13 - SERVING GOD IN UNITED MINISTRY
My husband and I returned from our honeymoon to a warm welcome at Balestier Corps. I had met most of the corps comrades during our training days. The hall was a wooden building with an attap(thatched) roof at 48 Martaban Road, off Balestier Road. We had no running water nor electricity.
Corps Treasurer Mrs. Ong Kay Siang was the undisputed senior member of Balestier Corps. She and her own family lived upstairs of a shophouse along Balestier Road at 325-A. She was a midwife but at that time, was working in a government Family Planning clinic. Mr. and Mrs. Ong had four children – Ruth, Janet, Ellen and Andrew. She also had the care of an invalid mother-in-law. Living in another room was one of Mrs. Ong’s sisters, Mrs. Norman Lim. She and her husband had six offsprings, namely James, Beatrice, Johnny, Phillip, Grace and Charles. In spite of the big population in her home, Mrs. Ong always kept an open house to all the corps folk!
As there were no cadets in training, CHQ allocated us part of the Training College as our quarters. Our bedroom was the one I had shared with Cadet Chan Chin Chai four years before! We had the use of the sitting cum dining room area. My kitchen was the space at the bottom of the back stairs with a hotplate for a stove. I shared a common sink for washing up with the few single lady officers and employees on CHQ. Likewise we shared a common laundry, bathroom and toilet for ladies. Similarly my husband had to share the public facilities for men. However, we were comfortable enough, and were blissfully happy serving the Lord in united ministry.
As to be expected, there were minor adjustments to be made. Initially, I did not recognise myself when addressed as Mrs. Lim, especially in Balestier Corps because there were a number of other women also known as such! Among the Chinese people all over the world, “Lim” is one of the most common surnames, like “Tan” and “Lee” etc.
Living above CHQ, it was quite convenient for us to be called upon in any emergency. One day CHQ decided that I would work three mornings a week, as translator for Brigadier Thelma Watson, the Social Secretary. Many of her clients who came for help were non English-speaking. For my service our corps was given an additional grant. This certainly helped with our corps budget towards self support. My husband’s predecessor was Major Ivy Wilson, a single lady officer. Now that he was married more income was needed! However, I was cheaper than if he had a single for an assistant!
A married woman officer was and still is paid 60% of her husband’s allowance. In those days she did not even receive nor sign for it, but the amount was added and given to her husband. The first time my husband received his allowance as a married man, he felt so rich! On the other hand, I felt as if I lost my job, with no income of my own! It was not till 40 years later, that the ruling changed. Now the allowance of a married couple is divided equally and each spouse sign for half!
I used to be the envy of everyone working on CHQ when my beloved brought me a cup of coffee mid morning. He knew that I did not enjoy the lukewarm cup of tea served by Enche Harun who was the cleaner on CHQ!
Most afternoons after lunch, my husband and I would travel to the Balestier area by bus no. 1, boarding at the stop right in front of CHQ. It would have begun its journey from Kepple Harbour and would terminate at Moulmein Green, right outside the Middleton Hospital which is now the Skin and Communicable Disease Centre. It was a short walk to Towner Road where the corps operated a kindergarten. Mrs. Irene Lim, the mother of Mrs. Emelie Wee, now of Changi Corps, was a government primary school teacher, and in charge of the morning session. Miss Lai Sui Hong, Home League Treasurer of Balestier Corps, took charge of the afternoon session.
Part of the income from the kindergarten went towards the corps budget and the rest to the corps building fund.
Most of the corps folk lived within the vicinity of the corps. After our scheduled time at the kindergarten to conduct the singing or Joy Hour, we did our corps visitation. The weekly activities included Home League, Corps Cadet class, singing and band practices and Torchbearer Youth Group. Usually we did not return home till late at night as public transportation was not as efficient then.
