Arthur Hessman Goodenough (1866 - 1944)

Of all my ancestors, the one person that I find myself drawn to, is my great grandfather, Arthur Hessman Goodenough. Maybe, it's because he led such an adventurous life, maybe it's because I know more about this man than I do about any of my other ancestors... or it's probably because in 1997, when I stood in front of his grave for the first time, choked with weeds, I felt an huge wave of emotion come over me, a sense of history and a sense of great pride, although the headstone that marked the spot where this man lay had long been 'destroyed' and I mean destroyed...but more about that later.
 

Arthur Hessman Goodenough was born on the 4th November 1866 to Robert Budden Goodenough, a merchantman and Luisa De Rosa. It is a misconception that Arthur was born in England or Scotland. He was actually born in Singapore and was baptised and confirmed in St. Andrew's Cathedral. Arthur joined the Royal Navy at a young age and was constantly away at sea. He spent most of his young adult life in the service of a Queen and 2 kings...Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V. He was a qualified Engineer and was awarded two diplomas in Marine Engineering from Dutch Colleges, one in the Dutch East Indies, and the other from Holland itself. Arthur stayed in the Royal Navy until 1926, his last commission was as Commander, on board HMS Swordfish, a Royal Navy frigate. Prior to this, he served on board HMS Vampire as Ship's Engineer.
 

Arthur married Elizabeth Adelaide Batchelor, the sister of his friend Barnett Burton Batchelor, on the 21st April 1894. Together, they had eight children, Arthur (Artie), Robert (Sunny), William (Willie-boy, my grandfather), James (Jimmy), Louis (Lewie), Minerva (Mini), Louisa (Lulu) and Lawrence (Bobsie). Eliza died in 1909 and the children were raised by their aunt, Arthur's sister, Harriet. Harriet adopted Arthur's youngest son Lawrence (listed in my tree as Lawrence Goodenough Colledge). The picture below shows Arthur and Harriet with 7 of his 8 children. (Lawrence is not pictured)
                                                

Life after the Navy was just as adventurous. He was the first man to open a tyre shop in the then colony of Singapore. He also opened the very first cinema in Singapore, which was open air, years before the Alhambra indoor cinema was opened in Singapore. He purchased a large parcel of land, on which he built Singapore's first tannery. The land has since been sub divided, but a small portion still remains intact. Arthur sold it off and it was turned into what was known as the Middleton Hospital, now a quarantine hospital on Balastier Rd. In 1999, my wife and I were able to stay at the Robinson hotel, which stands on what was once his property.

                                                                              

The picture shown above is of him posing outside one of the houses on the Middleton Estate. I suspect it is the same house shown below, which I photographed in 1999.
                                                                          
 

Arthur died after a stroke, during the Second World War, on January 3rd 1944 and was buried the very next day at Bidadari Christian Cemetery in Singapore. His grave was marked by a relatively simple headstone, which was destroyed by the cemetery gardeners, most probably with a hoe. This was a common tactic used when the family of the the deceased stopped paying them for the upkeep of the said grave. Over the years, what was left of the headstone disappeared and just a number marker remained. Arthur's grave can be seen in these pictures below.
    
 

Owing to the land shortage in Singapore, Bidadari Cemetery is to be redeveloped and Arthur and Eliza's graves were to be exhumed on April 9th 2002, for cremation and relocation to the current Cemetery at Choa Chu Kang. May they finally rest in peace.