Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Singapore from 1957 to 1959, and Governor of North Borneo from 1960 to 1963.

Early life

Goode was born in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boro ...

, Middlesex, and attended Oakham School and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

Career

Goode joined the Malayan Civil Service in 1931, studying law in his spare time. He was admitted to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1936. From 1936 to 1939 he served as district officer, Raub, and thereafter as assistant financial secretary of Singapore in 1939. He was appointed assistant commissioner for civil defence, Singapore in 1940, serving in the Singapore Volunteer Corps as a

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the colony's capitulation in 1942, he was taken prisoner by the Japanese and sent to work in Siam on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

from 1943 to 1945. He remained in Malaya after the war, and in 1948 became deputy economic secretary to the

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

. In 1949 he was posted to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...

as chief secretary, where he also acted as governor from 1950 to 1951. He returned to Singapore as colonial secretary in 1953 and became the colony's last British governor in 1957. In 1959, as part of transitional arrangements, he was made

Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yang di-Pertuan Negara (English: (he) who is Lord of the State) is a title for the head of state in certain Malay-speaking countries, and has been used as an official title at various times in Brunei and Singapore. Sabah The head of state of Sa ...

of the State of Singapore from June to December, and United Kingdom Commissioner. From 1960 to 1963 he was the last governor and Commander-in-Chief of North Borneo.

Awards and honours

He was invested with Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(CMG) in the 1952 New Year Honours and Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1957. He was knighted with Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ) in 1958. He was made Grand Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the

1963 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1963 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to ''The Lond ...

shortly before his retirement to

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, England.

Personal life

In 1938, Goode married Mary Harding. She died in 1947 and three years later he married Ena Mary McLaren. Goode died in Goring-on-Thames in 1986, aged 79.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, William Allmond Codrington Administrators in British Singapore Colony of Aden people Governors of North Borneo 1907 births 1986 deaths Burma Railway prisoners Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Order of St John People educated at Oakham School Chief Secretaries of Singapore Governors of the Straits Settlements