David Marshall

Early life and education

Marshall was born on Selegie Road in British colonial Singapore as David Saul Mashal on 12 March 1908, the second child of seven to Baghdadi Jewish parents Saul Nassim and Flora Ezekiel Mashal (née Guston). His father, Saul, arrived in Singapore in 1900 from Baghdad and established a business at Change Alley. Saul was a Sephardic Jew of Spanish descent from Ottoman Iraq. His business was financially successful, and he later brought his wife Flora over to Singapore. In 1920, his family name, originally Mashal, was anglicised to Marshall on the advice of a family doctor.

Marshall's parents were ultra-orthodox Jews and he was given a strict Jewish upbringing, going to the synagogue and observing the Sabbath; he had his bar mitzvah when he was thirteen. Marshall attended kindergarten at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus at Victoria Street, where he faced anti-semitism. After kindergarten, he began studying at Saint Joseph's Institution in 1918, but was expelled a year later for skipping class. He then enrolled at Saint Andrew's Secondary School, studying until Standard VII, before transferring to Raffles Institution in 1923 for their science facilities. Marshall planned to obtain a Queen's Scholarship for a medical degree in 1925, but fell ill before his examinations and was unable to take them. He was sent to Switzerland to recover.Upon his return to Singapore, Marshall began working at a stockbroker's firm in 1926, but contracted tuberculosis and returned to Switzerland again. He recovered eight months later, travelling to Renaix, Belgium, to study textile manufacturing. Marshall travelled overseas again before returning to Singapore in 1930, during the Great Depression. He began saving money to pursue an overseas education. Upon reaching his monetary goals, he decided to study law in London, attending the University of London in September 1934. To get his law degree and join the Bar at the same time, Marshall registered himself with Middle Temple and took his Bachelor of Laws at the University of London externally.

Eighteen months after his arrival, Marshall passed the Bar's finals with honours. Marshall planned to immediately return to Singapore to begin working, but had to participate in eighteen month's worth of dinners (now known as qualifying sessions) with Middle Temple before he could be admitted with them; he was given an exemption of six months after conferring with Middle Temple's under treasurer. Marshall returned to Singapore in 1937.

Law career and war service

Upon his return, Marshall was called to the bar in February the following year. He joined law firm Rodyk & Davidson with a monthly salary of S$500.00. However, he discovered that Rodyk & Davison's chief clerk was paid S$400.00 more than him, and he considered it prejudice for being a local. Marshall subsequently applied to join Aitken & Ong Siang, a law firm co-founded by Sir Song Ong Siang, a prominent member of the Chinese community. Marshall's father got Song to accept a special arrangement for his son; he would be paid no salary and had to pay for his own desk space, office supplies, and secretarial services. Despite this, in his first month, Marshall made S$700.00. To establish himself in the community, he began taking cases at a low cost of S$75.00, eventually charging up to S$300.00 per case as his reputation grew.

In October 1938, concluding that the Japanese would soon attack Southeast Asia, Marshall decided to volunteer with the Singapore Volunteer Corps (SVC), which was a branch of the larger Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF). Within the SVC, Marshall was assigned to the "D" Company, which consisted largely of Eurasians. He objected to this assignment as he was being grouped with Eurasians despite being a Jew and he raised the matter to the commanding officer. Marshall was subsequently transferred to the "B" Company, a European unit that included Czechs, Yugoslavs, and Poles. With "B" Company, Marshall discovered that he was paid a daily salary of S$0.50, which corresponded to the "Asian" salary, as compared to his fellow European colleagues who earned the "European" salary of S$1.04 daily. After complaining to the commandant about this disparity, he was confined to his barracks, but found his pay increased by S$0.55 more.

During his training with the SVC, Marshall found their schedule to have interfered heavily with his law career and he was unable to continue his business with Aitken & Ong Siang. He applied to join Allen & Gledhill as an assistant as their schedule was more convenient for him, and he was hired with a monthly salary of S$750.00, the highest at the time for a non-European. He trained weekly with "B" Company at Beach Road. Following the possibility of the war affecting Singapore, by 1941 Marshall had sent his family to Perth to avoid it, with only his mother staying with him in Singapore.

World War II and prisoner-of-war

In December 1941, Marshall was mobilised following the Japanese's bombing of Singapore. From his camp in Geylang Serai, he and many others initially mistook the air-raid sirens for a drill, as the street lights remained on. During that time, Singapore's support for the British was still high, but was diminished after learning that the Prince of Wales and Repulse had been sunk. Marshall's role at "B" Company was a runner, as he was regarded to have made noise like a "baby elephant" and ran through active bombing. On 15 February 1942, the day of the British's surrender to the Japanese, he relayed the news to outlying units. After the official surrender at 8:30 pm that day, Marshall, as part of the SSVF, was with a southern garrison that included the 1st and 2nd Malayan Infantry Brigades. On 17 February, he was marched from Pierce Road to Changi Prison as a prisoner-of-war (POW). At Changi, the POWs frequently suffered from a lack of food, water, shelter, and blankets; after only a few months there, Marshall dropped from 172 pounds (78 kg) to 118 pounds (54 kg). His food was typically rice with boll weevils.

After fifteen months at Changi, Marshall was transferred to a camp at Serangoon Road Race Course, which only had around 3,000 POWs as compared to Changi's 30,000. He spent his time cutting grass for the Japaneses' horses. In August 1942, the Japanese began distributing POWs to camps in Japan and Taiwan, while others were sent to Burma and Siam to work on the Death Railway. In May 1943, Marshall was part of 2,000 POWs drafted to Japan. It took three weeks to reach Honshu by boat, after which they were sent to an industrial camp in Hakodate, Hokkaido. This camp's conditions were poor, and they were subsequently moved to Yakumo, then to Muroran, and lastly to Nisi-Asibetsu.

