Sir Gerald Aubrey Goodman KC (6 September 1862 – 20 January 1921 in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

) was a Barbadian

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and politician. He also served as Attorney-General of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

and as a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

in Malaya. His final appointment was as Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements but he died before he could take office.

Early life and education

Goodman was the son of Augustus Flavius Goodman. He was educated at Lodge School and Harrison College on the island and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, before being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1885. He then returned to Barbados to practise.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 22 January 1921

Career

Barbados

He was appointed

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

of Barbados in 1896 (having acted in the role in 1890, 1891, and 1892) and

Attorney-General of Barbados The Attorney-General of Barbados is the primary legal advisor to the Government of Barbados. Legal basis According to Article 72 of the Constitution of Barbados, the Attorney-General holds ministerial rank in the government. He may, in the case of ...

in 1907 (having acted in the role in 1891, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1904), serving until 1913. He was a member of the

Barbados House of Assembly The House of Assembly of Barbados is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), who are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority (or first-past-the-post) sy ...

from 1889 to 1912, the Barbados Board of Education from 1891 to 1912, and the Quarantine Board and General Board of Health from 1902 to 1912. He was appointed a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1903.

Malaya

In 1913, he was appointed Attorney General of the Straits Settlements and served in that position until 1919, when he was appointed Chief Judicial Commissioner ( Chief Justice) of the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Straits Settlement in November 1920, but died before he could take up the post. Goodman was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1920 New Year Honours.

Personal life and death

He was also a cricketer, playing two

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

for

against

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

in September 1893. Captaining the team and keeping wicket, he led Barbados to victory in both matches, which included the final of the

Inter-Colonial Tournament The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket, first class cricket competition in the West Indian cricket team, West Indies held between 1892–93 and 1938-39. Competing teams * Barbados national cricket team, Barbados * Guya ...

for 1893–94. His brothers Clifford, Percy and Evans also played in both matches. Goodman died in January 1921 in

Bath, England Bath ( RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, west of London and southeast of Bristol. The city becam ...

. He was buried in the Abbey Cemetery. His coffin was placed in the grave of his wife, Gertrude, who had died a few weeks previously. She was the daughter of the artist

Edward John Cobbett Edward John Cobbett (1815–1899) was an English watercolour and oil painter. Background Cobbett was born in Marylebone, London, in 1815. He was a member of the Savage Club in his younger days, "when Bohemianism and exclusiveness were the p ...

. Goodman Road in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

is named after Goodman.''Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics''

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, ''

'', 22 January 1921 {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, G. Aubrey 1862 births 1921 deaths Alumni of University College London Barbadian lawyers Barbados cricketers Members of the Middle Temple Federated Malay States judges Knights Bachelor Barbadian Queen's Counsel Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados Attorneys-general of the Colony of Barbados Solicitors general of Barbados 20th-century Barbadian lawyers 19th-century Barbadian lawyers People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) Barbadian cricketers