William Allmond Codrington Goode, Sir, (b. 8 June 1907, Twickenham, Middlesex - d. September 1986) was Singapore's last colonial governor serving between 9 December 1957 to 2 June 1959. He was also Singapore's first Yang di-Pertuan Negara when Singapore achieved internal self-government on 3 June 1959. Goode acted as Yang Di-Pertuan Negara for the first six months of the new self-government, which was formed by the PAP. In December 1959, he was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak, the former chairman of Public Service Commission.

Early life
Goode had been educated at Oakham School and Worcester College, Oxford. In his early career, he worked as barrister-at-law at Gray's Inn. He was in the Singapore Volunteer Corps, and a Prisoner of War (POW) from 1942 to 1945 during which he was sent to work on the Death Railway in Thailand.

In 1931, he joined the Federated Malay States and served in the Malayan Civil Service, working in Pahang and Selangor. He was appointed Assistant Financial Secretary in Singapore in 1939.

In his book, The Singapore Story, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew described Goode as a "big man with rugged features" who spoke with a "soft voice", but was nevertheless a determined man. His sympathetic personality and unobtrusive tact aided the smooth transfer of power in Singapore.

Positions
1948 : Secretary, Dep Economics, Malaya
1949 - 1953 : Chief Secretary, Aden
1953 - 1957 : Colonial Secretary, Singapore
1960 - 1963 : Governor of North Borneo

Awards
1952 : CMG
1957 : KCMG
1963: GCMG

Family
Wife: Ena Mary McLaren

Author
Nor-Afidah Abd Rahman

References
Lee, K. Y. (1998). From third world to first: The Singapore story 1965 - 2000, memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew (pp. 197-198). Singapore: Times Edition: Press Holdings.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 LEE)

Mulliner, K. (1991). Historical Dictionary of Singapore (pp. 61-62). Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57003 MUL)

Turnbull, C. M. (1989). History of Singapore: 1819-1988 (p. 265). (2nd ed.). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR)

Friends honour S'pore's last governor. (1990, February 5). The Straits Times, p. 19.

Cahoon, B. (2000-2004). World statesmen: Singapore. Retrieve January 22, 2005, from www.worldstatesmen.org/Singapore.html

List of Images
National Archives of Singapore. (2002). Goode W. A. C., Loke Wan Tho & U Aung Myat Kyaw at reception at Sea View celebration of Burmese independence day. Retrieved from picas.nhb.gov.sg/public/internetSearch/index.jsp

The information in this article is valid as at 1997 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.

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