Dedicated to the men and women from United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, Malaya, the Netherlands and New Zealand who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II, it comprises the War Graves, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves.

The War Memorial represents the three branches of the military - the Air Force, Army and Navy. The columns represent the Army, which marches in columns, the cover over the colums are shaped after of the wings of a plane, representing the Air Force, and the thing at the top is shaped after the periscope of a submarine, representing the Navy.

The Memorial's walls inscribe over 24,000 names of allied servicemen whose bodies were never found, spread over both sides of 12 columns of the war memorial itself.

The grounds of the memorial is set on a hilly terrain with views around the largely undeveloped landscape, although signs of urbanity and clearly visible further afield. The modern skyline of Johor Bahru in Malaysia is clearly visible. The grounds are immaculately maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and accessible only from Woodlands Road, the same road that the invading Japanese Imperial Guards had marched down on 9 February 1942.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.