Note that the space under the mail slot in the middle of the box, would have indicated the "next collection" and the Details of the box ie Box number and collection times of the days for weekdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. During the old days, Saturdays would have been a weekday.
Post Boxes came in various shapes and sizes in the forms of Pillar Boxes and Letter Boxes. During the Straits Settlements and British Malaya period, the Post Boxes bore the Royal Cyphers of the reigning mornachy of the British Crown. The cipher or symbol will have the first letter of the Christian name of the King or Queen, with the second letter for Rex (King in Latin) or Regina (Queen in Latin).
Please see Times of Malaya for various designs of Post Boxes (labeled under Penang & Kuala Lumpur) for examples of Post Boxes with different ciphers indicating the various periods of the British Monarchy.
VR: Victoria Regina, 1837 – 1901
ERVII: Edward the 7th Rex, 1901 – 1910
GR V: George 5th Rex, 1910 – 1936
GRVI: George 6th Rex, 1936 – 1952
ERII: Elizabeth 2nd Regina, 1952 – Present
Post Boxes as Pillar Boxes was first built in 1852 on St Helier, Island of Jersey. “Post Office” was inscribed on the boxes as telephone and post boxes were under the General Post Offices.
Signed off by Rodolfo Nolli at the corner of the lion roundel
Lion roundels on the Elgin Bridge
Close up of the lion relief - possibly the cover for the gas man to turn on the gas for the bridge lights during the bygone days!
Lion Passant Guardant ( Lion paw raised ) on a tower in the first quadrant, Arms of the colony of the Straits Settlement ( Clifford Pier, Singapore )
Lion Passant Guardant ( Lion paw raised ) on a tower, crest on the main gate entrance to Old Kallang Airport
Lion Passant Guardant ( Lion paw raised ) on a tower in the first quadrant, Arms of the colony of the Straits Settlement ( Tanjong Pagar Railway Station )
The Lion Knockers on the doors to leading into the Municipal Building / City Hall
13th of September 1948, the Royal Warrant was issued, granting a Coat of Arms to the Colony of Singapore
Singapore was reported to be presented with the “Lion passant (paw raised) guardant on a tower” as its coats of arms or charge by the colonial secretary when the Straits Settlements were governed directly from the Colonial Office, London 1st April 1867.
This emblem was adopted on 4 March 1957 by the 1st Singapore Infantry Regiment upon its inception, as its Cap Badge. This emblem is still used on the gold buttons of the present day Singapore Armed Forces ceremonial dress.
It can also be found at the gate entrance to the Old Kallang Airport – which was opened in 12 June 1937, when the Director of Public Works, Major RL Nunn addressed the opening speech.
On 25th March 1911, the charge i.e. gold lion passant guardant on a white tower was present in the Arms of the Colony of the Straits Settlements in the first quarter of the quartered shield representing each settlement; with Penang (An Areca palm – Pinang) in the 2nd quarter, a sprig of leaves and fruits of the Keruing Tree representing Malacca on the 3rd quarter and a schooner headed towards Mount Kinabalu in the last quarter, depicting Labuan.
The Lion Statant – a lion with both paws grounded with a coconut palm tree, was also used to represent the Singapore Municipal Commissions. How this came about was unclear?
The Municipal Authority of Singapore existed from the 1820’s to 1930’s. By 1929, there were 7 standing municipal committees, each having 5 or more commissions, with work as follows;
The lion with the palm tree emblem has been adopted by the Singapore Volunteer Corps from 1928 and the Singapore Fire Brigade
The Arms of the Singapore Municipal Commissions was granted by letters patent on 9th April 1948. The official heraldic blazon for Singapore was:
“The arms of the municipal commissions featured a gold lion passant guardant on a white tower, as per the first quarter on the 1911 arms of the Straits Settlements. The charged pair of blue wings between two blue anchors represented the trade hub role of Singapore. These were featured in the shield.
The arms of Singapore used the crest of the Singapore Municipal Commissions, a lion statant with a coconut palm tree. The new arms crest however, has the lion as a lion passant (paw raised) and not statant. The wreath was emblazoned in blue and silver. The motto scrolled was “Majullah Singapura” in Malay – translated then to English was “Let Singapore Flourish”? – The English version motto could be found on the helmet plate of the Singapore Fire Brigade.
On 13th of September 1948, the Royal Warrant was issued, granting a Coat of Arms to the Colony of Singapore. Again, the shield featured a gold lion passant guardant on a tower, but the crest was a demi-lion rampant guardant holding the banner which was attached to a staff, with a red inverted pall, charged with a single crown on a white field. The wreath was emblazoned in gold and red.
In December 1959, when Singapore attained self government as a State of Singapore, the present flag and Coat of Arms, with the lion holding on to the shield of the crescent moon and five stars, has since been adopted
