A Pioneer Has Passed Away - Jean Marshall, widow of David Marshall

Long before I met Mrs Marshall, a friend of mine in Singapore who was in law, and married to a lawyer, told me about David Marshall winning all his court cases and recommended that I read a book about him. At the time I was researching for a book group attached to Friends of The Museum, and my subject for religions of Singapore was Jews.

I loved the book. I was engrossed by the story of the little girl, aged about 12, who had dropped the family baby into a well, thinking it would simply sleep. She hoped that when she revealed the hiding place she would be rewarded with an egg, because she had seen the family eating eggs, but had never been given the opportunity to try one.

Marshall, defending this little girl against the death penalty, was able to prove to the jury that the child had not intended to kill the child, because she could not distinguish between death and sleep. And he also won their sympathy for the child who spent all day long babysitting but was not even allowed to eat an egg.

I met  Mrs Marshall by chance at a lunch of either the British Club women's association or the American Club women's association. The event was at the Mandarin Orchard hotel on Orchard Road near Somerset MRT when I was living in the Beaumont condo in Devonshire Road just behind the hotel.

I was shown to a table with a couple of free seats occupied by those who were guests, not members of the association. Some bright young things were already engrossed in pairs in conversation. I sat down to one side, ignored. The other side of me was an empty seat beside an elderly lady who was also ignored.

It was either sit alone or talk to the elderly lady. Might as well be nice to her. She had arrived before me and must have been ignored longer than I had.

So I moved beside her, smiled enthusiastically, and asked her name. 

"Marshall."

"Oh," I responded, "Marshall? Any relation to David Marshall?" 

I could not believe my luck. I had missed out on meeting David Marshall, who died after I reached Singapore. But fate had thrown Mrs Marshall onto my table at lunch. And 

I asked her, "Is it true that your husband won all his court cases?"

She replied, "Not exactly. Some of them he won, but the case was lost on appeal. Others he lost, but won on appeal."

She told me lots more, about their stay in Switzerland, and France. But the previous conversation I have quoted was the most memorable.

Useful Websites

STRAITS TIMES 

http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/10/jewish-history-and-landmarks-in.html

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jean-marshall-social-work-pioneer-and-wife-of-former-chief-minister-david-marshall-dies

WIKIPEDIA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Marshall_(Singaporean_politician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Singapore

• The David Marshall trials by Alex Josey( Book )
• David Marshall's political interlude by Alex Josey( Book )

https://www.amazon.com/David-Marshall-Trials-Alex-Jossey/dp/9812616217

A sensation of independence : a political biography of David Marshall by Heng Chee Chan( Book )

Marshall of Singapore : a biography by Kevin Tan( )

Letters from Mao's China by David Marshall( Book )

• Letters from Mao’s China. (1996). (By David Marshall) Singapore: Singapore Heritage Society.(Call no.: RSING 951.05 MAR)
• Singapore’s struggle for nationhood 1945–59. (1971). Singapore: University Education Press. (Call no.: RSEA 959. 57024 MAR-[HIS])
• Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). 
• Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places. Singapore: Times Books International, p. 261. (Call no.: RSING 915.957 EDW-[TRA])2. Bieder, J. (2007). 
• The Jews of Singapore. Singapore: Suntree Media, p. 53. (Call no.: RSING 959.57004924 BIE-[HIS])
• Eze Nathan’s The History of Jews in Singapore 1830-1945

Articles

Wikipedia David Marshall
infopedia.nl.sg
remembersingaporewordpress.com
singaporejews.com
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_283_2005-01-13.html
https://expatliving.sg/touring-singapores-jewish-cultural-and-historical-contribution/

The body dies; the body's beauty lives."

— Wallace Stevens

Books

Books on David Marshall

https://www.amazon.com/David-Marshall-Trials-Alex-Jossey/dp/9812616217

https://www.amazon.sg/Marshall-Singapore-Biography-Kevin-Tan/dp/9812308784

https://epigrambookshop.sg/products/the-david-marshall-trials-reprint

About the Author

About The Author Angela

Angela Lansbury is a British author who has lived in the USA.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.

Angela Lansbury, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com