Constructed between 1927 and 1937, Changi Cantonment was a British military base that guarded the eastern end of the Straits of Johor and the Naval Base at Sembawang. Before World War II, the cantonment housed Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers units, with artillery batteries installed within and around the base. After the war, the base was taken over by Royal Air Force (RAF) and became known as RAF Changi.
By the 1950s, the cantonment had expanded into a small town, encompassing barracks, quarters, officers’ bungalows, grand mess buildings, power stations, a hospital, an airfield with hangars and workshops, and offices. A wide range of leisure and sporting facilities were also built for British soldiers, including playing fields, swimming pools, restaurants, cinemas and numerous social and sporting clubs.
As the British military withdrew from Singapore between 1967 and 1971, the Singapore government took over the barracks in the cantonment and repurposed them into facilities for different uses. Today, parts of RAF Changi are occupied by Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), while other buildings have been repurposed as hotels, restaurants, resorts and residences.
Repurposed buildings in the cantonment included former warrant officers’ quarters and married servicemen quarters along Halton, Sealand and Upavon roads; barracks blocks along Hendon Road; and bungalows at Fairy Point and around Cranwell Road. The former Changi Hospital was located at Halton Road, while the ornate former Royal Engineers’ Command Building on Fairy Point Hill served as the SAF Commando Battalion’s headquarters before being converted into a hotel in 2015.
