Brother Thomas (From War Diaries of Bro Louis Gonzaga, Bro Vincent and WWII accounts of Bro Adolphus/Francis Tessier )



Brother Thomas was a Spanish national and a key figure in the early development of the mission's vocational education in Singapore.

Pre-War Background and Arrival

Before coming to Singapore, Brother Thomas had spent three years teaching in the Brothers' schools in Siam (Thailand). He was highly qualified, specializing in Mathematics and Science for upper secondary classes, and possessed extensive experience in electrical and mechanical machinery. He had also spent time at the Industrial School of Tindivanam in India.

He arrived in Singapore in July 1939 and was assigned to St. Joseph’s Trade School in Bukit Timah. His arrival was considered providential because he could help Brother Robert, who struggled with the English language when dealing with local authorities.

Leadership of the Trade School

  • Administrative Roles: He was appointed Director of the Trade School at the end of 1940. He also took over the management of the Printing Section after the lay instructor's services were terminated, successfully putting a "ruling machine" back into operation for the boys' practice.
  • Fundraising: Due to the school's acute financial struggles and lack of government aid, Brother Thomas spent his Sunday afternoons with Fr. S. Lee knocking on the doors of wealthy local "towkays" to raise funds.

Wartime Experiences (1942–1945)

  • Safeguarding Property: When the St. Louis Novitiate was bombed in February 1942, Brother Thomas was one of three Brothers who rfused to evacuate to the city, choosing instead to remain at the Bukit Timah estate to safeguard the mission's interests.
  • Brutal Assault: In May 1942, Brother Thomas was severely beaten by Japanese soldiers with bamboo poles after he asked them to leave the school compound. He was left nearly dead and required two weeks of recovery at the Bishop's House.
  • Japanese Trade School: In January 1943, the Japanese authorities requested that he and Brother Galmier run a trade school at Thomson Road. He served as the "Kocho" (Principal) of this institution, where he was given a car by the Japanese manager and extra rice rations for the staff.

Post-War Period

After the liberation in 1945, Brother Thomas remained at Bukit Timah, where he explored abandoned Japanese military depots to collect electrical gadgets. While many other foreign Brothers were repatriated immediately, he chose to stay in Singapore to help rebuild the mission before finally going on leave to Spain in 1948. Years later, after Singapore's independence, he represented the staff at a dinner honoring the former Japanese manager of the wartime trade school, with whom he had maintained a respectful relationship.

Account of Bro Thomas (Interview with Bro Emmanuel by Lloyd Yeo (2013)

Bro. Thomas was from Spain. He went from Spain to Thailand where he was a teacher of science. He taught mainly science. He could speak Thai He was deaf. He had difficulty hearing but in spite of his disability, he was very attentive but also very "grumbling:. 

He doesn't want funny things to distract the boys and he was a very good science teacher. A team of inspectors from the university and from the Ministry of Education interviewed him for hours and they felt he was a very very knowledgeable and a  good teacher.

Bro Thomas attained the greatest paward as a science teacher and when he was interviewed, he said that he learnt it all by himself, without ever going to any higher institutions to learn. The team was overwhelmed.. He taught Science into the school and the results were excellent.

I will remember how he passed on.  In the morning, I came downstairs to get a glass of water and I saw lights up there. I saw him and I told him, "Brother you must go to your bed. You are not well". As he lay down on the bed on the 21st of May, on the 50th Anniversary of the Brothers of St Gabriel's in Singapore, he said, 'Thank you' and died in his sleep.

We had to put him in a refrigerator for two days because we were celebrating the Brothers of St Gabriel which had to be attended to. His funeral ceremony was well-attended. There again, there was a huge amount of people at his funeral.

He had taught for so many years in Montfort and in St Gabriel's and he was very well remembered.  He was a man of great reknown.

The boys liked him and made a fool of him sometimes in class. They were mischievous and he would just wave them away with his hand. He was a very very good man.


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