A stamp issue to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II will be released on 21 Jun 95.

For Singapore in 1945, the end of the war was greeted with the euphorism and jubilant relief of "being free" again. This was immediately followed by the realisation that hardships were far from over. Everyone knew that the war had caused drastic social and economic disruptions and much had to be done to restore order, to reconstruct the city and to rebuild the economy. There was a growing awareness that we had to be our own master, thus marking the beginning of our independence movement.

Designed by Chua Ban Har, the four stamps in this issue depict chronologically the victory scene (NVI stamp), the surrender scene (60c), the hard post-war days (70c) and the State of Emergency ($2) which lasted 12 years.

Collectors would be interested to know that while both designs of the NVI and 60c stamps incorporate the image of a "BMA MALAYA" overprinted stamp issued by the British Military Administration then, the design of the $2 stamp includes an image of the crest found on the identity cards that were issued soon after the declaration of Emergency. The 70c stamp bears an image of the official announcement in the Straits Times of the end of World War II.