WELL
DONE S. THOMAS'
ESTO PERPETUA
By T.D.S.A. Dissanayaka
Member of the Royal College Class of 1949
In February 2001 S.
Thomas' College Mount Lavinia celebrated with great enthusiasm
its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. The celebrations
commenced with a poignant Service of Thanksgiving at their
Chapel followed by breakfast on the quadrangle, where Thomians
young and Thomians oldf Thomians staunch and true rally round
their College flag. That in turn was followed by a Special
General Assembly and luncheon in the traditional Thomian style
of rice, dry beef curry, (the recipe of which is known only unto
God and Thomian cooks) pol sambol and parippu. It was truly a
splendid beginning for the month long celebration which included
the Thomian Fair, a gala dinner at the Hilton and to culminate
with the annual Royal-Thomian Cricket Match to be played later
this week.
At the Service of
Thanksgiving there were just four Royalists. They were The Right
Reverend Kenneth Femando, Bishop of Colombo of the Church of
Ceylon and statutorily the Chairman of the Board of Governors of
S. Thomas', The Reverend Duleep de Chikera, a former Sub-Warden,
J.P. Obeyesekera, best known in Thomian quarters as the husband
of Siva Obeyesekera who organized yet another Thomian Fair, and
myself. We were so moved that we decided to make our own little
contribution, from Royal with love !
To those readers who
are not familiar with the traditions of these two famous
schools, it must be added that those of us at Royal have a
special place in our hearts for S. Thomas'. That fondness is
only second to our fondness for another school, namely Ladies
College! During the twentieth century it was difficult to find a
boy at Royal who did not have a special affinity to some nice
girl at Ladies College. It is difficult to quantify those
platonic relationships, statistically. However statistics do
reveal that a staggering one-third of Royalists had opted for
wives from Ladies College! That long and unending list includes
both J.P. Obeyesekera and myself!
S. Thomas' can indeed
be proud of their numerous achievements from 1851 to 2001. To my
mind their greatest achievement is, that with unfailing
regularity they have produced real gentlemen. Their second
greatest achievement, was that though a Christian School (it was
founded by The Right Reverend James Chapman, the first Bishop of
Colombo of the Church of England) it has moulded Buddhists,
Hindus, Muslims and Christians to rise above religious
prejudices and to have an abiding love for Mother Lanka.
Thirdly, they have produced an unending line of top
professionals from every conceivable profession. That endless
line is second only to that of just one school!
Considering that S.
Thomas' (like Royal) was set up by the British to educate us,
shortly after^they had conquered us, it is interesting to
observe how some Thomians responded to that period of colonial
servitude. In 1915 the British executed Captain William Henry
Pedris of the Town Guards, for treason. A scion of a wealthy
family, in his last moments he was handcuffed and tied to a
stake. Then a British Major from a Marathi Regiment from Bombay
approached him and ripped off his epaulettes, signifying that he
was stripped of his commission. When the Major attempted to
apply the blindfold he was brushed off with Thomian grit at its
best,with Captain Pedris saying defiantly in Latin
Dulce et decorum pro
patria mori est
(It is sweet and
glorious to die for my country) Then came the order “Load",
"Aim", "Fire".
That Thomian grit was
reflected during World War I when Second-Lieutenant Basil
HorsfalL of the First Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers was based
in France near the border with Belgium. In 1917 the German Army
which was embattled at Ypres in Belgium somehow broke through
British lines and trapped many Regiments, including the
Lancashire Fusiliers. When his Company was facing certain
extermination, Second-Lieutenant Horsfall with total disregard
for his own safety knocked out several German machine gun nests.
He continued to do so even when he was mortally wounded and
bleeding profusely, till a German sniper finally got him. He was
posthumously awarded the coveted Victoria Cross the highest
British decoration for valour, the only such medal ever won by a
Ceylonese.
That Thomian grit is
ever present in the operational areas of our present Civil
war. In March 1996 Squadron-Leader Thilina Kaluarachchi of the
Sri Lanka Air Force repeatedly flew his MI-24 helicopter gunship
through a hail of machine gun fire to evacuate our troops who
were withdrawn following the battle at Mullaitivu. Already the
Army had lost over 1,000 officers and men, the Navy had lost two
Dovra gunboats with all crew on board. The Special Forces and
Commandos who were brought in from Batticaloa and Minneriya on
the orders of Major-General Srilal Weerasooriya RWP, RSV, VSV,
USP, later as a Lieutenant-General the first Thomian to command
our Army, would perhaps have perished if not for the Air Force
in general and a squadron of helicopter gunships in particular.
Many were of the opinion that Squadron-Leader Kaluarachchi
should have been awarded the Parama. Weera Vibushana our version
of the Victoria Cross. Instead he was awarded the Weera?
Wickrema Vibushana our second highest decoration for gallantry.
In 1997 Mount Lavinia and S. Thomas' wept for Wing-Commander
Thilina Kaluarachchi WWV, RWP and bar, RSP and bar, who was
killed in action. Honoured as a war hero, both in life and in
death, his Military funeral was graced by the largest crowd ever
seen in Mount Lavinia in living memory.
Since its inception in
1851 S. Thomas' was moulded in the best traditions of liberal
education in the West, as was Royal since its inception in 1835.
