A smile breaks across my face on my drive home after a most exhilarating conversation with a former colleague during lunch. With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission just around the corner, the self-acknowledged astrophile was in his element and peppered our meal with all sorts of interesting anecdotes related to the July 20, 1969 event.
"Just four days after the Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Neil Armstrong made his first step on the moon and accomplished a giant leap for mankind," he declares before proudly showing off his precious timepiece, a vintage Omega Speedmaster.
Expressing his wish to own a recently-launched Omega Speedsmaster timepiece, he continues half-wistfully: “In conjunction with the anniversary, Omega has come up with a Speedmaster in Moonshine gold.”
During the course of our meal, it becomes apparent that my friend's obsession with the Speedmaster stems from the fact that it was the first ever watch to reach the moon. At that juncture, he reminds me that while Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon, the distinction of the first person to wear a watch on the lunar surface went to Edwin Aldrin as the former had left his Omega Speedmaster in the lunar module.
Turning back the clock a little bit further, my friend goes on to relate that the Omega Speedmaster's place in history was further cemented when it became the first timepiece certified as “Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions” by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) on March 1, 1965.
MAKING OF A LEGENDARY WATCH
The certification came after the Nasa programme office put the call out to 10 different watch manufacturers in 1964 for a reliable wrist-worn chronograph that could withstand the extreme conditions in space, especially during re-entry.
"Out of the four companies that responded, one was immediately disqualified on mere technicality as it was a pocket watch while Nasa wanted one that could be worn on the wrist," my friend says before adding that the remaining three were put through a series of 10 assessments including humidity, corrosion, shock, vibration, acceleration, pressure and extreme temperature ranges.
"The Omega Speedmaster breezed through every single challenge thrown at it while its two rivals stumbled at the high temperature test," he claims proudly before reminding me of an incident when the reliable timekeeper actually saved the lives of the astronauts of Apollo 13 in 1970.
The real-life extra-terrestrial experience retold in the 1995 movie where Tom Hanks said, "Houston, we have a problem” happened when Apollo 13 went through a catastrophic chain of events 56 hours into the mission that crippled the lunar module’s life support and power systems.
The crew was forced to devise a return to Earth by using the moon’s gravitational pull to slingshot them home. Astronaut Jim Swiggert’s Omega Speedmaster provided the accurate 14-second timing to manually fire the descent propulsion engine before the spacecraft could re-enter Earth’s atmosphere safely.
An entry form for a contest conducted by the Royal Dutch Shell Company, more commonly known as Shell, in conjunction with the historic 1969 lunar landing, suddenly comes to mind.
Impatient to see the precious leaflet again, I step on the accelerator and will the vehicle to go faster while still remaining within the legal speed limit.
FIND OF A LIFETIME
It takes yet another hour of frantic searching among the boxes of stuff in my study before the elusive form is within my grasp. Almost immediately, memories of this chance find together with thousands of documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, government permits and other memorabilia spanning more than half a century from the early 1920s start flooding back.
When the existence of this hoard of items at two buildings in Alor Setar's Seberang Perak area became knowledge some three years ago, I immediately acted on the tip. I quickly made contact with the point person of a consortium that had purchased the properties from the original owner's descendants, who were only interested in the real estate but not the contents that were stored in the buildings.
One look was all it took for me to realise the true potential of the contents.
In the past, the pair of buildings served as the private residence of the Loh family as well as their place of business. Started by the patriarch Loh Cheng Hoe, Guan Tong & Co (Kedah) Ltd grew to become one of the most influential timber concerns, rubber estate owners and building material suppliers in post-World War II Alor Setar.
RARE CONTEST FORM
The company owned a fleet of lorries that facilitated the transportation of goods and the Apollo Moon Flight Shell Contest leaflet from Syarikat Lean Giap, the oil company's representative in Sungai Korok at that time, must have been acquired during one of the refuelling trips.
Still in pristine condition, the contest form consisted of 10 simple questions that required either true or false answers with an additional bonus point allocated for the most creative name for an imaginary spaceship.
