POSBank (then known as Post Office Savings Bank) was first established under the Postal Service Department by the British colonial government in 1877 to encourage ordinary workers to save money. It was after independence when then Minister for Finance Dr Goh Keng Swee arrested the Bank’s decline in the 1950s and revived it as a savings bank for the average citizen. Deposits at the POSBank constituted a vital source of funds for developing the fledgling nation’s infrastructure and the Bank was turned into a statutory board in 1972 to give it a separate identity from the Postal Services Department. The Singapore Armed Forces Reservists Association (SAFRA) was the other brainchild of Dr Goh who was then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. It was established also in 1972 to recognise the sacrifices and contributions made by the National Servicemen (NSMen) in the defence of Singapore and to foster camaraderie among the NSMen. The inaugural ceremony of SAFRA was held in 1972 at the former premises of the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission Home at Prince Edward Lane.