At Nisi-Asibetsu, the prisoners worked at coal mines for the Japanese. By that time, however, Marshall had grown too physically weak to mine and was instead assigned to a pick and shovel group. His duties primarily involved clearing land for airfields and transporting iron delivered from Manchuria. By 1944, as Japan's position in the war began to deteriorate, Marshall became aware of the situation through a Chinese POW who could read Japanese that relayed information from Japanese papers he found in the colonel's office. Following this period, he and his camp began receiving food and supplies from Red Cross parcels and American planes. After Japan's surrender, American officials sent Marshall to Manila, where he gave statements of the conditions during the war and requested repatriation to Perth to reunite with his family. By then, he only weighed 107 pounds (49 kg). He remained with his family in Perth briefly before returning to Singapore in February 1946.

Post-World War II career

Marshall found that his original home had been destroyed and looted during the war. Despite widespread unemployment and economic hardships under the British Military Administration (BMA), Marshall was able to resume his legal practice without difficulty, rejoining Allen & Gledhill, which was experiencing increased demand for legal services in the aftermath of the war. Immediately after he joined Allen & Gledhill, his friend Gerald de Cruz recruited him for the Malayan Democratic Union (MDU), a political party that aimed for internal self-governance and public reforms. De Cruz assumed that Marshall would join without delay, but Marshall declined, stating that he required time to recover and rebuild his life after the war.

In the post-war period, Marshall also became active within Singapore's Jewish community. He helped establish the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB), an organisation which focused on Jewish interests and issues. Marshall served as its first president on 27 June 1946, being re-elected to the position over the next six years. JWB created an old folk's home at Waterloo Street and formed a Transient's Committee to aid Jewish immigrants travelling through Singapore. With JWB, Marshall remained unaffiliated with politics; he tended to receive visiting Israeli officials, but remained non-partisan.

Following the BMA's choice to not recognise the Japanese government's "banana currency", many who had saved up this type of money were practically poor in post-Japanese occupation Singapore. This included many members of the SVC, who were waiting for payments of their salaries by the British that were interrupted during the Japanese occupation, along with the return of their properties. In March 1946, the British announced that it would pay back members of the British government and army up to £1,500 (equivalent to £54,316 in 2025) per person, for the period of their internment during the war in Malaya. This upset those who had not been interned, mostly consisting of Asians, and the fact that locals were paid less than European POWs, which raised issues on racial discrimination.

As a result, Marshall was involved with other POWs who were against this scheme and they founded the War Prisoners' (Singapore) Association (WPA) on 24 April 1946, with Marshall serving as the honorary secretary. The WPA included POWs, internees, political prisoners, and civilian prisoners, with their main goals focusing on compensation of people affected by the war. As the WPA's secretary, Marshall found himself acting as their main spokesperson, and he typically commented critically on the colonial government. The demographic makeup of WPA had a majority of Europeans, which caused accusations against Marshall of working towards European interests, although most of the Europeans members were poor and the WPA additionally focused on affected Chinese, Eurasian, and Indian POWs.

Early political involvement

Progressive Party

In the late 1940s, after Marshall rejected to join the MDU, he decided to join the Singapore Association (SA) through his legal connections after a growing interest in local affairs. He officially joined them in June 1947, after being elected to its committee following Roland Braddell's election as president. Early in his involvement, Marshall opposed the implementation of income tax, a stance that contrasted with later views. Financial secretary W. D. Godsall had proposed the tax to recuperate losses spent in post-war rehabilitation, but Marshall argued that income tax could be avoided and instead suggested a tax on the colony's remittances. He was also active with the Singapore Ratepayers' Association (SRA), which largely consisted of landlords and Europeans, that focused on reducing light, gas, and water costs.

In the lead up to the 1948 general election, political parties began to be formed. As the SA mainly represented European views, they decided to form a party to contest as they feared that the election would elect a majority of Asians into the Legislative Council and thus misrepresent their views. In May 1947, SA member E. R. Koek proposed the creation of the Progressive Party (PP) to advocate liberalist views. After Marshall was elected into their committee in June, Braddell supported Koek's suggestion, and the SA formed the PP with the Straits Chinese British Association on 25 August 1947. The PP consisted largely of legal professionals such as C. C. Tan, John Laycock, N. A. Mallal, and A. P. Rajah, who were all founder members. Marshall applied for the PP in October 1949 and became a member on 3 November, feeling obliged as a member of the SA and due to his personal connections with lawyers such as Laycock.

After Marshall briefly left to Australia and returned in January 1950, his continued time with PP eventually led him to have conflicting views with its members. In his early involvement, he was seen as a potential party candidate by members such as Laycock, Mallal, and Tan Soon Kim, though Marshall declined to stand. Sometime in the early 1950s, after the Legislative Council announced the Rent Control Ordinance, Marshall and other members of the SRA opposed its introduction, which saw support from other local groups. During the campaigning period of the 1951 general election, the Rent Control Ordinance was brought up, and the PP portrayed themselves as supporting the tenants. However, Singapore Tenants' Association secretary P. M. Williams addressed the fact that they supported the Rent Control Ordinance, which suggested that they were more in favour of the landlords instead of the tenants.

