By mid-1945, Germany had surrendered and the Allied forces were poised for an invasion of Japan. Just days after atomic bombs devastated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Emperor Hirohito formally announced the unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces on 15 August 1945.

Stunned by their defeat, some Japanese soldiers did not immediately obey their orders, unable to accept the shame of surrender. All the soldiers were eventually imprisoned as the Allied POWs had been in 1942.

The internees, who had by now waited three and a half years for liberation, experienced everything from joy to relief. The Union Jack, carefully hidden from the Japanese during imprisonment, was raised once more as Allied soldiers returned to Singapore.