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The Changi Chapel, Canberra happens to symbolize many chapels that were found in various parts of Singapore and Malaya at the time of Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945. It stands as a repository to those who kept their faith and dignity and braved the difficulties that stood in their way. The Changi Chapel, Canberra was born out of the struggle of the Changi prisoners against humiliation, loss of freedom, hunger and disease. History of the Changi Chapel, Canberra - During World War II, the Japanese military held up about 3,000 civilians in Changi Prison, which could house only 600 prisoners.
The Prisoners of War, who were mainly Australians, built a chapel at the prison in 1944 using very simple tools. British airman Stanley Warren painted a series of wall painting at the chapel. Sgt. Harry Stodgen a British Prisoner of War constructed a Christian cross out of a used artillery shell. After the war, the Chapel was demolished and shipped to Australia, and the cross was sent to the UK. The chapel was restored in 1988, and is now at the National Prisoner of War Memorial in Duntroon, Canberra. Visited by tourists from all over the globe, Changi Chapel, Canberra reminds us of the dehumanized conditions of the prisoners of war and their unrelenting struggle against foreign domination.
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