Growing Up in British Malaya and Singapore

A Time of Fireflies and Wild Guavas

Growing Up in British Malaya and Singapore: A Time of Fireflies and Wild Guavas is an autobiography of Maurice Baker's life in Malaya and Singapore from the 1920s to the 1940s. His memoir extends from the earliest of childhood memories with his family and friends up to the defeat of the British during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.

Baker's recounts are often humorous and detailed with the help of rare photographs, preserved since his childhood. His love for poetry also seeps through the lines of vivid prose, sending the reader back to a simpler time where tigers still used to roam the jungles of Malaya and Singapore; where fireflies were as abundant as starlight, and wild guava trees stood tall.

Contents:

• Foreword
• Preface
• Beginnings
• School
• The Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh
• Boarding School
• Lessons
• School Activities
• Raffles College 1938–1941
• Raffles College Teaching Staff
• College Life
• War in Europe
• The Japanese Invasion
• The Fall of Singapore
• Homeward Bound
• Glossary

Readership: General public.
Key Features:

• Provides a glimpse of early Malaya and Singapore and how it was like to grow up as a child during that period
• The autobiography can also be used as a textbook for Lower Secondary Literature students
• Worksheets complement the book as an online e-resource to promote better understanding of various writing styles