George Oehlers

Sir George Oehlers OBE
Official portrait, 1955
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore
In office 22 April 1955 – 3 September 1963
Deputy	R C H Lim G Kandasamy John Mammen[1]
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Edmund W. Barker
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Sabah
In office 23 September 1963 – 22 September 1964
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Mohd Kassim Haji Hashim
Personal details
Born	1 April 1908 Singapore, Straits Settlements
Died	27 October 1968(1968-10-27) (aged 60) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Bidadari Cemetery, Singapore
Spouse(s)	Daphne Eleanor Pye ​ ​ (m. 1940; died 1960)​ Nan Tessensohn née Flynn ​ ​ (m. 1965⁠–⁠1968)​
Children	5
Parents	George Rae Oehlers (father) Frances Maude Oehlers (mother)
Alma mater	St Andrew's School Raffles Institution
Occupation	Politician lawyer

Sir George Edward Noel Oehlers OBE (1 April 1908 – 27 October 1968) was a Singaporean politician and lawyer who served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore between 1955 and 1963.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

George Edward Noel Oehlers was born to George Rae Oehlers and his wife Frances Maude Oehlers (née Clarke), Eurasian Singaporean parents of German and Irish descent. He was educated at St Andrew's School and Raffles Institution.[2][3]

Career

In 1928, Oehlers was called to the bar at Gray's Inn and practised as a barrister in London for three years.[3]

Upon returning to Singapore, Oehlers became City Councillor in 1933, serving until 1941; he returned to the City Council in 1947, but left ahead of his appointment as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore on 1 April 1955 .[3][5] He left that post in September 1963 to chair the Public Utilities Board.[3][6]

From 1963 to 1964, he was also Speaker for the Sabah Legislative Assembly and helped to set up the Sabah Legislative Assembly.[4][7] From 1965, he was Chairman of Singapore's Industrial Arbitration Tribunal, and from June 1965 to his death, he was President of the Industrial Court of Malaysia.[3]

Personal life

Oehlers married Daphne Eleanor Pye on 20 April 1940. They had five children together: Jillian, Lynnette, Harry, John, and Catharine. Daphne Eleanor Pye died on 15 April 1960, and Oehlers remarried in July 1965 to Annie (Nan) Tessensohn née Flynn, a widow.[3][4]

His daughter, Jillian was murdered by her husband Henry Scully, along with their two children, who also killed himself when the family was poisoned by gas inhalation in their apartment.

Death

Oehlers died in Kuala Lumpur on 27 October 1968 and was buried in Bidadari Cemetery, Singapore.[3][4]

Honours

Oehlers was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1953, and Knight Bachelor in 1958 for his public service in Singapore.[3][4][8][9]

References

1. "Speakers of Parliament". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Scroll to bottom and expand the list of former Deputy Speaker
2. "Oehlers, Sir George Edward Noel", Who Was Who (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 3 April 2018.
3. "Sir George dies". The Straits Times. 28 October 1968. p. 1.
4. "Sir George Edward Noel Oehlers". Infopedia. 2009 – via NLB.
5. "List of Former Speakers". Singapore Parliament. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
6. "Public Utilities Board". HistorySG. 2011 – via NLB.
7. "List of State Legislative Speakers". Sabah State Legislative Assembly (in Malay). Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
8. "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. pp. 2973–2974.
9. "No. 41404". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1958. pp. 3511–3512.

Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by New post	Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore 1955 - 1963	Succeeded by Edmund W Barker
Parliament of Malaysia
Preceded by New post	Speaker for the Sabah Legislative Assembly 1963 - 1964	Succeeded by Datuk Haji Mohd Kassim Haji Hashim