In total, 325 prizes were up for grabs in the competition that closed on Merdeka Day Aug 31, 1969. With only four prize categories that offered cash prizes of between $100 and $10, the contest gives a good idea of the relatively higher purchasing power of the Malaysian ringgit about half a century ago.
Returning the leaflet to its protective plastic folder, I decide to search for more Shell-related items in the boxes. The wealth and diversity of materials available make rummaging a pleasure and before long, more items featuring the world famous name, the familiar pecten emblem with its distinctive red and yellow colours, start to surface.
A well preserved Shell 'R' product label for pink kerosene used as fuel in early refrigerators immediately reminds me of the time when the word Shell first appeared in 1891 as the trademark for kerosene shipped to the Far East including Malaya by Marcus Samuel and Company.
The small London-based business originally dealt in antiques, curios and oriental seashells. The latter became so popular when Victorians started using them to decorate trinket boxes that they began to form the basis of the company’s profitable import and export trade with the Far East.
STORY OF SHELL
The name was elevated to corporate status six years later when Samuel formed the Shell Transport and Trading Company. The first logo in 1901 depicted a mussel shell but by 1904 the scallop shell or pecten emblem was introduced to give a better visual representation of the company's corporate and brand name.
When the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading merged in 1907, the latter’s brand name and symbol were adopted for the new entity, the Royal Dutch Shell Group.
The Shell emblem design changed gradually over the years to keep up with modern trends. The current emblem was introduced in 1971. Nearly half a century on, it still stands the test of time as one of the world’s most recognised symbols.
In Malaysia, Shell has been a partner in fuelling our nation's progress for nearly 130 years. Like Guan Tong & Co's century old connection with the Kedah capital, Shell's journey with Malaysia has been, and still is, very much intertwined.
Over the years, Shell has played a major role in growing Malaysia’s energy sector after discovering Malaysia’s first oil onshore and later taking the industry offshore. The company's most recent explorations have reached the technically-challenging depths of Deepwater.
Apart from maintaining a strong retail network that fuels the journeys of millions of Malaysian motorists daily, Shell has also made significant contributions to road safety especially among school going children.
A bright yellow pecten shaped badge in the Guan Tong & Co collection bears proof of Shell's corporate social responsibility that was carried out in the past.
SHELL TRAFFIC GAME
More than a million children have taken part in the popular Shell Traffic Game (STG) since its inception in 1957. Held in partnership with the Education Ministry, the Road Safety Department and various government agencies including the police, local authorities as well as auxiliary bodies, the annual STG was a cornerstone in the primary school curriculum for road safety education.
The STG provided children with an interactive fun way to acquire practical skills of road safety. Students had the opportunity to put into practice road safety rules and regulations in various simulated traffic situations in specially designed Road Safety Parks that were found in most major Malayan cities and towns back in the 1960s and 1970s.
Complete with miniature model buildings like schools, banks, libraries, service stations, cinemas and community centres, these Road Safety Parks gave students the unique opportunity to role play.
During each session, a group of about 200 participating children were divided into groups that took on rotational roles of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists driving pedal-cars. Guided by a route card with well-marked out calling stations, each student was required to complete the circuit within the stipulated 45 minute time frame.
While visiting the calling stations, participants who infringed upon any traffic rules would be stopped by attending traffic game marshals who would proceed to explain the offences committed and endorse penalty points on the affected route cards. Conversely, merit points were awarded to those who complied.
Towards the end the session, each student's performance was judged based on the number of offences committed and total number of penalty points accumulated. Proficiency certificates were presented to those who excelled.
In the midst of stacking back the scores of boxes to their rightful places, it dawns upon me that despite the many challenges faced, most companies and people alike have always managed to adapt, remain resilient and emerge stronger.
Space remains a largely unexplored frontier and future astronauts face the daunting task of venturing beyond the Moon as they search for answers to the many mysteries of our Universe. No doubt much needs to be done and sacrifices made but their success will go a long way in securing a better future for Mankind.
As for traditional oil and gas companies like Shell, the challenge ahead is to find ways to meet increasing energy demands while joining the global drive to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Finding clean energy solutions that are commercially viable will not only help solve Earth's pollution problems but also keep these companies resilient for many more generations to come.