Yeo Tiam Wee

Miss Yeo Tiam Wee (d. 22 September 1933)

English-only headstone with glazed fruit-basket tiles; grave number 417

Headstone of Miss Yeo Tiam Wee, with glazed tiles showing a basket of fruit on either side. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Tomb inscription:

IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
MISS YEO TIAM WEE
DIED 22nd SEPT 1933
No. 417

Summary: This is the headstone of Miss Yeo Tiam Wee, who died on 22 September in a year of the 1930s that is partly lost where the stone is cracked. The inscription is in English only and carries no Chinese characters, no family names and no place of origin. The stone is flanked on both sides by glazed ceramic tiles, each with a moulded roundel of a basket of fruit. The number 417 is carved at the foot. This record transcribes the inscription and describes the tiles; no newspaper notice or family has yet been traced.

Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文

Inscription	Transcription / Meaning
IN LOVING MEMORY OF	A standard English memorial formula, with a lotus-like flower carved above it.
MISS YEO TIAM WEE	Name of the deceased. "Miss" shows she was unmarried. Yeo is the surname (楊 in Hokkien); Tiam Wee is her given name, and no Chinese characters are carved.
DIED 22nd SEPT 193?	Date of death: 22 September. The year begins 193 and its last digit is damaged by a crack across the stone and should be confirmed against the grave.
No. 417	A number carved at the foot of the stone, probably the grave number.

Notes on the inscription:

• English only. The stone has no Chinese inscription, which is unusual among the tombs in this archive and is why the Chinese name of the deceased is not yet known.
• The tiles. Both flanking panels are made of square glazed tiles, each with a moulded roundel of a fruit basket, in green, pink and yellow. The stone itself is cracked in two along a line across the name and date.

Burial Register 埋葬記錄

Final Resting Place	Bukit Brown Blk 3 C plot no 417
Name	Miss Yeo Tiam Wee
Age	30 years
Date of death	22 September 1933
Grave number	417 (carved on the stone)

Sources 資料來源

• Headstone of Miss Yeo Tiam Wee (field photograph and transcription, S.T.E.M.).

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About this record. This entry is part of Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.) 新加坡墓碑銘集录, a specialised digital documentation project and archive recording historical tomb inscriptions in Singapore, with a focus on Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场 and other early Chinese burial grounds. Each record transcribes the original Chinese inscription, gives an English translation, cross-checks it against the burial register, and adds a short biography drawn from contemporary newspapers and archival sources.

Cite this entry as:
Raymond Goh. "Miss Yeo Tiam Wee." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2020/04/yeo-tiam-wee.html. Accessed [date].

Keywords: Yeo Tiam Wee, Miss Yeo Tiam Wee, 楊, Yeo, English-inscribed headstone, glazed tiles, fruit basket tiles, grave No. 417, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.

Name - Yeo 楊 Tiles English