The Singapore Armoured Regiment (SAR) celebrates their 50th Anniversary this year.

But did you know about the very first batch of Armoured Officers called The Camels? 50 years ago, these pioneers ventured overseas for special training. They then returned with the AMX-13 tanks that were later acquired by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). This is significant, because the AMX-13s (later upgraded to the SM1 Tanks) went on to serve as our main battle tank.

Indeed, the Camels helped lay the foundation for our Armoured Regiment and are important men in the history of SAF.

Inspired to commemorate these pioneers, Jason Ong designed a very beautiful logo for the Camels. It was later accepted and adopted by the unit themselves. He also created caps and 3D embroidered patches so that the men can wear their logo proudly.

And here at Miniature Stories, we had the opportunity to collaborate with Jason in his endeavour. With a little customisation, we created mini flags of the Camels’ logo and placed them on our AMX-13 SM1 Tank models. This way, any of them who own our models can display them with the logo of their unit.

Here’s a bit of explanation to the meaning behind the logo, in Jason Ong’s own words:

“The logo depicts an AMX-13 Light Battle Tank in front of a sand dune. In the distance, a caravan of 3 camels are travelling along the horizon. The Roman numerals XXXVI are dedicated to the 36 Camels. 3 camels were depicted on purpose, so as to signify that each tank had 3 operators – A Commander, Gunner and a Driver. A horse-shoe scroll encased these icons of the SAF Armour with the text “Camels’ Golden Jubilee”. The years 1968 and 2018 depicts the 50 golden years of the Camels’ Legacy. Gold is used to represent this anniversary over Black, the colour of Armour.”