Shenton Thomas

Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas GCMG GCStJ (10 October 1879 – 15 January 1962), commonly known as Sir Shenton Thomas, was the last Governor of the Straits Settlements. He served from 1934 to 1942, during which time the Second World War broke out, and again from September 1945 to April 1946, when the Straits Settlements was dissolved.


Sir Shenton Thomas

GCMG GCStJ
21st Governor of the Straits Settlements
In office
1945–1946
Preceded byJapanese occupation
Succeeded byPosition abolished
In office
1934–1942
Preceded bySir Cecil Clementi
Succeeded byJapanese occupation
Governor of the Gold Coast
In office
1932–1934
MonarchGeorge VI
Preceded byGeoffrey Northcote (acting)
Succeeded byGeoffrey Northcote (acting)
Governor of Nyasaland
In office
1929–1932
Preceded bySir Hubert Winthrop Young
Succeeded byWilfred Bennett Davidson-Houston
Personal details
Born
Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas

(1879-10-10)10 October 1879
Southwark, London, UK
Died15 January 1962(1962-01-15) (aged 82)
London, UK
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)
Lucy Marguerite (Daisy) Montgomery
(m. 1912)
ChildrenMary Bridget Thomas (daughter)
OccupationColonial administrator
St Jude's Church, Kensington, London, where Thomas married in 1912

Life

Queens' College, Cambridge football team 1900-1901, including Sir Shenton Thomas (second from right, middle row), Charles Tate Regan and Samuel Day.

Shenton Thomas was born on 10 October 1879, in Southwark, London to The Rev Thomas William Thomas and his wife Charlotte Susanna (Susie) née Whitelegge.[1][2][3] He was educated at St. John's School, Leatherhead[4] and Queens' College, Cambridge.[5] He taught at Aysgarth School in Yorkshire prior to entering the Colonial Service. Before he went to Malaya as the colonial administrator, Thomas was the Governor of Nyasaland from 1929 to 1932. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG) in 1930.

Thomas was a prisoner-of-war during the Japanese occupation of Singapore (15 February 1942 – 15 August 1945) having decided to stay in Singapore during the war. He was imprisoned in Cell 24 of Changi Prison along with Ernest Tipson. Thomas helped established the King George V National Park in Malaya (later renamed the Taman Negara). Shenton Way, located in Singapore's business district, is named after him. After the war, Thomas remained as the 11th British High Commissioner in Malaya (9 November 1934 – 1 April 1946), until the Malayan Union was established and succeeded the British administration in the Straits Settlements (except for Singapore, which was created a separate colony), Federated Malay States and Unfederated Malay States, where the post of Governor-General of the Malayan Union was created. Thomas died on 15 January 1962, at his home in London. He was 82.

Family

He married Lucy Marguerite (Daisy) Montgomery (1884-1978) daughter of James Montgomery[6] on 11 April 1912 at St Jude's Church, Kensington, London,[3] with issue:

Legacy

Shenton Way, a major road in Singapore's central business district, was named after him.

He is associated, in this role of Governor, with the loss of Malaya and Singapore and his civilian administration’s apparent failures to properly assess the growing Japanese threat and make appropriate defences.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1881 UK Census: Aged 1 of St John Villas, Park Lane, Heigham, Norfolk - RG11/1951 f.9 p.11 - Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas born Southwark
  2. 1901 UK Census: Aged 21 of The Vicarage, St Barnabas Road, Cambridge - RG13/1530 f.32 p.14 - Thomas Shenton W. Thomas born London
  3. GRO Register of Marriages: JUN 1912 1a 348 KENSINGTON - Thomas S. W. Thomas = Lucy M. Montgomery
  4. 1891 UK Census: Pupil, aged 10, of St John's School, Leatherhead Surrey - RG12/549 f.98 p.8 - Thomas Shenton Thomas born St Bride's London
  5. "Thomas, Thomas Shenton Whitelegge (THMS898TS)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  6. "Lucy Marguerite (née Montgomery), Lady Thomas". National Portrait Gallery.
  7. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, 101st edition, ed. L. G. Pine, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1956, p. 2644
  8. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34893/supplement/4262/data.pdf
  9. Ronald McCrum (28 February 2017). The Men Who Lost Singapore, 1938-1942. NUS Press. ISBN 978-981-4722-39-1.
Government offices
Preceded by
Wilfred Bennett Davidson-Houston
Governor of Nyasaland
1929–1932
Succeeded by
Sir Hubert Winthrop Young
Preceded by
Geoffrey Northcote, acting
Governor of the Gold Coast
1932–1934
Succeeded by
Geoffrey Northcote, acting
Preceded by
Sir Cecil Clementi
Governor of Straits Settlements &
British High Commissioner in Malaya

1934–1942
Succeeded by
Sir Gerard Edward James Gent
as Governor of the Malayan Union
Succeeded by
Sir Franklin Charles Gimson
as Governor of Singapore
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.