Tanah Merah I and Tanah Merah II, now home to Capella Singapore, were given conservation status on 7 Aug 2000 under the Conservation of Built Heritage.
They were built in the 1880s to accommodate the British Officers of the Royal Artillery, Coastal Defence Command based on Sentosa Island.
The Officers Mess was where the officers and their families had their meals and recreational activities such as dining, wining, dancing and tennis. There was a tennis court beside the block. ‘Mahjong’ was also a game which the British soldiers picked up from the locals on the island.
Christmas and New Year parties were celebrated at the Officers’ Mess. Formal table settings extended out to the wide corridors of the block and band performances were held in the room at the entrance. From the Officers’ Mess, there was a good view of Singapore harbour and it was a practice for the officers and their families to welcome in the new year with the loud horning from the ships in the harbour.
Parties were commonly held at the Officers’ Mess. When an officer’s tour of duty on the island was up, a farewell party was held before he returned to England and a tankard was normally given as a farewell gift. Farewell parties were also held for wives of commanding officers returning to England.
There was an interesting legend of buried treasures remembered by all the officers who served on the island. It was said that in the last days before the British surrendered on 15 Feb 1942, the British officers quickly buried their Regimental silver in the lawn in front of the Officers’ Mess. Part of the silvers was recovered in Port Dickson in Malaysia in 1950 but the where about of the rest is still unknown, and possibly still lying under the lawn.
After the war, the 1st Singapore Royal Regiment Artillery (1st SRRA) was set up in 1948 and the British officers in command continued to use these blocks as living quarters and mess. In 1956 the British Government authorised the disbandment of all their overseas coast artillery and by 1 Nov 1958 the 1st SRRA at Sentosa Island was disbanded.