Labour Front

After he left the PP in February 1953, Marshall divided his time between the JWB, the Rent Control Board, and the Old Rafflesian Association, serving an additional presidential term for the former in April. Due to his status as a respected lawyer, Marshall soon became sought after as a member for political parties, especially since he had just left the PP. As the 1954 Rendel Constitution would soon implement more internal self-governance, the upcoming 1955 general election was seen as an avenue for political parties to control Singapore's future. The PP were predicted to be the most likely to win a majority in the upcoming election, but their maintained support was uncertain. Commissioner-General of Southeast Asia Malcolm MacDonald believed that a left-wing non-communist party would be able to maintain its political influence, but the only non-communist party at the time was the Singapore Labour Party (SLP), which was suffering from internal issues between its members; two prominent SLP members – Lim Yew Hock and Francis Thomas – later separated from the party.

Marshall began getting more involved in politics by 1953, when he attended a meeting with friends S. Rajaratnam, Alex Josey, and Han Suyin in August. He felt influenced by Rajaratnam and Han's political discussions, and decided during that he wanted to further his political career and interests; Marshall was still considering his political stand. In October, Marshall met with Lim and Thomas, and they decided to form a new political party; Marshall knew Lim as a fellow PP member and Thomas through connections with St. Andrew's School and the Rotary Club. Thomas later wrote to Marshall in November, discussing any issues with the party's formation or programmes, where it was also tentatively named the Democratic Labour Party.

In December, Marshall, Lim, and Thomas continued to hold meetings about the party, but its official inauguration remained delayed due to plans to merge with another left-wing party. In January 1954, lawyer Lee Kuan Yew met with figures such as Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, K. M. Byrne, and Rajaratnam to discuss forming a party which would later become the People's Action Party (PAP). Marshall and Thomas later held meetings with some of them, as they shared similar goals. However, the two parties did not get along well, with Marshall describing his and Thomas's first meeting with Lee, Goh, and Byrne as a "bitter taste". The PAP considered them to have possessed "political naivety", while Marshall saw Lee as an over-confident and mysterious person.

After their unsuccessful negotiations with the PAP, Marshall and Thomas founded the Singapore Socialist Party (SSP) in April 1954. Marshall was seen as a natural leader in the party, but he refused the presidency. Initial support for the SSP was low, so Thomas decided to form an alliance with the SLP ahead of the election. He met with SLP members V. J. Mendis and C. H. Koh, and the two parties officially formed the Singapore Labour Front (LF) on 21 August 1954. Marshall drafted the LF's constitution, and during that time Tan delivered a speech at a PP meeting detailing its stand against internal self-governance. Tan and the PP's stand irritated Marshall, and when Lim later asked him whether he wanted to lead the LF, Marshall accepted to use it as a platform to contest Tan; Marshall never fully embraced his role as LF's chairman, and neither was he a member of its executive branch.

Chief ministership (1955–1956)

Cabinet formation

Following the LF's minor majority of 10 seats in the Legislative Assembly, Marshall set up his minority government. He planned to form a coalition with either the Singapore Malay National Organisation (SUMNO)–Malay Union (MU)–Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) alliance or the PAP, eventually settling with the alliance. Marshall met with governor Nicoll on 4 April, where he explained that even with the SUMNO–MU–MCA alliance, they would not obtain a majority in the Assembly. To increase the LF's representation, Marshall requested Nicoll allow him four LF nominees to the Assembly under the Rendel Constitution, but Nicoll refused and instead appointed two LF executive committee members – Thomas and R. C. H. Lim – and two non-partisans – G. A. P. Sutherland and Ong Piah Teng – to represent European and Chinese commercial interests, respectively. Marshall then formed a coalition with the SUMNO and MCA, though the MU withdrew. Marshall's cabinet required three colonial officials for the roles of chief secretary, financial secretary, and attorney-general, which were given to William Goode, T. M. Hart, and E. J. Davies, respectively. The rest of Marshall's cabinet was Marshall as the chief minister and commerce and industry minister, Chew Swee Kee as the education minister, Lim Yew Hock as the labour and welfare minister, A. J. Braga as the health minister, Thomas as the communications and works minister, Abdul Hamid Jumat as the local government, lands and housing minister, and J. M. Jumabhoy as the assistant commerce and industry minister. He officially unveiled his cabinet on 7 April at Empress Place, and Nicoll swore them in.

Management of strikes and riots

In April, Hock Lee bus workers began strikes against the company, following disputes regarding the dismissals of union officials. He addressed the strikers at a rally, stating that the government allowed them the right to strike, but that they had to exercise this right responsibly. He then met with Lee, legal adviser of the Singapore Bus Workers' Union (SBWU) and PAP assemblyman; Fong Swee Suan, the SBWU's secretary-general; and Lim Chin Siong, a SBWU committee member, to form a peaceful agreement to end the Hock Lee riots. As the riots escalated with the involvement of sympathising Chinese students, Marshall met with the SBWU, Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company, and the Hock Lee Employees' Union at Assembly House to discuss an end to the riots, announcing later that day that an agreement had been reached between them.

After managing the Hock Lee bus riots, Marshall focused on the Chinese students who were occupying Chinese schools closed during the Hock Lee riots, namely Chung Cheng High School's main and Yishun branch and The Chinese High School. The government ordered the schools' boards to expel the involved students and provide names of those involved in the Hock Lee riots, however this only fuelled the conflict between the students and the authorities, with the Chung Cheng High Schools and The Chinese High School prolonging their sit-ins, with the Nanyang Girls' High School joining in. Following strike threats by the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers' Union in support of the students, Marshall appointed an All-Party Committee to investigate the students' issues, with his first meeting with them advising him to reopen the schools, which he did.