All too soon our term of service in Balestier Corps came to an end. Farewell orders came in November 1959. Three weeks later we were on our way to Penang Corps!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
THIS IS MY LIFE - 12
12 - THE FIRST NATIONAL OFFICERS ARMY WEDDING
In 1957 Lieut. Colonel John and Mrs. Helena Blake, from Australia Southern Territory, and serving in the Pakistan Territory, were appointed here as the Command leaders. With the commissioning of the Faithful Session in July 1957, we now had a whole bunch of Lieutenants. We were joined by Lt. and Mrs. Ken and Betty Spikin from Australia and Lt. Moira Wright from New Zealand.
We planned our wedding to coincide with the Command Anniversary the following year. We felt that this would help the officers stationed outside Singapore with travelling arrangements. Fortunately permission was granted, so I was farewelled from Malacca at the end of May 1958 and stayed with Chim Ku Ma at Dhoby Ghaut a few days before the event. Lieutenant and Mrs. Ken and Betty Spikin, in charge of Singapore Children’s Home, very kindly arranged a “kitchen shower” for us among the officers. This was all new to us, but their thoughtful gesture was much appreciated. Our guests came with articles for kitchen use, like a rolling pin, a spatula etc. Later on we found there was also a combined gift of a clock from all the officers in the command! It was all right because we were ignorant of its significance among the Chinese who are superstitious!
Our wedding took place on 7th June 1958, the Saturday morning of the anniversary weekend. We still have a copy of the order of service conducted by Lt-Colonel John Blake, the OC, and Major Arthur Hall, the CO of Central Corps. Lt. Ken Spikin was the flagbearer, Lt-Colonel Bertha Grey, the Social Secretary prayed; Captain Norina Staples read the Bible; and Lieut. Ruth and her sister Janet of Balestier Corps, sang a duet. Captain Tan Eng Soon was the Bestman while my sister Pui Sim and Lt. Chan Chin Chai were my bridesmaids. Ku Cheong, Mr. Ho Pak Khuan “gave me away in marriage.”
Most of the wedding guests came from the Balestier and Singapore Central Corps. However, a few of the boys from the Youth Group, led by Ng Kim Loh, cycled from Malacca, staying overnight at a police station on the way. It took them more than one day to make the journey!
We were married in uniform of course. I also wore an SA tricoloured sash over the white uniform dress. We needed to hire a car, so my request was for a red car, and decorated with white ribbons. My beloved could not find a car with that colour, as almost all cars were black in those days. Major Hall very kind loaned us his personal dark green car which he had bought with a legacy from his father. So I had pink ribbons, but they were almost white by the afternoon, being in the hot sun! The driver was Enche Aziz from CHQ.
Immediately after the wedding service a reception was held in the front garden of a Home for missionaries at Cairnhill Road. The English people who ran this place did a very good job when they catered for the wedding of Lt. and Mrs. Douglas and Jean Kiff the year before . They were just as kind and good in doing the same favour for us. It was an English garden buffet tea party, serving finger-food like sandwiches, cakes etc. There was a carpet in the middle of the lawn for our three-tiered wedding cake on a small table. The top tier was a real cake, but the other two were dummies. When we cut into the bottom cake, a trap door opened, and inside were slices of fruit cake wrapped in silver foil, ready for distribution to the guests. It was made to order from a shop in Orchard Road, costing $75.00 which was half my monthly income! We did not have much ready cash, so my beloved and I took turns to draw from our post office savings accounts for the various expenses leading up to the wedding.
We did not have a dinner, not even for our relatives. I arranged for my sister to send my father and our overseas friends a piece of the wedding cake for each family, packed in a special box. Years later, I heard from our stepmother that Father was very pleased, although he never quite forgave me for disobeying him when he forbad me to answer God’s call to officership.
That evening we travelled by train to Kuala Lumpur on the first leg of our honeymoon, staying at a Chinese hotel. The next morning we went out to buy a newspaper and were recognised by the vendor who showed us a photo of ourselves in the Sunday Times! This happened, due to the initiative of our PR Officer, Major Stanley Gordon. We made news because it was the first Salvation Army wedding of national officers in this command, though we were number 9 in the wedding register.
On our return from furlough (in this case our honeymoon) I joined my husband in united service at Balestier Corps.
