Franklin Gimson

Sir Franklin Gimson
Gimson in 1951
1st Governor of Singapore
In office
1 April 1946 – 15 November 1952
MonarchsGeorge VI
Elizabeth II
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byJohn Fearns Nicoll
Governor of Hong Kong
Provisional Governor
In office
28 August 1945 – 30 August 1945
MonarchGeorge VI
Preceded byHisakazu Tanaka
Succeeded byCecil Harcourt
Personal details
Born
Franklin Charles Gimson

(1890-09-10)10 September 1890
Barrow-on-Soar, Leicestershire, England
Died13 February 1975(1975-02-13) (aged 84)
Pickering, North Yorkshire, England

Sir Franklin Charles Gimson KCMG KStJ (10 September 1890 – 13 February 1975) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Singapore from 1946 to 1952.

Gimson assumed the post of the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in December 1941. However, his appointment was interrupted by the Battle of Hong Kong. He became a prisoner of war when then Governor Sir Mark Young surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army on Christmas Day 1941. After spending more than three years in Stanley Internment Camp as an internee, Gimson was freed in August 1945, upon the Liberation of Hong Kong. He formed a short-lived provisional government and briefly declared himself "acting governor", but this administration was soon replaced when Rear Admiral Cecil Harcourt established the military government following in September.

Gimson was the first Governor of Singapore from 1946 to 1952 and reinstalled the civil administration in Singapore. During his governorship, he witnessed the establishment of the legislative council and the executive council in 1947. His governorship was also marked by the increasingly unstable political situation which was provoked by the Malayan Emergency, and the controversial legislation of the Internal Security Act.