‘Thank you to this lion of an island’: British author inspired by S’porean WWII pilot finds his family

British author Onjali Rauf left flowers and a copy of her book at Tan Kay Hai's headstone at Kranji War Cemetery on April 29.Three years after The Lion Above The Door was published, she managed to meet family members of Tan Kay Hai, a decorated, daredevil pilot with the Royal Air Force during World War II, on April 30. He had been the inspiration behind a character in one of her books.

A day earlier, Ms Onjali had also managed to visit Mr Tan Kay Hai’s grave at Kranji War Cemetery, along with friends of his family who had reached out to her. There, she left flowers and a copy of her book at his headstone. “I believe he would like to be remembered as a person who gave his best whether during the war as a fighter pilot, in peace as a civil servant or as father to his four children.”

The third was to be open-minded, using food as an example: “Don’t ever reject what is presented to you, at least give it a try. Then you have the right to say whether you like it or not. Apply that to the rest of your life - don’t say, ‘I won’t do this, I won’t do that’. If somebody gives you an opportunity, try it out first, and you may find your life a lot more enriched by doing so’.”

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