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Birding in Wartime: Documenting Avian Fauna in Singapore's Changi Prison

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Wartime-Birdwatching_event-2

Did you know that during World War II in Singapore, a book on birds was published by a civilian internee in Changi Prison? Guy Charles Madoc, an ornithologist and member of the Colonial Police of Malaya, produced An Introduction to Malayan Birds in 1943 using a borrowed typewriter and salvaged materials. The singular copy of this book was circulated among other prisoners in its time, and it has since become recognised as one of the important early works on birds in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula region.

Join us to learn more about the work of Guy Charles Madoc, as well as the broader histories and current status of bird research in Singapore. In this special session, we have the honour of hosting Fenella Madoc-Davis, the daughter of Guy Charles Madoc, to share stories about her father and his work. This sharing will be followed by a fireside chat, for an exploration of Madoc’s work and its significance in relation to current-day bird research in Singapore. Audiences can look forward to gaining insights on the history of ornithological research in Singapore, as well as ongoing activities concerning bird conservation and research on our island today.

This event is co-organised by the National University of Singapore (through the Department of History, the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and NUS Libraries) and the Bird Society of Singapore.

This event is part of the Biodiversity in Focus series, aimed at sharing research findings on biodiversity in Southeast Asia and insights on ecosystem dynamics.

Speakers

Fenella Madoc-Davis

Fenella Madoc-Davis

Fenella is a retired teacher who was brought up in Malaysia. She often accompanied her father, Guy Madoc, on jungle treks to observe and record birds. From these early expeditions, she developed a fascination for birds and continues to be passionate about birds through the years. She is a member of the British Trust for Ornithology and has been a surveyor for their Breeding Birds Survey in the north of England and in the south west where she now lives. She is delighted to be in Singapore to share the story of her father and his unique book.
Anthony D. Medrano

Dr Anthony D. Medrano

Assistant Professor, NUS Department of History
Anthony D. Medrano is the National University of Singapore (NUS) Presidential Young Professor of Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College, and an assistant professor in the Department of History at the National University of Singapore. He also holds an appointment at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. His teaching and scholarship look at the histories of biodiversity research in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Tan Yen Yi

Dr Tan Yen Yi

Research Fellow and Curator of Birds, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
As an ornithologist at heart and evolutionary geneticist by practice, Yen Yi's research interests lie in studying the genetics of birds, as well as documenting Singapore's avifauna from a natural history perspective.

Keita Sin

Keita Sin

President and Chair of Records Committee, Bird Society of Singapore
Keita leads the Bird Society of Singapore, an NGO that focuses on conducting research, outreach, and conservation efforts surrounding the avifauna of Singapore and the region. As part of his BirdSoc SG work, he chairs the Records Committee that maintains the Singapore Bird Checklist and strives to document and archive crucial avian records from Singapore.

Moderator

Poh Kathy

Poh Kathy

Executive (Biodiversity Histories), Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
Kathy is a historian at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. With a background in art and environmental history, her research interests focus on scientific knowledge production and how it intersects with lived experiences of past people and societies. In her role at the museum, she leads an institutional oral history project and also conducts research on Singapore’s past biodiversity through materials such as illustrations and written narratives.

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