William Alfred Goone-Tilleke was a Ceylonese-Siamese lawyer, entrepreneur and aristocrat. He was the founder of the law firm Tilleke & Gibbins, a privy councilor and second Attorney General of Siam. In Siam he was also known as Phraya Attakarnprasiddhi.
In 1890, Tilleke came to Siam and started a new practice. In 1894, Tilleke gained recognition when he, together with Siamese lawyer Luang Damrong Thammasan, successfully defended Phra Yot Muang Kwang, a Siamese provincial governor, who had been accused of murdering a French military officer in the aftermath of the Franco-Siamese War of 1893. In the face of colonial pressure by the French and before a French Court conducted in Thailand, Tilleke defended Phra Yot with exonerating evidence. All seven judges returned a "not guilty" verdict. In 1897 he worked for the Attorney General's Office of Siam. At the same time, he was involved in the development of the country, investing in railway, rubber, and manufacturing companies. He owned the Bagan Rubber Company, active in the Malay sultanate of Kelantan, a vassal state of Siam until 1909. In 1902, he formed the firm Tilleke & Gibbins in partnership with Ralph Gibbins, an Englishman who became a legal adviser in the Siamese Ministry of Justice, before serving as a judge on the International Court in 1916. With G. W. Ward, he started the Siam Observer, the first English-language daily newspaper. Tilleke was a foreign legal advisor to King Chulalongkorn. He was involved in the drafting of the 1908 Penal Code of Siam. Tilleke adopted Siamese citizenship in 1910, relinquishing his British passport. After having served as acting attorney general, Tilleke held the position of Attorney General of Siam from 1912 until his death in 1917. For his services, Tilleke was bestowed a peerage and the title Maha Ammat Tho Phraya Attakarn Prasiddhi by the Siamese King. His brothers were A. F. G. Tilleke, Assistant Harbour Master of Siam, and Dr. R. E. G. Tillek, king's physician, and head of the Vajira Hospital in Dusit District. His nephew, R. F. G. Tilleke, was editor of the Bangkok Times. Goone-Tilleke's children changed their family name to Kunadilok. His son Daeng was a fighter for the Free Thai Movement during World War II. Tilleke's daughter Lekha married Khuang Aphaiwong who was prime minister of Thailand for three terms between 1944 and 1948 and leader of the Democrat Party of Thailand.
