Historical Narrative: The Truth

“…And you were at Hill 30 as well.” Captain Marshall spoke as he was reviewing about Matt Baker’s performance at a make-shift headquarters in Germany after the war. “I heard that you brought in the reinforcements. Nice job there. All of you managed to put up a fierce fight.”

Matt Baker hesitated for a moment and interrupted, “Neither did I bring in the reinforcements nor save anybody.”

“Excuse me, Baker?” Marshall asked in a slightly rude manner, a little shocked at Baker’s response.

Baker apologised to Marshall and explained, “I mean… I heard a lot of talk about how I brought in reinforcements and things like that. That was not what happened.” Baker hesitated again and continued, “Legget saved us. Just that no one wants to talk about it.”

Marshall sat up straight and his eye brows already revealed his curiosity. “Would you tell me what happened while you were at Hill 30?” he asked. However, he realised that Baker looked like he was about to break down and cry.

“Baker, do you need a break?” Marshall asked. Baker did not reply to his question, as if he was dreaming. He only responded when Marshall repeated his question.

“I can go on.” replied Baker. His lips was already trembling and tears already formed up at his eyes as he tried to describe what happen at Hill 30. However, to Baker, this is not an ordinary nightmare. This nightmare has scarred him for life.

“I need armoured support now! I mean right now!” Legget pleaded. He sounded very desperate as if he would die any moment if no one helped him immediately. “No one is responding!” Legget reported to Baker.

Baker did not respond. He knew he had to keep defending the area or else this area would be overrun. While Baker was reloading his rifle, he found himself being sent to the ground and he felt the pain on his forehead. Blood was trickling out from his wound. Hartsock rushed up to Baker.

“Baker, you ok?” Hartsock asked.

“There is no time. Just pull him up!” Hassay ordered. Hartsock instantly pulled Baker back on his feet.

Baker pulled out his rifle and started to take out the Nazis that were still charging at them. Baker looked at the situation. The situation had become horrible, from bad to worse. People were demoralised. Blood was almost everywhere, not to mention corpse. Wild thoughts were running through his mind. Is he going to die here? However, he had to shove these entire questions to the back of his mind, for he knew that if he did not, he will not be able to figure out what had happen forever. Soon, the battlefield was flooded with a sea of corpse.

“I spotted tanks! Over there!” Legget warned. “Keep your heads down!” Their mouths went agape. Two armoured vehicles were seen! Everybody must have assumed that this was the end as they bent down to avoid being shot.

“Let us get out of here! We do not have the proper weapons to deal with them!” a soldier pleaded. He was already weeping as he spoke.

“Our mission is to secure Hill 30. If any body attempts to run, I will shoot you in the back. You understand!” Hassay threatened all of us as well as the soldier.

Baker took a peek to see the tanks. However, the tanks shot near him. Baker was sent flying helplessly by the impact. Baker was losing his consciousness. However, Baker looked in horror as Legget stood up. He was in a crazed rage.

“You want me!” he taunted at the enemies. He took out his side arm and started to fire at the tanks. Many other people were telling Legget to get down but to no avail. “Take me!” he shouted at the top of his lungs and soon, he was hit by a tank shell. The impact was so great it ripped open his chest and his chest was now a blooming spread of redness.

“Baker? Baker!” Hassay shouted. Baker’s view is getting blurry. Was he going to die? A blanket of darkness covered Baker.

Baker woke up, his vision was unclear and he tried to figure out what had happen. Hassay crouched beside Baker and shouted, “I thought you died! Baker, I need you to rush all the way to headquarters and bring in reinforcements. Move it!” Bullet-like, Baker immediately rushed out to find reinforcements.

Baker did not know how long he ran. He looked up and realised that he has a much longer way to go. He paused. If he did not find reinforcements soon…

“Hey! Have any idea how to go to Hill 30?” a voice shouted out. Baker smiled. Now all he needs to do is to direct them to Hill 30.

“Follow me!” Baker shouted out to the reinforements. He noticed that there were amoured vehicle as well as troops. Baker wore a smirk of confidence. He knew this battle would be won very soon.

It was an estimated ten minutes before they reached Hill 30 and Baker immediately fired the machine gun that was attached to the tank as soon as the Nazis saw them, killing them before they knew what hit them as Baker delivered his messengers of death. The tanks turned the enemies' tanks into a steel coffin as well.

"Baker! Nice job in bringing the reinforcements here!" Hassay praised Baker as everybody discussed about how he rescued them. Baker grinned. However, at the back of his mind, he was filled with guilt and sadness. He felt guilty about how he was powerless to save Legget and sad that he lost Legget.

