WHEN 87-year-old Leslie Irving found an old photograph of himself with members of the Boy’s Brigade in Singapore just after WWII, his son and daughter suggested he sent it off to the organisation for its archives.

The officials were so pleased to receive this historical gem, they asked him to attend the brigade’s 85th anniversary celebrations on the South East Asian island last month.

The retired lecturer from Bromsgrove decided to accept the offer and revisit the country where he had spent two happy years as a Royal Navy wireless telegraphist and helping to re-establish the Boy’s Brigade.

“I sent off the photo and had a fantastic reply asking me to go out for their 85th anniversary. I had no idea how it would be received. I went to Singapore with my son Martin for just over a week and it was a real adventure,” said Leslie.

Apart from attending the Trooping of the Colour event at the Indoor Exhibition Centre in Singapore, he was personally greeted by the President of the Singapore Boy’s Brigade Professor Ho Yew Kee, had his photographs and personal notes relating to his time in Singapore displayed in the Heritage Centre and was interviewed and filmed talking about his experiences of the Singapore Boy’s Brigade in the 1940s.

The organisation also gave him a copy of a book of the history of the Boy’s Brigade in Singapore and he saw a play depicting the 85 years of the Boy's Brigade in Singapore.

Singapore had changed quite a bit over nearly 70 years and Leslie and Martin took the opportunity of exploring the island while they were there. Leslie visited an underground church and some of their glamorous shopping plazas, but he also saw St Andrew’s Cathedral and went to China Town where he had a shirt and trousers made for him by a tailor.

Leslie’s association with the Boy’s Brigade began on the Isle of Wight when he was about 11 years-old. He took part in a number of activities including bible classes, signalling and gymnastics.

At the age of 16 he decided to join the Navy and passed the required test to train as a wireless telegraphist at the naval school on the Isle of Man where he also did physical training. During his stay there he and other recruits were inspected by King George 6th and he took part in a gymnastics display during his visit.

Leslie arrived in Singapore with the Royal Navy in 1946 when the war was over but the country was in a poor state - unemployment was high, wages were low, there was very little food and law and order was at an all time low with gangs roaming the streets.

“I was approached by Naval Command and was asked if I would help to re-establish the Boy’s Brigade,” said Leslie. “There were about 30 boys when I started and about 300 when I finished two years later.” There are now in the region of 6,200 Boy’s Brigade members in Singapore.

Leslie added: “I think I helped them to help each other. I was supporting them to achieve things and to look after each other.”

Leslie said he loved Singapore. “It was so clean and the people took a pride in the place. Everyone is equal and you are all one family on the island. It is brilliant. The people in Singapore were brilliant.”

He said, despite the Japanese invasion of the country in 1942 and atrocities committed by their forces while on the island, the Singapore people held a feeling of compassion and forgiveness towards the Japanese.

On one occasion thousands of local people involved with the volunteer corp including Boy’s Brigade members were marched by the Japanese along a road to a beach and gunned down.

Leslie said on another occasion Japanese soldiers entered a hospital killing the surgeon, patient on the operating table, staff and many pregnant women and there were many more civilians killed before the end of the war.

One of the displays at the 85th Singapore Boy’s Brigade anniversary celebrations was a collection of colourful decorations from a Japanese school as an apology for what happened in Singapore.

On returning to Britain in 1948 Leslie left the Royal Navy and became an apprentice carpenter. He did a five-year course in three years and was asked to teach what he had learned.

He moved to Bromsgrove when he got a job as a lecturer at Bromsgrove College of Further Education, where he taught carpentry, joinery, maths, science and building construction.

“I was only going to stay for a short time but I did 30 years there before I retired.”

After that he took a job at Highfield Hospital in Droitwich as a technical instructor in occupational therapy, which he did for 10 years.

Leslie said he enjoyed his visit to Singapore so much he is planning to return, although he’s not quite sure when yet.

“My visit back to Singapore brought back so many memories – the difficulties people had to endure trying to get a normal living. Massive changes have taken place since I have been away. It was very impressive and I met so many friendly people too. That hadn’t changed. I felt at home immediately.”