For many of us who grew up in Princess Elizabeth Estate, the primary school at Princess Elizabeth Drive was a big part of growing up there in our early school life.
Gerald Cheah Beng Kin moved with his family in 1955 and lived on the ground floor at Block 22 which was adjacent but nearer to the back of Princess Elizabeth Estate School. Spending his first six years of primary school there and leaving in 1960, he fondly recalls the Principal, Mr Ponnusamy, his scout master Mr Bernard Fernandez and his Science teacher Mr Nair.
Most memorable for him was his Geography teacher Mr Lim Mou Shen, who took his classmates all over the countryside in his car, especially to the mangrove swamps at Sungei Buloh where they would bring back root stumps to make handicraft like lamps stands and table legs.
Gerald was kind to send me photos to share on my blog in order that those who went to Princess Elizabeth Estate School would remember those days. Some of the photos below are not from his time at the school but were taken later after the demolition of the SIT estate.
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| The class of 1960. Gerald is second boy from the left. They are beside the dreaded mobile dental van that visit schools. |
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| Blk 3 of the HDB Hillview Estate. The old S.I.T. Princess Elizabeth Estate was located in the green field beside the HDB block of flats. |
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| The cleared land was the old estate once stood. |
