The Battle Box - Present Day

Present Day

After the war, Fort Canning was again used by the British as the Singapore Base District Headquarters. The British handed over Fort Canning to the Singapore Armed Forces in 1968-1969, and the buildings of Fort Canning served for a time as the Singapore Command and Staff College. The Battle Box, having remained empty and unused since the war, was sealed off in the late 1960s due to safety concerns and its exact location forgotten. The Battle Box was brought back into the public eye when it was "rediscovered" by a journalist in 1988, who was following a number of leads claiming the existence of an underground bunker complex on Fort Canning Hill.

The Battle Box was developed into a museum, depicting the final days of the battle of Singapore. The museum was formally opened on 15 February 1997, on the fifty-fifth anniversary of the surrender of Singapore.