Keppel Hill Reservoir

On the evening of 6 April 1936, two soldiers from the Middlesex Regiment, Privates Alfred Birch (aged 21) and Francis Hubbard (aged 20), drowned. Hubbard tried to rescue Birch but they had struggled at the reservoir. Thirty other Regiment soldiers, who were about fifty yards from their location, swam quickly towards them, but by the time they reached the duo's last known location, the two had already sank to the bottom. A local Malay diver, named Bujang, of the Singapore Harbour Board arrived half an hour later and dived into the reservoir. Birch's body was recovered by two privates about three quarter's of an hour later, while Hubbard's was recovered by the diver about 10 minutes earlier, both brought to the surface by the diver.[10]

The two were unable to be revived at the hospital, and they were later buried at Bidadari Cemetery at 5 pm the following day.[11] On 8 April, the soldiers of Middlesex Regiment were instructed not to swim there again.[12] The inquest was held on 16 April 1936,[13] and was ruled out as a misadventure.[14]

During the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945, the reservoir was used as swimming pool by the Japanese officers.[15]

During the afternoon of 26 March 1948, Chew Teik Pin (aged 17), then an employee of Tyersall Officers' Mess, went with two other youths to the defunct reservoir, a swimming pool then known as Keppel Hill Reservoir. He faced difficulty after his first plunge and disappeared into the depth. His body was recovered the next day. The inquiry was held on 3 April 1948 and was ruled out as a misadventure.[16][17][18]

In 2005, the Asia Paranormal Investigators team led by Charles Goh came across an abandoned reservoir while they were searching for the lost tomb of a Japanese naval engineer at the foot of Mount Faber. Goh first believed that it was an abandoned swimming pool due to the remnants of a diving board and bathing area at that time. The site was not fenced and there was an old sign hanging from a tree that cautioned visitors not to swim or fish in the reservoir.[20]

On 17 September 2014, a five-member research team from National Heritage Board headed by its assistant director of research, Dr John Kwok, re-discovered its location.[21][22] Alvin Tan, the group director of policy, said the discovery is historically significant because of the building materials and methods used to build the reservoir, with some being handmade and dating back to the colonial period.[23]