Major Norina Staples

Today Lieut. Colonels Tan invited us and Lieut. Colonel Prema out to lunch. This was to welcome Major Norina Staples who is visiting Singapore. The Major's first appointment was to Batang Melaka to pioneer the work in 1955. I was a young Lieutenant stationed in Malacca and was tasked to prepare the quarters for her and her colleague, Lieutenant Irene Holden.

I recall going out with a young lad, Ng Kim Loh of Malacca Corps to clean and paint the place ourselves. I then bought some 'furniture' - two folding camp beds, some sheets, and two buckets. Old crockery, pots and pans came from the Headquarters' store room! The room was too small to put two beds. For the first time, I had to learn from the villagers how to draw water from the well.

Those were the days. Well we talked of told times. The Major is eighty years old, two years my senior.