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286:. 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
31:
386:, 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".
260:, 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
394:
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.
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195:(10 April 1912 – 12 October 1977) was an English-born Singaporean former politician and educator. He was a founding member of political party
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316:, Hampshire. After staying there for a year, he returned to Singapore in 1947 and continued working at Saint Andrew's Secondary School.
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438:
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.
301:. He worked 8-hour days and later fell sick, being transported to the camp hospital and later to a different shelter, due to frequent
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360:. In 1957, founder and member of Labour Front David Marshall left the party and founded another party,
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In 1978, the
Francis Thomas Award was named after him and was awarded for the first time at the
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241:. He was the fourth of six children to his mother and father. His father, J. A. Thomas, was a
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264:-camp at Zion Road. Afterwards, he went to Japan using a captured American ship called the
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In 1959, he retired from politics and returned to education, serving as the principal of
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and served as the
Minister of Communications and Works in the Labour Front government.
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364:. In 1958, Lim Yew Hock, the other founder-member of Labour Front, left to form the
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and served as the
Minister of Communications and Works from 1955 to 1958 during the
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Lee) and their three daughters. Saint Andrew's
Secondary School flew their flag at
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In 1959, Thomas received evidence of corruption of fellow Labour Front member and
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and, in 1956, went to
England to look into the possibility of nationalising the
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534:"SATURDAY REVIEW After 34 years, I'm still so proud to be with the Saints"
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Men in White: The Untold Story of
Singapore's Ruling Political Party
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His ship was later hit and after it sank, he went onto a
Japanese
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739:"I held the door shut while a mob tried to break it down..."
569:"A ROUSING GOODBYE TO ST. ANDREW'S PRINCIPAL FRANCIS THOMAS"
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described him as "the only honest man in the Labour Front".
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418:. He is survived by his wife Catherine Eng Neo Thomas (
506:"Francis Thomas truly loved his country and people"
829:Yap, Sonny; Lim, Richard; Weng, Kam Leong (2010).
406:Singaporean citizen in 1957, along with his wife.
229:Thomas in 1950 teaching a class at Saint Andrew's.
352:In 1955, Thomas was involved in helping stop the
233:Thomas was born on 10 April 1912 in a village in
220:
1014:
889:"LABOUR FRONT IS DISSOLVED: 'NO USE TO COMPETE'"
293:When he made it to Japan, Thomas was taken to a
16:Singaporean politician and educator (1912–1977)
802:"Marshall: Lim tried to get me into Alliance"
491:. University Education Press. pp. 10–13.
297:island. He worked on the island and became a
707:"New road to school that's a 'path of love'"
312:Afterwards, he took a hospital ship back to
1058:World War II prisoners of war held by Japan
456:"'The only honest man in the Labour Front'"
305:from the Americans. He later witnessed the
275:off the coast of Vietnam started launching
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29:
271:. Whilst they were travelling, American
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378:and he brought the evidence forward to
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56:22 April 1955 – 31 March 1959
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201:1st Legislative Assembly of Singapore
1033:20th-century Singaporean politicians
835:. Straits Times Press. p. 151.
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45:Minister of Communications and Works
414:On 12 October 1977, Thomas died of
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290:with about 600 survivors on board.
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1038:20th-century Singaporean educators
921:"Francis Thomas to retire in 1975"
382:after being dismissed by the then-
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1084:
1063:Naturalised citizens of Singapore
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210:from 1963 to 1974. In 1958, then-
985:"The first Francis Thomas Award"
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1053:Deaths from cancer in Singapore
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251:Saint Andrew's Secondary School
208:Saint Andrew's Secondary School
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87:Saint Andrew's Secondary School
1068:English emigrants to Singapore
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640:"The Labour Front's Big Three"
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480:
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347:Nominated Member of Parliament
221:Early life and military career
1:
953:"The day I crossed the floor"
897:. 29 February 1960. p. 2
810:. 13 November 1958. p. 1
770:"Workers' Party: A statement"
648:. 29 December 1954. p. 3
441:
35:Thomas in 1948 at his wedding
993:. 1 October 1978. p. 10
865:. 1 February 1959. p. 1
778:. 6 November 1957. p. 6
514:. 12 October 1977. p. 2
7:
715:. 9 August 1980. p. 11
366:Singapore People's Alliance
279:them, sinking a few ships.
