Lim Bo Seng Memorial

Lim Bo Seng Memorial
Lim Bo Seng Memorial
National Heritage Board
	Lim Bo Seng Memorial
	For Major-General Lim Bo Seng
Established	3 November 1953
Unveiled	29 June 1954
Location	1°17′18.6″N 103°51′11.1″E / 1.288500°N 103.853083°E; Esplanade Park; near Downtown Core, Singapore
Designed by	Ng Keng Siang
Inscription
	Major-General ; Lim Bo Seng; 1909-1944 Major-General Lim Bo Seng was born on 27 April 1909 in Nan-an, Fukien, China. He came to Singapore at the age of 16. After studying at Raffles Institution and Hongkong University, he inherited his father's business in Malaya. Since 1937 he became prominent in anti-Japanese activities. When Singapore fell in 1942, he went to Chungking and on instructions from the Chinese government, he joined the underground resistance section of 136 Force under the Supreme Allied Command, South-East Asia, on 2 November 1943 as Commanding Officer of the Malayan Chinese section. He landed from a submarine at Bagan Bator in Perak to join the British and Chinese officers already working in Malaya, with anti-Japanese forces. Later he left the jungle to work in Ipoh, but he was discovered and arrested by the Japanese Military Police on 27 March 1944. He manfully endured repeated tortures to which he ultimately succumbed on 29 June 1944, at the age of 35. He died in the Batu Fajah prison, a martyr to the cause of a liberated Malaya and to his loyalty to his comrades. On 13 January 1946, he was buried with full military honours in Singapore. Erected by The Lim Bo Seng Memorial Committee 29 June 1954
National monument of Singapore
Designated	28 December 2010
Reference no.	63

The Lim Bo Seng Memorial is a war memorial in Esplanade Park, Singapore. It was erected in 1954 in honour of resistance fighter Lim Bo Seng for his acts during World War II. The octagonal pagoda memorial is the only structure in Singapore that commemorates an individual's efforts in World War II.

Plans for a memorial dedicated to Lim were considered by local authorities as early as November 1945. With the establishment of the Lim Bo Seng Memorial Committee in 1946, it proposed a memorial for Lim Bo Seng between 1946 and 1947, though either was rejected or had its plans modified. Its sixth plan, which intended to be the last plan submitted by the committee, was approved by the government in July 1952, where they would built the memorial as part of the proposed Esplanade Park. Works began in September 1953, with its foundation stone laid by British Commissioner-General for Southeast Asia Malcolm MacDonald. The memorial was opened unveiled Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Land Forces Charles Loewen on 29 June 1954, the 10th anniversary of Lim's death. The memorial was also the site for the 15th and 50th anniversaries of his death. The Lim Bo Seng Memorial was collectively gazetted as a National monument alongside The Cenotaph and Tan Kim Seng Fountain as the "Esplanade Park Memorials" on 28 December 2010.