A founding member of political party Labour Front, he served as the Minister of Communications and Works from 1955 to 1958 during the 1st Legislative Assembly of Singapore.

Born in Westcotes, Thomas was educated at the University of Cambridge before moving to Singapore under British rule and working as a teacher at Saint Andrew's Secondary School.

Whilst aboard the captured SS President Harrison on the way to Japan, it sunk after being shot with torpedoes by American submarines.

After the war, he took a hospital ship to Southampton before moving back to Singapore in 1947 to continue working at Saint Andrew's.

In 1954, he founded Labour Front with David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock, contesting in the 1955 general election for the first Legislative Assembly.

Whilst they were travelling, American submarines off the coast of Vietnam started launching torpedoes at them, sinking a few ships.

He worked 8-hour days and later fell sick, being transported to the camp hospital and later to a different shelter, due to frequent bombings from the Americans.

[8][9] In 1955, Thomas was involved in helping stop the Hock Lee bus riots and, in 1956, went to England to look into the possibility of nationalising the transportation system.

[12] In 1959, Thomas received evidence of corruption of fellow Labour Front member and Minister for Education Chew Swee Kee and he brought the evidence forward to Lee Kuan Yew after being dismissed by the then-chief minister, Lim Yew Hock, which later led to Chew's resignation.

[13] This led future-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to describe him as "the only honest man in the Labour Front".