By the time he finished his story, he hung his head in misery, his hands were trembling with fear and his eyes were welling up with tears. Seeing Baker in this state, Marshall told Baker to take a break for a few minutes before coming back and discuss about his performance. As Baker laid on the ground and looked up to the sky again, he remembered about Legget and a question popped out of his mind. What if he saved Legget?

Historical Narrative - Battle Of Pasir Panjang

On 8 February, Japanese troops have crossed the river using the rubber boats and rafts. They started to invade the Northen-Westen part of Singapore. On 11 February, the Japanese took control of Bukit Timah Hill, taking control of a resevoir as well as other supplies that were left by the British as well. A Singaporean, Lim Keng Kim, was forced to flee to a small village located at the south side of Singapore with her son, Lim Boon Kian for safety. They were told by a few soldiers that both their father and uncle, Kim Ah Beng and Kim Ah Sia, were shot down as they attempted to escape from the battle of Bukit Timah Hill.

Keng Kian and Boon Kian were sitting down to have a peaceful supper when gunshots ringed into their ears and commands were heard throughout the battlefield. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as both of them tried to block off the noise. Next, the eerie silence filled the air.

However, a few hours after the battlefield, there was a knock on the door. Both of them froze in fear as they thought they were the Japanese soldiers. After they heard someone saying English, they decided to open the door. As they opened the door, they heaved a sigh of relieve as they saw a British soldier standing in front of them with a few more people that were either badly burnt or injured by the Japanese, which could be identified through their British accent and their uniforms.

Keng Kian signalled to Boon Kian to bring out some sweet potatoes while she carry them to her badroom. While they ate their supper, the British soldier told them that despite of their hard work, they were defeated and their Lieutenant, Adnan bin Saidi was captured by the Japanese. They managed to escape only when they play dead and convinced the Japanese that there was nobody left.

Suddenly, footfalls were heard near their houses. Fearing that the Japanese were nearing, they put out the kerosene lamp and hid immediately in their bedrooms. The door burst opened and Japanese soldiers spoke in their native tougues as they raided the room. Lady Luck was on their side as the Japanese did not explore the house any further and left. The British soldiers heaved a sigh of relieve and stayed overnight.

The next day,they were truly grateful Keng Kian for taking care of them and waved goodbye to Keng Kian and Boon Kian as they were living.

"Watch out for the other Japanese soldiers and I hope that you will be able to survive the war. May God watch over you!" she said to the British soldiers. Again, they thanked her for helping them and left.

Until today, when Keng Kian and Boon Kian recalls about the incident, she would wonder if the soldiers are still alive today. Even if they have not survived the war, it was no doubt that the British soldiers have contributed to protect Singapore during the war.

What Makes Me Sad?

For me, touching movies and sad stories make me sad. When these kind of touching stories are told, it can give you a sorrow feeling and a pain feeling as if your friend lied to you. That feeling is worse than pain and is undescribable. Most of the time, I feel touched but rarely, I cry when watching them. Some of them are "I Not Stupid" and "I Not Stupid 2".

In terms of friends and families, seeing them hurt emotionally makes me sad. Actually, who would not get hurt when meeting this kind of situation? Your friends and family members have guided you to what you are today, leaving an impression on your mind. You may feel like crying as well.

In school, seeing public caning and people fighting over small matters make me sad too. When seeing a public caning, the first thing that comes in my mind is "I hope this student will turn a new leaf and start over". It is very painful for the student to go through this kind of pain as they had disappointed the teachers who put their faith on them. About students that are fighting over small incident, I personally think that "Why students cannot sit down, cool down and thrash things out calmly?". Everytime these things happen, my first reaction is to attempt to stop them. It can save them from disiplinary problems and troubles as well.

Sadness cannot be avoided;it depends on how do you want to face it and handle it. If you handle it correctly, it can be a lesson in life that can guide you further on as well as making you stronger in life.

(279 words)

Situation Writing - News Article

31st August 2010

Hit and run incident leaves two dead

By Jacob Sin

On 29 July, 5.30 p.m, at Hougang Ave 5, a driver sped and left the scene, leaving a driver and a passneger dead . Police investigation revealed that the driver knocked on their motorcycle and sped out of scene.

The driver, Ernest Teo Shi Jie, is 21 this year while the passenger, Ansel Teo Shi Hao, is 18 this year. It is known that they are both brothers and Ernest was driving his brother to enroll him for National Service(NS) when the incident happened. Both of them died on the spot.

