The Oral History Centre records, documents, preserves and disseminates information on the history of Singapore through the collective memory of the people. The tapes and transcripts available in the Archives Reference Room are divided into two categories: "A" for unrestricted interviews; and "B" for restricted interviews. Researchers who wish to gain access to restricted interviews, must obtain a written consent from the interviewees.

Chinese Dialect Groups
The project is part four of the communities of Singapore project. It covers the socio-cultural experiences of the various dialect groups in the Chinese community. A total of 200 interviews producing 893 hours of recording was completed.

The Civil Service - A Retrospection
(Completed project)
The project aims to document the history of the civil service through the working experiences of active and retired civil servants. Interviews are conducted with people associated with the Malayan Civil Service, General Clerical Service and the Singapore Civil Service. A catalogue of synopses capturing the recollection of 136 people with 536 recorded hours of interviews was produced.

Development of Education in Singapore
(Part 1 completed)
The project records the development of education in Singapore since prewar days. It includes the experiences and contribution of veteran educationists from primary to tertiary level. Interviewees also include alumni and school administrators. This project covers four language streams, namely, English Education (Part 1), Chinese Education (Part 2) and Malay and Tamil Education (Part 3). A catalogue on English Education was produced. 230 interviews was conducted with a total of 1500 hours of recording was produced for this project.

Development of Medical Services in Singapore
This project covers the practice of medicine during pre and post-war Singapore. It also records interviewees' recollection of the old hospitals they worked in and changes in the profile of patients over the decades. Interviewees include doctors, dentists, nurses, health attendants, laboratory technicians and embalmers. In total, 94 interviews with 389 recorded hours were collected.

Japanese Occupation of Singapore (Supplementary interviews)
Though an oral history catalogue covering 175 interviews for this project was produced in 1986, the Centre continues to interview people who were involved in the World War II. Supplementary interviews were conducted and these include interviewing the Japanese personnel, prisoners-of war, civilians, etc. 80 additional interviews with 200 hours of recording were collected to date.

*Oral Traditions (Nursery rhymes)
The study of oral tradition is part of the rediscovery of our cultural heritage and it would lead to a better understanding of our people and culture. This project aims to collect mainly the nursery rhymes and these include interviewing the reminiscences of the professional story-tellers. 34 interviews with 25 hours of recording were carried out.
*No synopses available; only listing is available for this project.

Political Development in Singapore
The project covers the period 1945 to1975; topics covered include the history of Singapore's ruling party, the Peoples' Action Party (PAP), a decade of Singapore's political history since independence. This is an on-going project. 120 interviews with 500 hours of recording were conducted.

Senior ASEAN Statesmen
(Completed project)
This project covers the ASEAN history through the memories of long-standing ASEAN senior statesmen. Altogether 46 interviews covering 92 hours of tape-recorded interviews were collected. A catalogue was produced. All the interviews for this project are classified under "restricted" category - The interviews are available for listening only. No quotation is allowed without the written permission of the interviewees themselves.

Special Project (Visual Arts)
The project documents the development of visual arts in Singapore. Interviews record the reminiscences of our pioneers who have contributed to our nation's cultural heritage. 30 interviews with 210 hours of recording were collected.

Sports Personalities of Singapore
The project was conceived in 1997 as there was a need to document the illustrious sports history of Singapore before 1960s. Interviews are drawn from athletics, badminton, football, hockey, marathon running, professional boxing, shooting, sports administration (and coaching), swimming, tennis and water-polo. 19 interviews with 193 hours of recorded tapes were produced.

Story of Joo Chiat: Changing Landscapes & Community
The project aims to document the social and physical changes that Singapore had undergone in the decades since its founding and especially since independence. Interviews also cover the environment, the culture and the emotional bonds of the residents of Joo Chiat. A total of 43 interviews with 117 hours of tape-recorded interviews were conducted. ' Excerpts of oral history interviews were used in 'Joo Chiat - A Living Legacy', a publication of the Joo Chiat Citizens' Consultative Committee written by Professor Lily Kong and Dr T C Chang.

Transportation in Singapore
Started in late 2000, this project aims to document the development of Singapore's maritime and port history and the development of air transportation in Singapore including the development of airports and their services. To date, the Centre has interviewed 14 people with a total of 25 hours of recorded tapes.

Women Through the Years: Economic and Family Lives
This project aims to record the productive and reproductive lives of older women in the economy and family in Singapore. Women's productive work in the economy sustained their families through incomes earned, while their reproductive work in the family involved housework and the nurturing of family members. A total of 78 interviews comprising 365.5 hours of recording was carried out.

Finding Aids : Oral History Synopsis Files
Published catalogues (for completed projects only)

< Record Release 2001