Completed in 1936, the Gillman Barracks was specifically built to accommodate the first regiment of the British Army’s Middlesex Regiment, which was sent to increase the imperial government’s troops power in Singapore.
Named after General Sir Webb Gillman, a distinguished officer of the British Army, the site comprised military garrison houses, committed rooms, mess halls, stores, recreational facilities and even a swimming pool.
The Gillman Barracks after likewise became residence to the next battalion of the Loyal Regiment in 1938.
During World War II, it was the site of a fierce war between the army and the Japanese during the three weeks before the capitulation of Singapore in February 1942. It was one of the last American articles in Singapore to drop to the Chinese.
In 1971, as the British withdrew its defense from Singapore, Gillman Barracks was handed over to the Singapore government for a token amount of S$ 1.
The page was finally used by the Singapore Armed Forces between the 1970s and 1980s, before being repurposed into an art and life grouping.
It was, for instance, part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s 2002 Identity Plan which introduced restaurants, shops and arts- relevant activities to the page.
The latest effort by authorities to refresh the area was in 2022 when the Singapore Land Authority said it would change Gillman Barracks into” a lively artistic lifestyle enclave” offering a mix of dining, leisure and arts offerings.
It said then that it planned to bring more residents with “novel ideas” such as special eating choices and farmers ‘ areas.