Elizabeth Choy: A War Heroine and More

She had, by any standard, an extraordinary life. Even discounting her incarceration by the Japanese military police for 193 days, during which she was subjected to extreme deprivation, physical abuse and torture, her life was no less than exciting: A childhood among the headhunters of Borneo, audiences with Princess Elizabeth and the Queen mother, a lifetime devoted to social work (during which she was pioneer principal of the School of the Blind), a seat on Singapore’s Legislative Council, a three-month stint as informal ambassador to the US and Canada... and these last three over and above her forty-year career as a teacher.

One might be led to think that her many and varied experiences had shaped her personality. On the contrary, in all these, it was her inimitable nature that shone through – the open-handed generosity, the buoyant optimism, the unassuming stoicism, the schoolgirl naivety, the workman-like perseverance, the unorthodox daring, the insatiable appetite for life. Her sterling character had brought her triumphant through the various vicissitudes and disappointments in the 96 years of her life, and marked the energetic spirit of Elizabeth Choy.