Marshall's management of the Hock Lee riots and the Chinese school sit-ins were met with criticism; letters were sent to newspaper The Straits Times detailing his incompetence as chief minister. In the weeks following the quelling of the Hock Lee riots, many expected Marshall and his government to exercise punishments on those involved, but their responses were considered to be small. During that period, the governor and chief secretary had urged him to send in troops, but Marshall withheld as he did not believe in police action. Furthermore, in the Chinese school sit-ins, Marshall was seen to have "meekly obeyed" to the Chinese students, despite calls of action to be taken on them such as deportation. The British wanted to use local military to ease the situation, but eventually agreed that military force would have tarnished the LF government's reputation, and instead helped to restrain the police force from acting against Marshall's plans. Chinese-language newspapers such as Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh also frowned upon police use as supporters of the rioters, and this move maintained their support towards Marshall's government.

Constitutional crisis

Following the management of riots, Marshall felt that his government was inadequate and lacked efficiency. On 11 July 1955, Marshall wrote to governor Robin Black, stating that the constitution allowed him to create nine new junior ministers, and he wanted to appoint four first and the rest later. In response, Black allowed him only two junior ministers. Marshall called the issue of "grave constitutional importance", as the governor did not acknowledge the opinion of the cabinet and displayed the constitution as allowing the governor to ignore the chief minister's suggestions. After Black's rejection, Marshall threatened to resign. This brought alarm from Singapore and the British, with Black requesting Secretary of State for the Colonies Alan Lennox-Boyd's intervention in the matter.

During this period, Marshall held a meeting with the Assembly, where he laid out a three-part motion to the Assembly, detailing that they would end colonial rule, rewrite the constitution to benefit those elected with the view of self-governance, and that the governor should act on the advice of the chief minister. Marshall's motion saw support from twenty-eight members; he subsequently held off on his resignation till the arrival of Lennox-Boyd. Lennox-Boyd arrived in Singapore on 31 July, briefly leaving to visit London and Borneo, before returning on 15 August. On 18 August, after negotiations, the colonial authorities edited the governor's powers to be in favour of the elected ministers, with the governor required to act in the advice or consultation of the chief minister. On self-governance, Marshall was invited to send a delegation to London to discuss the situation.

Party and government issues

Throughout their time in office, the LF faced multiple internal conflicts such as financial issues, leadership issues, and conflicting viewpoints. Marshall himself tend to argue with those going against him and did not hold frequent meetings with his ministers. These problems were addressed in the LF's first annual conference held on 29 October, however it only introduced more financial and management issues. During the conference, executive member C. H. Koh suggested repealing the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance (PPSO) and validating the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), which were rejected as it went against the government's policies. Furthermore, during the LF's party president election, Marshall did not contest to promote his chief lieutenant Lim Yew Hock to the position instead. However, Lim lost the election to assemblyman A. R. Lazarous, who was negative of the current government. This prompted Marshall to investigate Lazarous's election, ultimately discovering that Lazarous had paid other members to vote for him, voiding his ballot; Lim was subsequently elected party president.

These internal issues had since been made public, with Marshall suggesting that the disagreements were not due to policy differences, but instead personal ambitions. Lazarous and Koh had been fighting for positions in Marshall's cabinet since April, which was further amplified by the new junior minister posts introduced after the constitutional crisis. After learning of their rejections, Lazarous and Koh rebelled against Marshall, alongside assemblyman Lee Choon Eng, who was similarly rejected of a ministerial position. This eventually culminated into Lazarous and Lee leaving LF on 7 November to join the opposition, significantly affecting the LF government's majority as both sides now had an even 16 seats. This led to a possibility by the opposition to hold a no-confidence vote, but opposition assemblyman and PAP member Lee Kuan Yew refrained from supporting this.

1956 constitutional talks

In April 1956, as planned at talks held earlier in December 1955, a Singaporean delegation was received by the British to hold constitutional talks in London. The topics of discussion, which were similarly outlined after the December 1955 talks, included the definition of self-governance; a possible date for the introduction of self-governance; how the Legislative Assembly, external defence, external relations, and public service functioned; and any other possible matters. On 5 April, the Legislative Assembly largely agreed that the delegation was to discuss "the status of an independent territory within the Commonwealth and ceding back external defence and external relations other than trade and commerce to the Government of the United Kingdom".On 14 April, the thirteen-member Singaporean delegation headed by Marshall left for London. The constitutional talks opened on 23 April and focused on the delegation's view of independence, formation of a Singaporean citizenship, and management by the Commonwealth Office. The Colonial Secretary responded that the British wanted to maintain control of Singapore's defence, particularly internal security and external affairs, or at least joint control between them. Following a brief adjournment over the weekend, the Singaporean delegation gave their memorandum and a draft of Heads of Agreement, which aimed for Singapore's independence by April 1957. On 25 April, Lennox-Boyd rejected the delegation's proposed April 1957 independence date and instead offered a new constitution which granted a larger degree of self-governance, but still retained British control over Singapore's defence.

Among other concessions from the British, Marshall ultimately refused this counteroffer. Over the next few days, the constitutional talks slowly broke down following internal disagreements in the Singaporean delegation, such as Marshall's refusal to compromise with the British. Dealing with the issue of the British's reserve powers, Marshall suggested that three representatives from Singapore and the United Kingdom be appointed to an Internal Security Council, with a Malayan serving as its chairman. However, Lennox-Boyd insisted on a British high commissioner serving as chairman, leading to the delegation unanimously voting against the British's plan, with only the Liberal-Socialists (LSP) abstaining. The talks subsequently broke down on 15 May.