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929:. 28 June 1973. p. 11
577:. 13 March 1974. p. 7
170:Catherine Eng Neo Thomas (
961:. 5 March 1971. p. 9
746:. 4 March 1971. p. 9
616:. 2 March 1971. p. 9
542:. 6 March 1971. p. 7
464:. 1 March 1971. p. 9
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1073:English prisoners of war
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857:"FRANCIS THOMAS RESIGNS"
680:. 1 May 1955. p. 10
645:Singapore Tiger Standard
487:Thomas, Francis (1972).
428:out of respect for him.
329:In 1954, Thomas founded
249:. He started working at
608:"MEMOIRS OF A MINISTER"
247:University of Cambridge
373:Minister for Education
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358:transportation system
343:1955 general election
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489:Memoirs of a Migrant
67:position established
307:bombing of Nagasaki
390:Educational career
354:Hock Lee bus riots
268:President Harrison
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79:position abolished
990:The Straits Times
926:The Straits Times
894:The Straits Times
862:The Straits Times
807:The Straits Times
775:The Straits Times
712:The Straits Times
677:The Straits Times
672:"Socialist party"
574:The Straits Times
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128:Personal details
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160:(aged 65)
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143:10 April 1912
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109:Tan Lye Whatt
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85:Principal of
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1001:– via
995:. Retrieved
988:
979:
969:– via
963:. Retrieved
956:
947:
937:– via
931:. Retrieved
924:
915:
905:– via
899:. Retrieved
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883:
873:– via
867:. Retrieved
860:
851:
831:
824:
812:. Retrieved
805:
796:
786:– via
780:. Retrieved
773:
764:
754:– via
748:. Retrieved
741:
733:
723:– via
717:. Retrieved
710:
688:– via
682:. Retrieved
675:
666:
656:– via
650:. Retrieved
643:
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624:– via
618:. Retrieved
611:
585:– via
579:. Retrieved
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550:– via
544:. Retrieved
537:
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516:. Retrieved
509:
488:
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472:– via
466:. Retrieved
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380:Lee Kuan Yew
370:
351:
339:Lim Yew Hock
331:Labour Front
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258:World War II
255:
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215:Lee Kuan Yew
205:
197:Labour Front
192:
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158:(1977-10-12)
115:Succeeded by
94:
78:
74:Succeeded by
66:
51:
1028:1977 deaths
1023:1912 births
1003:NewspaperSG
971:NewspaperSG
939:NewspaperSG
907:NewspaperSG
875:NewspaperSG
788:NewspaperSG
756:NewspaperSG
725:NewspaperSG
690:NewspaperSG
658:NewspaperSG
626:NewspaperSG
587:NewspaperSG
552:NewspaperSG
474:NewspaperSG
404:naturalized
345:, became a
333:along with
314:Southampton
148:, Leicester
105:Preceded by
62:Preceded by
1017:Categories
958:New Nation
743:New Nation
613:New Nation
539:New Nation
511:New Nation
461:New Nation
442:References
295:quarantine
273:submarines
139:1912-04-10
426:half-mast
253:in 1934.
239:Leicester
235:Westcotes
162:Singapore
146:Westcotes
99:1963–1974
95:In office
52:In office
997:18 April
965:18 April
933:18 April
901:18 April
869:18 April
750:18 April
719:18 April
684:18 April
652:18 April
620:18 April
581:18 April
546:18 April
518:17 April
468:17 April
303:bombings
299:corporal
284:lifeboat
277:torpedos
179:Children
814:16 June
782:16 June
256:During
839:
416:cancer
320:Career
243:priest
167:Spouse
174:1948)
999:2024
967:2024
935:2024
903:2024
871:2024
837:ISBN
816:2024
784:2024
752:2024
721:2024
686:2024
654:2024
622:2024
583:2024
548:2024
520:2024
470:2024
337:and
153:Died
133:Born
421:née
266:SS
262:POW
1019::
987:.
955:.
923:.
891:.
859:.
804:.
772:.
709:.
698:^
674:.
642:.
610:.
595:^
571:.
560:^
536:.
508:.
497:^
458:.
435:.
368:.
309:.
237:,
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172:m.
1005:.
973:.
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909:.
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790:.
758:.
727:.
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660:.
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554:.
522:.
476:.
182:3
141:)
137:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