16 year old, Ms Jane Tay, an eye-witness and student, said,"It happened so fast!" She also said that she saw two cars. 26 year old, Mdm Susan Toh, an eye-witness and a teacher, said,"They were both so young!" She also commented that all she heard was a big bang before this incident happened and said that she did not know as the incident happened in a flash.

Police Inspector Abdul Rahman, when interviewed, said,"There was streams of blood on the road." He was also shocked by the remains of the motorcycle that was left after the accident.

Police Inspector Abdul Rahman also added,"When you witness a hit and run incident, note the car plate as it could catch those irresponsible people. However, if you cannot see the car lisense plate, you can always note the modal of the car and the colour of it.

"Remember, if you witness a hit and run incident, never leave the scene as the things you see maybe important to the police so that they can be part of an evidence. Even if you had knocked down a person, you should help the person as it can make a difference between life and death and the charges will be lower. If you leave the scene immediately while knocking down a person, the charges that are going to be higher as you are not being reponsible and the police have to use more time to do more investigation."

Letter of complaint

31 Ang Mo Kio
Avenue 65

21st April 2010

Mrs Saraspathy Menon
Principle
Chong Boon Secondary School

Dear Ms Menon,
UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE AT THE SCHOOL LIBRARY
My friends and I have been going to the school library lately to do some self-studying. Unfortunately, there were some unpleasent event in the library. I am writing this letter to imform you about the incidents and I hope that you can take actions so that it is a condusive enviroment and other people can study as well.

There was this group of student that is so rude to the librarian that they argued with the librarian. The students was swearing at the librarian loudly. Despite of the fact that the librarian was older than them, they still did not care and continued to do so.I personally feel that those students should be punished as swearing is not an appropiate behaviour.

Some students even smuggled food and drinks and even spilled their drinks on the table, attracting ants and other pest as it is a sweet drink. It is annoying when a place is dirty and it makes the situation worse. I hope that you can address this problem as it could cause more people to bring food into the library and dirty the library.
There is a boy who came into the library in his PE clothes, perspiring. This is unhyginic as the library will smell and the others in the library will be disgusted , causing them to be distracted. I feel that these people should wear their uniform before going into the library.
Some people are using the computor for a long time while playing games. These computors are for the benefit of people who do not have a computer at home as well as to do their project work.
This is a selfish way to use the computer as there are many people who wants to use the computors as well. I feel that it could be irritating when they are doing something unimportant and others have to do others that are important.
The library was used to be quiet but now, it is noisy. This is no different than being in a market. Other people have to concentrate on their own work. The public library is much more quieter than our school library and you cannot expect our students to go to a public library just to have a condusive enviroment.
We suggest that we should put the rules up outside the library doors so that the students know how to behave in a library. We should be even be strict as being disrespectful to the librarian who has the right to work here is very wrong. We can send them to the disiplinary room to accept their punishment. We can hire more librarians so that they can tell other students who are not obeying the rules to go out. I sincerely hope that you can consider about it.

Yours Sincerely,
Jacob Sin
Respect 2

War (PEEL Structure)

War is a horrible experience for everyone. People who are involved or caught up in a war will always be haunted forever by these memories. War causes many to lose their lives, including civilians and soldiers. It could cause a disasterous effect, both mentally and physically to many people and other countries. This could also cause relationships between countries to worsen and discrimination will happen around other countries as well.

International Friendship Day Reflection

What are the relationships that are important to you within the school context?

To me, Teacher-Stundent relationship is important. If there is no teachers to support us, we would not be what we are today. We may not be getting good grades or may even fall into bad company as well. Teachers teach us moral values which are useful for the future and teach us subjects as well so that we can find a career.

What do you know about the historyof your CCA(NPCC)?

I know that NPCC is formed in 1959 and it has become one of the largest uniform groups in Singapore. It is about dicipline, respect for others, perseverence and excellence.

Share a story about your CCA.

Once, I did not show a role model for secondary ones who just joined NPCC as I was talking to another of my friends. After debrief, the secondary two squad and me were punished by doing push-ups. He scolded us for being disrespectful and not showing a good role model to them. From there, I learnt my lesson and I have respected the seniors more.

Have the stories you heard from your classmates changed the way you feel about this school?

Yes. Once, I thought that this is just a normal neighbourhood school here. But now, after I heard what other people say about this school, I felt that this is more than a neighbourhood school.