Francis Thomas

Francis Thomas (10 April 1912 – 12 October 1977) was an English-born Singaporean former politician and educator. He was a founding member of political party Labour Front and served as the Minister of Communications and Works from 1955 to 1958 during the 1st Legislative Assembly of Singapore.

In 1959, he retired from politics and returned to education, serving as the principal of Saint Andrew's Secondary School from 1963 to 1974. In 1958, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew described him as "the only honest man in the Labour Front".

Early life and military career

Thomas was born on 10 April 1912 in a village in Westcotes, Leicester. He was the fourth of six children to his mother, P. M. Thomas, and father, J. A. Thomas. His father was a priest. He was educated at the University of Cambridge. He started working at Saint Andrew's Secondary School in 1934.

During World War II, Thomas temporarily stopped working as Saint Andrew's to serve in the war. Thomas was stationed at a hill known as the Kamu Death Camp. In 1944, he was selected to go to Japan. He first took a truck to Singapore and was kept at a POW-camp at Zion Road. Afterwards, he went to Japan using a captured American ship called the SS President Harrison. Whilst they were travelling, American submarines off the coast of Vietnam started launching torpedoes at them, sinking a few ships.

His ship was later hit and after it sank, he went onto a Japanese lifeboat. Afterwards, he jumped off and swam, encountering another group of British soldiers around an overturned lifeboat. By morning, they got the lifeboat upright and had an English-speaking Japanese officer with them. Thomas and his lifeboat were later rescued by a Japanese airplane due to the Japanese officer on board. He was taken to a hospital ship with about 600 survivors on board.

When he made it to Japan, Thomas was taken to a quarantine island. He worked on the island and became a corporal. He worked 8-hour days and later fell sick, being transported to the camp hospital and later to a different shelter, due to frequent bombings from the Americans. He later witnessed the bombing of Nagasaki. Afterwards, he took a hospital ship back to Southampton, Hampshire. After staying there for a year, he returned to Singapore in 1947 and continued working at Saint Andrew's Secondary School.

Career

In 1954, Thomas founded political party Labour Front along with David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock, and, after the 1955 general election, became a Nominated Member of Parliament and served as the Minister of Communications and Works in the Labour Front government.

In 1955, Thomas was involved in helping stop the Hock Lee bus riots and, in 1956, went to England to look into the possibility of nationalising the transportation system. In 1957, founder-member of Labour Front David Marshall left the party and founded another party, Workers' Party. In 1958, Lim Yew Hock, the other founder-member of Labour Front, left to form the Singapore People's Alliance.

In 1959, Thomas received evidence of corruption of fellow Labour Front member and Minister for Education Chew Swee Kee and he brought the evidence forward to Lee Kuan Yew after being dismissed by the then-chief minister, Lim Yew Hock, which later led to Chew's resignation. In 1959, Thomas resigned from his role as Minister of Communications and Works after the chief minister asked him to give up his ministry and, in 1960, dissolved Labour Front stating that the "decision to dissolve was unanimous".

In 1963, Thomas became the principal to Saint Andrew's. In 1974, after serving as the principal for 10 years, left Saint Andrew's and retired from teaching the following year.

Personal life

Thomas became a naturalized Singaporean citizen in 1957, along with his wife. In 1971, he was awarded the Public Service Star.

On 12 October 1977, Thomas died of cancer. He was survived by his wife Catherine Eng Neo Thomas (née Lee) and their three daughters. Saint Andrew's Secondary School flew their flag at half-mast out of respect for him. Then-Defence Minister Goh Keng Swee stated "Those who know him respect him for his integrity and sincerity."

In 1978, the Francis Thomas Award was named after him and was awarded for the first time at the Shaw Foundation. On the 118th Founder's Day of Saint Andrew's Secondary School, a road leading to the school was named Francis Thomas Drive, after him.