Thanks Mr Mac, I don't (now) travel as much as I used to. I agree that I was certainly partly to blame but, when it came down to it, on the phone and at check in, the only terms used by staff were about the destination country. The bit about the Singapore govt wanting me to have six months was only thrown in at check-in and when they were already filling out the form!
As I say, I think the fact that they had a standard form ready to go, should tell them that they need to make a more positive push of information to their pax.