In 1957 Lieut. Colonel John and Mrs. Helena Blake, from Australia Southern Territory, and serving in the Pakistan Territory, were appointed here as the Command leaders. With the commissioning of the Faithful Session in July 1957, we now had a whole bunch of Lieutenants. We were joined by Lt. and Mrs. Ken and Betty Spikin from Australia and Lt. Moira Wright from New Zealand.
We planned our wedding to coincide with the Command Anniversary the following year. We felt that this would help the officers stationed outside Singapore with travelling arrangements. Fortunately permission was granted, so I was farewelled from Malacca at the end of May 1958 and stayed with Chim Ku Ma at Dhoby Ghaut a few days before the event. Lieutenant and Mrs. Ken and Betty Spikin, in charge of Singapore Children’s Home, very kindly arranged a “kitchen shower” for us among the officers. This was all new to us, but their thoughtful gesture was much appreciated. Our guests came with articles for kitchen use, like a rolling pin, a spatula etc. Later on we found there was also a combined gift of a clock from all the officers in the command! It was all right because we were ignorant of its significance among the Chinese who are superstitious!
Our wedding took place on 7th June 1958, the Saturday morning of the anniversary weekend. We still have a copy of the order of service conducted by Lt-Colonel John Blake, the OC, and Major Arthur Hall, the CO of Central Corps. Lt. Ken Spikin was the flagbearer, Lt-Colonel Bertha Grey, the Social Secretary prayed; Captain Norina Staples read the Bible; and Lieut. Ruth and her sister Janet of Balestier Corps, sang a duet. Captain Tan Eng Soon was the Bestman while my sister Pui Sim and Lt. Chan Chin Chai were my bridesmaids. Ku Cheong, Mr. Ho Pak Khuan “gave me away in marriage.”
Most of the wedding guests came from the Balestier and Singapore Central Corps. However, a few of the boys from the Youth Group, led by Ng Kim Loh, cycled from Malacca, staying overnight at a police station on the way. It took them more than one day to make the journey!
We were married in uniform of course. I also wore an SA tricoloured sash over the white uniform dress. We needed to hire a car, so my request was for a red car, and decorated with white ribbons. My beloved could not find a car with that colour, as almost all cars were black in those days. Major Hall very kind loaned us his personal dark green car which he had bought with a legacy from his father. So I had pink ribbons, but they were almost white by the afternoon, being in the hot sun! The driver was Enche Aziz from CHQ.
Immediately after the wedding service a reception was held in the front garden of a Home for missionaries at Cairnhill Road. The English people who ran this place did a very good job when they catered for the wedding of Lt. and Mrs. Douglas and Jean Kiff the year before . They were just as kind and good in doing the same favour for us. It was an English garden buffet tea party, serving finger-food like sandwiches, cakes etc. There was a carpet in the middle of the lawn for our three-tiered wedding cake on a small table. The top tier was a real cake, but the other two were dummies. When we cut into the bottom cake, a trap door opened, and inside were slices of fruit cake wrapped in silver foil, ready for distribution to the guests. It was made to order from a shop in Orchard Road, costing $75.00 which was half my monthly income! We did not have much ready cash, so my beloved and I took turns to draw from our post office savings accounts for the various expenses leading up to the wedding.
We did not have a dinner, not even for our relatives. I arranged for my sister to send my father and our overseas friends a piece of the wedding cake for each family, packed in a special box. Years later, I heard from our stepmother that Father was very pleased, although he never quite forgave me for disobeying him when he forbad me to answer God’s call to officership.
That evening we travelled by train to Kuala Lumpur on the first leg of our honeymoon, staying at a Chinese hotel. The next morning we went out to buy a newspaper and were recognised by the vendor who showed us a photo of ourselves in the Sunday Times! This happened, due to the initiative of our PR Officer, Major Stanley Gordon. We made news because it was the first Salvation Army wedding of national officers in this command, though we were number 9 in the wedding register.
On our return from furlough (in this case our honeymoon) I joined my husband in united service at Balestier Corps.
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