Elizabeth Choy | |
|---|---|
 Choy in 1953 | |
| Born | Yong Su-Moi 29 November 1910 |
| Died | 14 September 2006(2006-09-14) (aged 95) |
| Other names | Dayak Woman of Singapore Gunner Choy |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | Heroics during theJapanese occupation of Singapore inWorld War II |
| Spouse | |
| Father | Yong Thau Yin |
| Relatives |
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| Awards |
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| Elizabeth Choy-Yong Su-Moi | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 蔡楊素梅 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 蔡杨素梅 | ||||||||||
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Elizabeth Choy Su-MoiOBE (néeYong; 29 November 1910 – 14 September 2006) was a Singaporean educator and councillor who is regarded as a war heroine in Singapore. Along with her husband, Choy Khun Heng, she supplied medicine, money and messages toFar East prisoners of war andcivilian internees held inChangi Prison during theJapanese occupation of Singapore inWorld War II.
Choy was born in aHakka family inKudat,North Borneo (nowSabah). Her great-grandparents first came to Kudat from Hong Kong to assist German missionaries in their work. The eldest of 11 children, Choy's father worked as a civil servant after completing his early education in China with some English education in North Borneo, where he married the daughter of a priest. He transferred to work in Jesselton (nowKota Kinabalu) and was later promoted to District Officer and he moved toKalimantan.
Choy was raised by aKadazan nanny and acquired Kadazan as her first language. She became anAnglican at St Monica's Boarding School inSandakan, where she adopted the name "Elizabeth", and went on to pursue higher education in Raffles College (now theNational University of Singapore) in Singapore. As her family could not afford the tuition fees, she started to teach, first atSt Margaret's School and then atSt Andrew's School.
In August 1941, she married Choy Khun Heng, employed by the Borneo Company.
During theJapanese invasion of Malaya, Choy served as asecond lieutenant in the women's auxiliary arm of theSingapore Volunteer Corps, where she acquired the nickname "Gunner Choy". She was also a volunteer nurse with the Medical Auxiliary Service. After thefall of Singapore in 1942, the Choys set up a canteen at theTan Tock Seng Hospital, after all the patients and doctors had been moved from the Miyako Hospital (formerWoodbridge Hospital), where they soon started a regular ambulance run for British civilian internees. The couple helped prisoners interned inChangi Prison by passing to them cash and parcels containing fresh clothing, medicine and letters during their deliveries. They incurred further risk by sending in radio parts for hidden receivers until the Japanese crackdown followingOperation Jaywick.
During the subsequentDouble Tenth Incident, an informant told theKempeitai (Japanese military police) that the Choys were involved in smuggling money into Changi Prison, resulting in the arrest of Choy's husband. After several days, Choy went to theKempeitai East District Branch to ask about her husband. The Japanese denied knowledge of him, but lured her back to the branch three weeks later and confined her with other prisoners. She was imprisoned and subjected to torture. R. H. Scott, a former director of the British Ministry of Information (Far Eastern Branch) and principal witness at the War Crimes Court in Singapore, later testified that he saw Choy being stripped and severely beaten "on at least one occasion".[1] Throughout her imprisonment, her strongChristian faith and the classic texts that she learnt in school about moral values kept her strong.[2]
At the Japanese surrender in Singapore in September 1945, Choy was invited byLady Mountbatten to witness the official ceremony, where she was escorted by the governor,Sir Shenton Thomas, and his wife, to whom she had sent medicine in Changi Prison.
After the war, the Choys were invited to England to recuperate. During their stay,Lady Baden-Powell awarded her theGirl Guides' highest honour for gallantry, theBronze Cross, and theRajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke presented her with theOrder of the Star of Sarawak. The Choys were bestowed with theOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 1946.[3] They were honoured for their work in assisting British prisoners of war in Malaya during the Japanese occupation. In addition, Choy received the honour of having a half-hour private audience withQueen Elizabeth atSt James's Palace on 25 July 1946.[4]
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During her four-year stay in England, Choy studied domestic science at the Northern Polytechnic (now theUniversity of North London) and taught at a London council school. Intent on studying art but without the finances for this venture, Choy began a stint as an artist's model, posing for two sculptures, "Serene Jade" and "Flawless Crystal", by the sculptorDora Gordine.
On returning to Singapore in 1949, Choy resumed teaching and became involved in the political developments preceding Singapore's independence. She stood in theelection in December 1950 for the West Ward. However, she lost to theProgressive Party candidate Soh Ghee Soon.
From 1951 to 1955, Choy was nominated by theGovernor to theLegislative Council of Singapore, where she spoke frequently on behalf of the poor and needy, and campaigned for the development of social services and family planning. As a member of the Legislative Council, she represented Singapore at theCoronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. She later stood for elections inQueenstown but retired from politics thereafter.
Choy's teaching career atSt Andrew's School continued until 1974, except for a four-year spell as the first principal, as well as a teacher, at theSingapore School for the Blind from 1956. After her retirement she improved her languages and travelled. She continued with social work and school visits into her 90s, impressing young Singaporeans with the need to maintain strong national defence.
Choy was also noted for wearing traditional Chinese and Indian clothing,qipaos andbangles, which earned her the nickname "Dayak Woman of Singapore".
Choy died frompancreatic cancer in 2006 at the age of 95.
In October 1986, Choy's life story was adapted into a stage playNot Afraid To Live, Not Afraid To Remember by Kim Ramakrishnan. The play was directed by Lim Siauw Chong and was staged by Theatreworks at the Drama Centre in Singapore.
On 11 September 1995, a column on Choy, titled "She paid 40 cents for me to have this picture", was published in the Singapore newspaperThe Straits Times. It was written by columnistKoh Buck Song, one of Choy's former students.
On 29 October 1997, an exhibition titledElizabeth Choy : A Woman Ahead of Her Time was officially opened at theSingapore History Museum in honour of Choy's contributions to Singapore. The exhibition was considered unique for a living woman in Singapore history, tracing her life as a nurse, her travels to the United Kingdom to meet royalty, her 22-year teaching career at St Andrew's School, and her vast contributions to the less fortunate. More than 100 artefacts of pictures and newspaper clippings of her past, including the sculptureSerene Jade, were on display at the exhibition. This was a nude sculpture of Choy, created in 1949 byDora Gordine. It was also the first in a series of four sculptures by Gordine, and only five other copies of the sculpture remain in existence.[5]
Choy's life and experiences during the Japanese occupation of Singapore had been depicted twice in television. The first time was inThe Price of Peace, a Chinese-language drama series aired on TCS Eighth Frequency (nowMediaCorp Channel 8) in 1997, in which she appeared as a semi-fictional character and was portrayed by actressXiang Yun. The second time was inLife Stories – Story of Elizabeth Choy, which was aired on the English-languageMediaCorp Channel 5 in 2007.
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