James Leasor’s ‘Singapore: The Battle That Changed The World’ republished for 80th Anniversary

With under a month before the 80th anniversary of the fall of Singapore, Chiselbury Publishing today announces the republication of James Leasor’s Singapore: The Battle That Changed The World’, his seminal account of the battle that was Britain’s greatest defeat since Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in the American War of Independence.

When Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, it was a devastating blow to the Allies and the British Empire. It signalled a momentous turning point in history. Its impact was arguably even greater than Yorktown.

James Leasor’s account begins as far back as the early nineteenth century, in the age of imperialism and the establishment of the settlement founded by Sir Stamford Raffles. Pulling no punches, he charts the years leading up to Singapore’s defeat and the realisation that the West was no longer invincible.  

Written just over 20 years after the end of WW2, it includes direct, first-hand input from many of the main players involved, including that of Lt-Gen Percival, the British commander who signed the surrender document, shortly before he died; Lady Shenton Thomas, the widow of the last Governor of the Straits Settlements; Viscount Mountbatten of Burma; Sir Franklin Gimson, Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in December 1941 and Governor of Singapore 1946-52; Lord Hankey; and Lord Beaverbrook.

Singapore is available for purchase here, from bookshops using ISBNs 978-1-908291-82-0 (Hardback), 978-1-908291-81-3 (Paperback) and 978-1-908291-18-9 (Kindle) or from Chiselbury. If you would like a review copy please email info@chiselbury.co.uk.