Silver Jubilee of His Majesty King George V, 1935

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One of the quiet treasures of our old Bedok kampong house was an 11‑page commemorative booklet marking the public celebrations of May 1935 in honour of the Silver Jubilee of His Majesty King George V - the maternal great‑grandfather of the present King Charles III. Once belonging to our paternal grandfather Tan Piah Eng, this fragile programme is more than a keepsake; it is a window into the civic life of pre‑war Singapore. Its pages map out routes and landmarks still familiar to us today - Orchard Road, Connaught Drive, the Padang, Jalan Besar, to name a few - and reveal a city alive with parades, lantern processions, fireworks, and community pageantry. Most strikingly, it records four centres across the island that served free meals to the poor, a reminder that even amid royal celebration, the spirit of communal care ran deep. This book has since been donated to the National Library Board / National Archives of Singapore for preservation, ensuring that its stories -  and the hands that once held it -remain part of our nation’s shared memory. Held in our family for nearly a century, it now stands as a small but meaningful bridge between personal heritage and Singapore’s broader historical tapestry.














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