Aftermath and resignation

Later that same day, Marshall attended the House of Commons debate on the constitutional talks and found BLP parliamentarians suggesting a reopening of the talks, inspiring Marshall to meet up with his delegates to plan something similar. On 16 May, Marshall discussed reopening the talks with Lennox-Boyd, who was unopposed but wanted to know the opinion of the delegation. In a meeting on 17 May, despite the opposition parties being uninterested in restarting the talks, Marshall outlined his planned negotiation points if they did, namely that new legislature by the Colonial Office should seek the approval of the House of Commons first; that the Colonial Office should no longer manage Singapore; and that Singapore's head of state would be a local unaffiliated with the British.

However, Marshall faced heavy criticism from his delegation for his decision to reopen the constitutional talks. It was seen as "humiliating" and "degrading", with accusations from the opposition that Marshall only wanted to restart the talks to stay in office. Furthermore, he had announced his decision to reopen talks first to the press, before discussing this with his delegation. This undoubtedly halted any possibility of reopening the talks, as Lennox-Boyd would have only been willing if Marshall received the full support of his delegation. Regardless, Marshall noted that Lennox-Boyd was willing to discuss these new proposals, with the only caveat being the lack of support. He returned to Singapore on 21 May, with the plan that Lennox-Boyd would support his plan of moving Singapore from the Colonial Office and grant a local head of state, if he received support.

Marshall continued to preach his plan to the Colonial Secretary to reopen the talks, under the assumption that his plan would succeed and, that if it did not by 6 June, Marshall would resign from his post. During this time, his fellow LF members had already been urging him to resign. By 23 May, Lim Yew Hock was viewed as Marshall's successor, receiving support from the LF and Lennox-Boyd. The evening of his return, Marshall contacted Black to inquire whether Lennox-Boyd would receive a new delegation headed by Lim that discussed his originally planned points, if he resigned. On 28 May, Lennox-Boyd replied that he did not want to interfere with Singapore's affairs and, on 30 May, the Colonial Office rejected Marshall's points outright. On 6 June, Marshall requested a censure in the Legislative Assembly regarding his performance at the constitutional talks, but was rejected. On 7 June, he requested a censure again but was similarly refused. Marshall resigned later that day at 5:00 p.m. as chief minister, but remained as a backbencher; Lim succeeded him.

Post-chief ministership

Japan and China trip

On 19 June 1956, Marshall announced that he had been invited to visit China; this was a part of the Chinese government's initiative to improve relations with Afro-Asian states. He intended to accept and discuss matters with the Chinese government, including the citizenship of Chinese people living in Singapore. At the same time, Yap Pheng Geck of the Trade Advisory Council had planned a trip to China to enhance trade and asked Marshall to head the delegation, which he accepted. The sixty-one members of the delegation were selected by 5 July, and they planned to leave for Japan in late July before heading to China in mid-August. His trip to China was controversial, as China was the most populous communist country at the time, with the Chinese Communist Party having been long-time been supporters of the MCP and in favour of revolutionising Southeast Asia.

Marshall had received messages from Malayan chief minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who dissuaded him from going as it could inspire a similar trip by Chinese businessmen in the Federation to lead a delegation to China, and American diplomats, who offered a trip to Taiwan for him instead. Ultimately, a joint delegation with businessmen from the Federation of Malaya was formed. Marshall left early on 20 June, ahead of the delegation, to Japan. He spent several weeks in Tokyo, including visiting his POW camp in Nisi-Asibetsu and meeting with trade representatives who wanted to create branches in Singapore and Malaya. He believed that visiting Japan first would help "take the heat off" his China visit. Despite being the leader of the delegation, Marshall often travelled alone first and met up with the delegation at specific stops.

On 14 August, Marshall left Kowloon, Hong Kong, and entered Guangdong, China, where he met Zhao Xingyi, the Peoples' Foreign Relations Institute deputy secretary. Zhao hosted Marshall for the next three days as they travelled to Beijing, reaching on 17 August, where he met Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs president Zhang Xiruo. He stayed in Beijing for two weeks, where he met with many Chinese leaders including premier Zhou Enlai, vice premier Chen Yi, and diplomat Qiao Guanhua. On 20 August, Marshall met with Chen and discussed China's citizenship policy, where he was assured that overseas Chinese could "be nationals of the countries of their domicile", in accordance with the decision made at the 1955 Bandung Conference. The next day, he met with Zhou, and despite being reassured of the Chinese government's policy towards overseas Chinese, Marshall was worried that since Singapore was a British colony it could not enter treaties with China.

Legislative Assembly backbencher

Upon returning from China, Marshall found Singapore under a different political scene. As chief minister, Lim had enacted several measures to curb left-wing and pro-communist activity. This involved the de-registration and closure of the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students' Union, which Marshall had recognised last year. Multiple students staged strikes, sit-ins, and walkouts, culminating in a large clash between students and protesters with the police, which evolved into a riot on 25 October leaving 13 people killed and 123 injured. These developments upset Marshall, but he defended them as helping improve British trust in Singapore. In December 1956, Lim met with Lennox-Boyd to decide a new date for a second round of constitutional talks to be held in 1957. Lim had largely submitted the same proposals as Marshall, only that the proposed Internal Security Council's Malayan representative would be a regular member instead of chairman.

