in 1965.
