Harold Turner

Harold Goodhew Turner (23 December 1906 – 10 July 1981) was a British civil servant and colonial administrator who was Defence Secretary in the Colony of Singapore from 1950 to 1952 and Secretary to the Treasury of the Federation of Malaya from 1959 to 1961.

Early life and education

Turner was born on 23 December 1906, the son of George Prior Turner and Blanche Winifred Turner. He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Career

Turner joined the Malayan Civil Service as a cadet in 1929, and his first post was as a magistrate in Perak. In 1930, he was appointed assistant District Officer of Sitiawan, then Collector of Revenue for Penang and then magistrate and assistant District Officer of Ipoh. In 1931, he was transferred to Singapore where he assistant secretary to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, before he returned to Perak as assistant secretary to the Resident. In 1934, he was appointed assistant adviser in Kluang. In 1936, he served as State Agriculture Officer for Selangor. In 1938, he returned to Singapore as assistant secretary in the Colonial Secretary's Office.

During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, Turner was interned in Singapore.

After the War, Turner returned to Malaya and, after the restoration of civilian rule in 1946, was appointed to the post of Deputy Resident Commissioner, Central, and Deputy Establishment Officer at Kuala Lumpur. In 1952, he transferred to Kuala Lumpur and served as Principal Establishment Officer to the Federation of Malaya. In 1959, he was appointed Secretary to the Treasury of the Federation of Malaya, succeeding A. H. P. Humphrey, a post he held until his retirement in 1961.

Turner returned to England and joined the home civil service as Commonwealth Relations Officer at the Foreign Office remaining in the post from 1962 to 1968. In 1969, he was appointed Director of Studies at the Royal Institute of Public Administration, a post he held until 1973.