In the lead up to the talks, Marshall had wanted to be included in its delegation, but Lim informed him on 23 January 1957 that all the ministers and LF members Keng Ban Ee and Wee Kiat Neo were against his addition. At the 1957 constitutional conference, the Singaporean delegation accepted what were largely the same terms offered to Marshall's delegation that they had previously rejected. Upon their return, Lim tabled a motion in the Legislative Assembly on 26 April to discuss their report, which lasted for four days as Marshall heavily condemned the delegation's actions, facing criticism by its members in return. Ultimately, on 30 April, a majority of the Assembly voted in favour of the motion, with a third delegation planned to travel to London in May 1958.

From the time he resigned as chief minister, Marshall grew further estranged from the LF as he felt marginalised by them; this included his exclusion from the 1957 delegation. At the LF's annual conference in February 1957, minister Chew Swee Kee ran for party president against Marshall, with Chew elected after Marshall gained only half of Chew's votes. Furthermore, all of his resolutions at that conference had been defeated, which his biographer Kevin Tan described as a "tremendous blow" to him. On 12 April, he sent a letter to the LF where he criticised their actions at the conference as a "postponement of Merdeka and prolongation of colonial rule" and anticipated that the party whip would be enforced in the matter. He refused to accept such terms and asked them to either remove the whip or accept his resignation, which would be considered to have taken effect from that day. He subsequently received a response on 17 April where they agreed to retain the whip and therefore accepted his resignation.

Cairnhill by-election

In a speech on 26 April in the Assembly, Marshall announced that he would be willing to contest in a by-election in any constituency to prove his support by the voters. PAP assemblyman Lee Kuan Yew immediately accepted his offer and stated he would resign, with the intention of standing in a by-election for Tanjong Pagar. Marshall received assurance of support from several unions and was himself confident he could win against Lee; in total, nineteen unions expressed support for Marshall. However, the by-election began to evolve into a fight between the left-wing and pro-PAP unions, with Singapore Harbour Board Workers' Union leader Jamit Singh telling Marshall that "if blood flows, that will be good as it must flow" since "there must be an understanding that we are strong". This worried Marshall as he feared a riot and, on 29 April, he resigned from the Assembly and decided to not contest the by-election. Nevertheless, Lee resigned from his seat and stood in Tanjong Pagar, where he was reelected with 68.1% of the vote. Cairnhill was won by Soh Ghee Soon of the LSP.

Opposition work

Workers' Party

Following his resignation, Marshall remained active in talks about politics and trade unions. His first suggestion that he may return to politics was during a meeting with the Army Civil Service Union (ACSU), where he suggested "[creating] a political party whose membership is exclusively confined to members of the trade unions" and that he would "co-operate with [them] in making this idea a reality." Marshall then founded the Workers' Party (WP) on 9 November 1957, under the principles of democracy, socialism, and independence. WP membership was open to anybody over eighteen-years-old who was unaffiliated with other political parties, with the original plan of limiting it to only trade union members discarded. The WP was supported by the ACSU, but received contention from the LF and the PAP, as they saw the WP as further splitting the disorganised left-wing forces.

The WP made their political debut at the 1957 City Council election in December, where they fielded five candidates and saw success with four of them elected. Many were surprised at the outcome, as the WP was fairly new and Marshall himself had not stood for election; it was later revealed that the communists had agreed to support the WP. In March 1958, Lee met with the MCP's Fang Chuang Pi and asked him to prove his affiliation with the MCP by getting WP city councillor and vice president Chang Yuen Tong to resign. Fang promised to do so and, by May, Chang had resigned from the City Council and left-wing support for the WP disappeared soon thereafter, as their candidate in the subsequent by-election performed poorly against the PAP's candidate.

Marshall struggled to maintain the WP as five of its executive committee members left, along with WP members being seen canvassing for the PAP. Upon the creation of the Singapore People's Alliance (SPA) by Lim in November 1958, more members defected to join them, including three city councillors and one executive committee member. He responded by calling for the resignation of the city councillors and paying the S$50,000 required of them for breaking the party's terms. At the 1959 general election, the WP fielded three candidates, including Marshall, where he stood for Cairnhill against Lim. In the results, they failed to capture any seats, with Marshall's loss to Lim being the most unexpected, as the SPA had just been involved in the damaging Chew Swee Kee scandal.

Assemblyman for Anson

In 1961, the PAP was attempting to maintain the left-wing pro-communist elements within their party, including mayor Ong Eng Guan, who was elected at the 1957 City Council election. Ong began to clash with the PAP, eventually being expelled by them. He then challenged them to a by-election in 1961 in his constituency of Hong Lim, where Ong won with 73% of the vote to the PAP's candidate, Jek Yeun Thong. Following the death in office of the PAP's Baharuddin Mohammed Ariff that same year, another by-election was held in Anson, which Marshall decided to contest in. Unbeknownst to him, the communists decided to support Marshall in order to show their control over the voters to the PAP and, in the results, Marshall ended up narrowly winning over the PAP's Mahmud bin Awang.

Marshall was sworn into the Legislative Assembly on 20 July 1961. During a motion of confidence in the government, he criticised the PAP's ability to govern following their losses in Hong Lim and Anson, and he called for Lee's resignation; the motion later passed 27–8. During his time as assemblyman, his biographer Tan wrote that most of his comments were "petty" and that he "revelled in picking on the PAP", with speaker George Oehlers once describing Marshall's argument as "confusion mounting on confusion". Nonetheless, Tan stated that Marshall made "good points", such as his suggestions for an autonomous University of Singapore and higher pay for judges.

