sirens began to sound and bombs began dropping.
Then seemingly out of nowhere, a British officer drove
up and offered to escort her safely on board, straight
to the Captain.
That night, the vessel was shelled by Japanese
warplanes and began to sink. The Captain, a Christian,
asked his passengers to pray, so down on their knees
they went. Amazingly, the boat limped on for five days,
and even as provisions and water ran out, they survived.
Arriving in Djakarta (as it was then spelt), she
met people who helped her get accommodation and
transportation to her fiancé’s family in Semarang.
Her guardian angels continued protection there. Ever
diligent, her time in Semarang after her marriage was
well-spent learning dressmaking, cookery, hairdressing,
cake decoration and other craft from Indo-Dutch
teachers setting the tone for future endeavours.
Leaving Semarang was as memorable as her arrival.
The end of the Japanese Occupation of the Dutch East
Indies brought about a period of instability before the
formation of the Republic of Indonesia. As Sylvia was
then a British subject, she left, standing in a truck along
with three others all the way to the airport. En route,
a hail of bullets hit her truck as it sped. Upon arrival at
the airport, the driver, a British officer, told her her life
had been saved by God, that he saw bullets flying by her
and not hitting her.
“Say laces and offer her some guipure...”
whispered Bixiou in Gazonal’s ear.
(Unconscious Comedians,- Honore de Balzac)
RiGht An imported
headdress, made of organza
and silk flowers embellished
with tiny guipure flowers
above RiGht Sylvia’s
handmade veil, now a
collection of the National
Museum of Singapore
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE, NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARDfeature: sylvia KhoFeatURe: sYlvia kho