Historic Guillemard Camp to be demolished this month, soldiers who served there return to 'book in, book out' one last time

One of Singapore's longest-standing army camps, Guillemard Camp, can finally ROD.

The camp, located between Guillemard Road and Dunman Road, will be demolished by the end of this month to make way for development.

Dating back to the 1950s, it was home to Singapore's first infantry unit – 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR).

Last Saturday (Jan 22), former soldiers were invited back to visit and take a trip down memory lane.

Among them were some who served there more than half a century ago, and also Minister of State (Home Affairs and Sustainability and the Environment) Desmond Tan, who was once commanding officer of 1 SIR.

Retired major Shari Ngaimin attended and shared his sentiments with the Army.

"This camp is one of the premium camps in Singapore as it is home of the very first Singapore Infantry Battalion, and if you are the first amongst them, there is definitely an impact on you.

"It was honestly sad to hear that this camp will be removed soon, but the old will always give way to the new."

1 SIR vacated Guillemard Camp in 2003 to relocate to Mandai Hill Camp.

In recent years, the compound was converted into a Community Recovery Facility (CRF) for recovering Covid-19 patients.

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amierul@asiaone.com