As a member of the opposition, Marshall was against the PAP's White Paper on merging Singapore and Malaya, specifically that Singaporeans would not automatically be granted Malaysian citizenship. The left-wing Barisan Sosialis (BS) were most adamant against merger, as it would have allowed the government to arrest many pro-communist BS members. BS leader Lee Siew Choh mainly targeted the issue of citizenship, alongside Marshall and Ong; Ong was a member of his new party, the United People's Party (UPP). Marshall, Lee, and Ong largely argued that the PAP government did not have the right to accept specific constitutional terms with the Federation without the consultation of the mandate, and they called for new elections to be held to settle the issues with citizenship.

The PAP government rejected the suggestions, but agreed to hold a referendum following a conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The opposition then planned to stop the referendum and formed the Council of Joint Action (CJA) in June 1962, consisting of BS, LSP, WP, UPP, and Partai Rakyat. The CJA took the issue of referendum before the United Nations (UN) Committee on Colonialism, where they criticised the terms and lack of choice in the referendum, concluding that it went against the UN's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Marshall further wrote to Ghanian ambassador to the UN Alex Quaison-Sackey, asking him to bring the Committee on Colonialism's attention to their call. However, Indian diplomat and committee chairman C. S. Jha did not consider the matter to be within their jurisdiction; the committee later voted 10–2 not to take cognisance of the CJA's petition.

Post-political career

Marshall returned to law after his resignation as chief minister, working at Battenberg & Talma in November 1956. However, by mid-1957, he had decided to start his own practice and founded David Marshall & Co. at the Bank of China Building. In 1959, the firm was renamed to Marshall & Smith following a partnership with Leo Anthony Joseph Smith, but he left by 1960. He soon afterward partnered with Chung Kok Soon, who later left in 1962 to start his own practice. Marshall continued with the firm from 1962 until his retirement in 1978 to serve as an ambassador; Amarjeet Singh and Mohideen P. H. Rubin subsequently took over the firm, renaming it to Amarjeet Rubin & Partners.

Marshall was sworn into the Presidential Council by judge Tan Ah Tah in April 1970, which included other members like ministers Lee, Goh Keng Swee, and S. Rajaratnam, and former political figures such as C. C. Tan and Francis Thomas. He was a permanent member of the council, whose purpose was to safeguard minority rights and advise the government on certain issues. Marshall had early on considered the council to be a "hypocritical PAP façade" and, five months later, resigned after Constitution (Amendment No. 2) Act 1970 was passed, which reduced the council's already limited powers further.

Law suspension

In 1971, following Marshall's involvement in the Lee Mau Seng case – where Lee, Shamsuddin Tung Tao Chang, and Ly Singko were arrested under the Internal Security Act for "glamourising communism" in the Chinese-language newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau – the Law Society charged him of having performed "grossly improper conduct" during the case under section 84 of the Legal Profession Act. The case had attracted much attention locally and internationally, prompting the chief justice and attorney-general to ask Marshall not to publish the accused's affidavits publicly in the press, to which Marshall agreed and privately sent the affidavits to various individuals via letter, including Derek Round of the International Press Institute under the promise that Round would not publish them in the press before the hearing on 7 June. Round later gave copies of the affidavits to representatives of United Press, Associated Press, and Reuters on 6 June.

The attorney-general stated that Marshall had breached the undertaking between them, but Marshall argued that he had neither given an undertaking and, if the undertaking was considered legally binding, only applied to the publication of the affidavits before the date of the hearings. Regardless, the Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of grossly improper conduct, and a show cause hearing was held before the High Court in October 1972. The panel upheld the Disciplinary Committee's decision on 7 October and Marshall was suspended from practicing law for six months. This decision was highly controversial and criticised within the legal community, as the court had not clarified what totalled "grossly improper conduct", only that there was "abundant evidence". Marshall suffered from depression in the following period.

Diplomatic career

In 1968, foreign minister Rajaratnam invited Marshall to join a Singaporean delegation travelling to the 23rd session of the UN General Assembly. Marshall, though surprised, accepted and joined foreign affairs minister of state Abdul Rahim Ishak, member of parliament (MP) Ng Kah Ting, acting foreign affairs permanent secretary Harry Chan Keng Howe, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's Abdul Aziz bin Mahmood on their trip to New York. The delegation met with Singaporean permanent representative to the UN Tommy Koh, who had been Marshall's pupil and assistant from 1961 to 1962. Koh decided to appoint Marshall to the Third Committee as it focused on social, humanitarian, and cultural issues, which he believed Marshall was interested in. He succeeded in his role, and Koh suggested Marshall return for the 24th session, though nothing came of this.

On 8 May 1978, Marshall met with minister E. W. Barker to ask about a possible ambassadorship, where Barker stated that Rajaratnam supported the idea and would inquire with prime minister Lee. Later, on 19 May, after attending a reception, Rajaratnam offered Marshall to serve as the first Singaporean ambassador to France, which he accepted. He arrived in Paris on 13 October. During his time as the ambassador to France, according to Tan, Marshall was known for his "friendly, gregarious nature, his colourful and flamboyant personality, and his imposing presence", which helped him create good relationships with French officials. He further received praise from foreign affairs minister S. Dhanabalan and diplomat S. R. Nathan for his conduct.

Despite his disagreements with the PAP government and prime minister Lee, Marshall defended the country's interests abroad throughout his time as ambassador. In 1981, he additionally began serving concurrently as the ambassador to Spain and Portugal, and later the ambassador to Switzerland in 1991. He retired on 31 July 1993 – owing to his worsening eyesight and age – after 15 years in diplomacy. In October 1993, Marshall joined Drew & Napier.

