William Allmond Codrington Goode (Sir) (b. 8 June 1907, Twickenham, Middlesex1–d. 23 September 19862), or William A. C. Goode, was Singapore’s last colonial governor, who served from 9 December 1957 to 2 June 1959. He was also Singapore’s first Yang di-Pertuan Negara for six months when Singapore achieved internal self-government on 3 June 1959. In December 1959, he was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak, the former chairman of Public Service Commission.3
Early life
Goode was educated at Oakham School and Worcester College, Oxford.4 In his early career, he worked as barrister-at-law at Gray’s Inn, London.
In 1931, he left for the Federated Malay States, where he served in the Malayan Civil Service in Pahang and Selangor. He was appointed as the assistant financial secretary in Singapore in 1939,5 and subsequently joined the Singapore Volunteer Corps. During the Japanese Occupation (1942 –45), he became a prisoner-of-war and was sent to work on the Death Railway in Thailand.6
In his book, The Singapore Story, Lee Kuan Yew described Goode as such: “[A] big man with rugged features and a broken nose from boxing in his younger days. He had a long upper lip and spoke in a quiet, modulated voice. He had been educated at a public school and Oxford. But one could feel the steel behind the soft voice, his grey eyes and the firm set of his jaw.”7
In 1963, Goode was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) by the British monarchy.8
Appointments
1948: Secretary, Department of Economics, Malaya
1949–1953: Chief secretary, Aden
1953–1957: Colonial secretary, Singapore9
9 Dec 1957–2 Jun 1959: Governor of Singapore
3 Jun 1959–2 Dec 1959: Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Singapore10
1960–1963: Governor of North Borneo11
Family12
Wife: Mary Armstrong Harding (m. 1938; d. 1947); Ena Mary McLaren (m. 1950)
Goode had a daughter from his second marriage
Author
Nor Afidah Abd Rahman
References
1. Friends honour S’pore’s last governor. (1990, February 5). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Former governor William Goode, 79, dies. (1986, September 23). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Mulliner, K., & The-Mulliner, L. (1991). Historical dictionary of Singapore. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, pp. 61–62. (Call no.: RSING 959.57003 MUL-[HIS]); Turnbull, C. M. (1989). History of Singapore 1819–1988. Singapore: Oxford University Press, p. 265. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR-[HIS])
4. Friends honour S’pore’s last governor. (1990, February 5). The Straits Times, p. 19; A governor who knew his people intimately. (1986, 23 September). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Mulliner, K., & The-Mulliner, L. (1991). Historical dictionary of Singapore. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, pp. 61–62. (Call no.: RSING 959.57003 MUL-[HIS])
6. Friends honour S’pore’s last governor. (1990, February 5). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Lee, K. Y. (1998). From third world to first: TheSingapore story 1965–2000, memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore: Times Edition, pp. 197–198. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 LEE-[HIS])
7. Lee, K. Y. (1998). From third world to first: TheSingapore story 1965–2000, memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore: Times Edition, p. 197. (Call no.: RSING 959.57 LEE-[HIS])
8. Sir William becomes an honours list G.C.M.G. (1963, January 1). The Straits Times, p. 14. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. A governor who knew his people intimately. (1986, September 23). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
10. Mulliner, K., & The-Mulliner, L. (1991). Historical dictionary of Singapore. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, pp. 61–62. (Call no.: RSING 959.57003 MUL-[HIS])
11. A governor who knew his people intimately. (1986, September 23). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
12. A governor who knew his people intimately. (1986, September 23). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
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