History: 1878 to 1918
The area selected for the construction of Fort Siloso was at the western point of Blakang Mati. This location would give Fort Siloso and another new fort, Pasir Panjang, commanding positions at the western entrance to Keppel Harbour (left).
The western approach to the harbour is said to had been ‘discovered’ in 1848 by Admiral Sir Henry Keppel sailing in HMS Meander . There is, however, extremely good evidence that this entrance was known of by the seamen of the east for a significant period of time before Admiral Keppel came on the scene. Indeed, it would have been strange if regular users of the harbour did not know of this approach to it.
Lt. H.E. McCallum, Royal Engineers and a workforce comprising of local people began preparing the site for Fort Siloso in 1878. Mount Siloso which is the name of the hill at Siloso Point required levelling to create a suitable flat area for a gun platform. To level the area quickly, Lt. McCallum used 19,000 Pounds (8,636 Kgs) of gun powder to blow away the top of the hill. The workforce then set to, and construction of accommodation, an underground powerhouse, magazine, and three gun emplacements began. At that time, there were no roads in the area. All stores and equipment for the construction work had to be delivered by boat and landed at a small jetty. This was situated not far from the present entrance to the fort.
The photograph to the right shows the original entrance to the fort. The magazine is on the left in the tunnel formed by the roof. To the right was an emplacement for two 7 Inch RML Guns. Today, the shop and Surrender Chambers are there. It is thought that the roof was demolished by the British Army some time after World War 2.
Lifting building materials, heavy stores, equipment and guns up to the top of Mount Siloso was by no means an easy task for the workforce. There was no powered machinery to do the job for them in those days. The only method open to the workers was sheer muscle-power. A method called ‘parbuckling’ was employed. This was both labour intensive and physically demanding work and consequently hard and exhausting in the heat and humidity.
The first armament to be installed at Fort Siloso consisted of two 64 Pounder RML (Rifled Muzzle Loading) Guns and three 7 Inch RML Guns, also known as “Bottle Guns” as their shape was like soda pop bottles of the day. The fort was initially manned by 18 men of the Singapore Volunteer Artillery.
Two of the 7 Inch RML guns were emplaced opposite the Magazine near the entrance to the fort. The third gun was emplaced at the newly levelled top of Mount Siloso. This gun had its own magazine to one side. The two 64 Pounders, were emplaced “en barbette”. That is to say that the guns on their carriages were stood on a solid flat platform and fired over an earthen parapet. The gun emplacement was behind the Gunners Shelter and the Battery Command Post. The parapet allowed a good field of fire, but gave less protection to the gunners than an embrasure. This type of emplacement was also used at Fort Teregah.
To supplement the guns, a string of electrically operated mines, powered from the underground power house, were laid across the entrance to the harbour from Siloso to Tanjong Berlayar on Singapore Island. The first military occupants of the new fort totalled eighteen men. They were drawn from the Royal Artillery and the Singapore Volunteer Artillery Corps.
The Pasir Panjang Battery Tanjong Berlayar was operational by 1889. This battery is north west of Fort Siloso on the other side of the harbour entrance. Some six hundred yards (550 meters) separate the batteries. Both batteries commanded the western approach to Keppel Harbour and would have been a formidable defence against any attack from the west.
Almost as soon as Siloso was completed, it was up-rated. In 1881, there were apparently two plans for an update to the Fort’s armament. One, by Colonel Crossman, called for the fort to be armed with with five 10 Inch BL (Breech Loading) guns. The other plan would reduce the 64 Pounders to one gun, and add five armour piercing guns and a rifled howitzer. Neither plan was implemented although two 10-Inch BL Guns were mounted at Fort Palmer on Singapore Island.
In 1885, yet another plan calling for the emplacement of a modern 9.2 Inch BL Gun was put forward. This time the plan was implemented and a Mark IV 9.2 Inch BL Gun was emplaced below Mount Siloso facing more to the west than the 64 Pounders. An underground magazine was constructed for the new gun. The two 64 Pounders were retired from service.
Yet another plan dated circa 1896, shows the 9.2 Inch BL Gun emplaced, and a new 7 Inch RML Position at the top of Mount Siloso. This being close to the original and still active 7 Inch Gun on the Mount. This new gun would seem to be where the left hand No.2 Gun emplacement of the Mount Siloso 6Inch Battery is. To the right of the new gun, was Command Post built, later much enlarged to create the 1930s Command Post.
What is sure is that a new emplacement was constructed on the top of Mount Siloso following a report by the Committee on Armaments of Defended Ports Abroad. Two QF (Quick Firing) 6 Inch Guns, were mounted there and were operational around about 1907. The 6 Inch Guns, believed to be Mark 1s, were first introduced into service in 1890 by the Royal Artillery. It is thought that the 9.2 Inch gun at the Fort was still in service at this time. The 6 Inch QF Guns had a range of 12,000 yards (10973 metres) and also had a rapid rate of fire when serviced by a well trained team of gunners. The Six Inch gun was destined to become the backbone of British coastal defence systems around the world until as late as 1956.
This plan, dated 1911, shows an extension to the 9.2-Inch Gun’s Magazine. The extension is shown in grey on the graphic on the left. This extension was in order to convert the Magazine to service two 6-Inch Guns instead of the 9.2-Inch Gun above. The plan was implemented and the 9.2-Inch Gun was retired from Service with the new 6-Inch Battery being made operational during 1911. The guns from Mount Siloso being moved to the new emplacement. This is more or less the layout of the Magazine as seen today. The new position gave a better arc of fire to the west of the harbour. It also allowed the 9.2-Inch and 6-Inch Batteries at nearby Fort Pasir Panjang to be retired.
Singapore’s defences played no part in the First World War. They did, however, play a role in the mutiny of Indian troops which occurred during 1915. Searchlights situated on Blakang Mati were used to illuminate parts of Singapore Island to aid loyal troops in quelling the mutiny. Singapore Harbour also played host to Japanese warships which were provided by the Japanese government, then allies. It has perhaps been forgotten that the Japanese provided convoy escort vessels in the Mediterranean Sea for allied forces during the First World War.