Personal life and death

Marshall married Jean Mary Gray on 5 April 1961. Jean was born on 13 April 1926 in Kent, South East England, and studied at the London School of Economics. She was a medical social worker with the London Brompton Hospital, before travelling to Pahang, Malaya, in 1953 as a field officer for the Red Cross. In 1955, she worked as a medical social worker at the Selangor Medical Department before becoming a lecturer at the University of Malaya in Singapore's Department of Social Work. Marshall and Jean first met in 1959, and they became engaged in February 1961. Together, they had four children: Ruth, Sara, Joanna, and Jonathan. She died on 29 March 2021, aged 94.

On 14 July 1995, Marshall fractured his spine after a fall in his home. He was admitted to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where it took an estimated six to eight weeks to heal. Marshall was diagnosed with lung cancer in August that year and began treatments at SGH. In December, The Straits Times reported that he was "gravely ill". According to Tan, Marshall knew he did not have long to live, given his habit of smoking and old age. He died from lung cancer in his home at 7:30 am (Singapore Standard Time) on 12 December 1995, aged 87. He was buried at the Choa Chu Kang Jewish Cemetery on 13 December, with a memorial service held at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue. Those who paid tribute to him include prime minister Goh Chok Tong, former president Wee Kim Wee, former senior minister Rajaratnam, foreign affairs and law minister S. Jayakumar, national development minister Lim Hng Kiang, lawyer Harry Elias, and ambassador-at-large Koh.

Views

As a lawyer, Marshall frequently spoke of human rights, equality, and justice. During a 1969 speech titled "The Rule of Law", Marshall considered the British's best contribution to civilisation to be the rule of law; he also pointed out two instances of breaching the rule of law in Singapore to be the PPSO and the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance, as both held the power to detain individuals without trial. His biographer Tan wrote that Marshall's view of the rule of law went further than the typical conception of the term – popularised by jurist A. V. Dicey – and followed an approach more similar to legal scholar Wolfgang Friedmann, stating that democratic societies should hold the rule of law "on the three foundations of equality, liberty, and ultimate control of government by the people".

Tan further described Marshall as "probably Singapore's best known opponent of the death penalty". He considered it to be unhelpful in reducing crime, arguing that the certainty of being apprehended and convicted actually deterred crime. While Marshall consistently praised prime minister Lee and the PAP government for developing Singapore along with its economic prosperity, he also condemned the government for limiting freedom of speech and public freedoms. He stated that "we should keep in mind the horrors of [China's] Cultural Revolution, brought about by the cult of subservience to authority and primacy of society over the individual before we point the accusing finger at those who believe that respect for the individual is the basis of human civilisation". He criticised the caning of Michael Fay as "grossly excessive" and was described as an "opponent of Singapore authoritarianism" by The New York Times.

Honours

Marshall was made an honorary member of the Law Society in 1978. In 1987, the National University of Singapore (NUS) gave him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In 1992, he was made an honorary member and fellow for life of the Singapore Academy of Law alongside chief justice Wee Chong Jin.

National

Pingat Jasa Gemilang (1990)

Foreign

Pahang

Dato Kurnia Johan Pahlawan (1965)

France

Knight of the Legion of Honour (1978)

Legacy

Marshall is remembered for his progress made towards independence, his speeches, and legal work, along with his tenure as chief minister where he started many political initiatives on issues such as education and multilingualism. Some publications have described him as a founding father of Singapore. Marshall's biographer and academic Chan Heng Chee described him in her 1984 biography as a "shooting star" who "filled the sky with brilliance and disappeared".

Over his 41 year-long law career, Marshall was involved with at least 128 cases (according to the Malayan Law Journal). Of those cases, fifteen are cited in Criminal Law in Singapore and Malaysia: Text and Materials (1989), the leading casebook on Singapore's criminal law. Furthermore, two preventive detention cases which he appeared in – namely Karm Singh v. Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri v. Malaysia and Lee Mau Seng v. Minister for Home Affairs, Singapore & Another – later became landmark decisions. His skill as a lawyer was reportedly one of the factors that led prime minister Lee to abolish trials by jury.

In 1995, the David Marshall Professorship in Law was set up after securing S$1.5 million (1995) (US$1.06 million); it was the first named and endowed chair of the NUS's Faculty of Law. In 2007, the Singapore Management University's School of Law (SMU Law) introduced the David Marshall Prize for Top Student in Criminal Law, which was funded by members of the Jewish community. In 2017, the Yale–NUS College introduced the David Marshall Scholarship for double degree law students. The School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA) has the David Marshall Scholarship, which is awarded to students who participate in community events and show leadership skills.

Jean donated a number of her husband's personal belongings to the National Museum of Singapore, including his campaign cards and smoking pipes. Owing to a love of art, Marshall commissioned and gifted the Botanic Gardens with three bronze statues by British sculptor Sydney Harpley: Girl on a Swing (1984), Girl on a Bicycle (1987), and Lady on A Hammock (1989). Through these sculptures, he wanted to inspire Singaporeans to "[smile and] feel the excitement and joy of living", according to Jean. In 2011, the Marshall estate donated a bust of Marshall created by Hungarian sculptor Peter Lambda in 1956 to the SMU Law's moot court, which is named the David Marshall Moot Court, after him. Jean expressed the hope that the tribute would inspire law students to pursue the passion, diligence, courage, and integrity that had distinguished Marshall's achievements.