During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese troops built a Syonan-to Shinto shrine (Syonan-to was the Occupation name for Singapore), similar to the National Shinto in Japan but of a smaller size, at Bukit Timah Hill. Two war memorials dedicated to the Japanese war dead and surprisingly, to the deceased British troops who died defending Singapore, were built at the site. Students, Japanese commanders, British POWs' representatives would gather there regularly to commemorate the dead during the Occupation.