The curriculum was based on that of Eton and Harrow. However the
winds of change were blowing across the world, though the
British were quite oblivious to it. To them the sun never set on
the British Empire. Our patriots looked at the world
differently. For example a rebellious but truthful youngster
named David Hewavitharana at S. Thomas' was giving Warden Miller
a rough time. In his wisdom his father moved him,, to a better
school, where his older brother Charles Hewavitharana, was
developing quite a reputation as a scholar. It was rather
unfortunate that young David Hewavitharana continued his
rebellious activities unmindful of the Royal College motto "Disce
Aut Discede" (Leam or Depart). He also had some minor vices such
as smoking. Just once he got caught, was given a public caning
and expelled. The experience was so traumatic, that it cured him
of all minor vices for all time. In adult life David
Hewavitharana was the personification of rectitude. As Anagarika
Dharmapala he became a disciple of Lord Buddha in the true sense
of the word and greatly helped to propagate the gospel of The
Enlightened One.
Another great Thomian
who helped in our cultural renaissance was E.R.S. De Silva. At
S. Thomas' he was a quiet boy not known for scholastic
brilliance. However at the University College in Colombo (later
the University of Ceylon and now the University of Colombo) he
did brilliantly in Indo-Aryan Languages. He followed it up with
a Doctorate from the University of London. In due course
Ediriweera Sarathchandra, as he was known in adult life, became
a Professor of Sinhala at the University of Peradeniya. More
importantly, he produced the magnificent ballet "Maname" in
1957. It had packed houses throughout the nation for over
fifteen years, till he left for France as our Ambassador.
Thomian grit was a
conspicuous, feature when D.R. Wijewardene, N.K. Choksy Q.C.,
Jabir A. Ca|ler aridUDr. Sam De Vos made their pioneering
ventures into the field of commerce. D.R. Wijewardene had
perceived, during his days at Cambridge, that Ceylon had to have
her own newspapers in her quest for Independence. Accordingly in
1917 he set up the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL)
which in a little over a decade eclipsed the British-owned
"Times of Ceylon". Initially he encountered stiff resistance
from British commercial interests who refused to advertise in
his newspapers. Consequently "The Ceylon Daily News ran at a
loss for a number of years, notwithstanding, the fact that it
outsold "The Morning Leader" of the Times Group. Sheer tenacity
on the part of D.R. Wijewardene kept ANCL solvent. Then by the
end of the nineteen twenties "The Ceylon Daily News" even
outsold the evening newspaper "The Times." It was only then that
the British commercial interests made a virtue out of necessity
and began advertising in "The Ceylon Daily News." Thereafter in
life and in death D.R. Wijewardene was looked upon as (he
greatest entrepreneur Ceylon had produced in the twentieth
century; That was till the advent of his brother's son Upali
Wijewardene, my classmate at Royal College. N.K. Choksy made a
fortune at the Bar and thereafter invested his wealth wisely in
the manufacture of garments, then in its incipient stage of
evolution. He chose an industry which the ladies refer to
rather naughtily as the upliftment of the fallen. It is
otherwise known as the manufacture of brassieres. Jabir A. Cader
was a pioneer in the cinemas, initially with the New Olympia and
then a chain including the Liberty. Sam De Vos made his fortune
with Departmental Stores initially in Galle and then expanding
to Colombo and Kandy.
There is only one
visible difference between Royalists and Thomians. At Royal the
motto is "Disce Aut Discede." Accordingly during the
twentieth century well
over 50% of students from Royal entered Universities. The
corresponding average for S. Thomas' is well below 25%.
Notwithstanding those considerations S. Thomas' has produced
some truly brilliant scholars. For example Ronnie de Mel came
first in every public examination held in Ceylon, in his time.
In 1947 he took a brilliant First in History at the University
of Ceylon and was awarded a scholarship to Cambridge University.
In 1948 he was placed first in the competitive examination to
join the then prestigious and now defunct Ceylon Civil Service.
In more recent years Professor G.L. Pieris won even more prizes
than Ronnie de Mel, took a First from the University of Ceylon
in Law, a Doctorate from Oxford, a scholarship to Harvard,
became a Professor at the ^University of Ceylon at 34 years of
age and Vice-Chancellor at 40 yeiars of age. Somehow both
abandoned their chosen careers for the lure of politics. Only
time will show whether that was wisdom or folly.
Many a brilliant
scholar from S. Thomas' became a permanent member of the
academia. None played that role so well as Professor P.P.G.L.
Siriwardene, the last Vice Chancellor of the University of Sri
Lanka. Those who had the privilege of studying Chemistry under
him, Sub-Warden D.A. Pakianathan and I are two of his many
grateful pupils, revere him as the very personification of a
gentleman replete with a golden brain and a heart of gold.
It is commonplace for
those at Royal to corridlne studies with sports. Indeed those
who scored centuries in the Royal-Thomian or scored tries in the
Bradby Shield match with Trinity College or broke records in the
Public Schools Athletics Meet were shown the way to go home,
when they did not pass their examinations. Our motto "Disce Aut
Discede" is enforced ruthlessly, to say the least. On the other
hand the concept of 'men sana in corpore sano' (a healthy mind
in a healthy body) is a rarity at S. Thomas. However their
glorious exceptions include Osmund De Silva who in his
undergraduate years at the University College broke more Ceylon
records in Athletics than even Duncan White and later rose to be
an Inspector-General of Police and A.J.D.N. Selvadurai who as an
undergraduate represented Ceylon in three sports. Athletics,
Cricket and Tennis. That was way back in the decade of the
nineteen twenties. Since then S.J. Thambiah, Captain of Cricket
in 1948, Head Prefect and winner of the Victoria Gold Medal,
entered the University of Ceylon on a scholarship, took a First
in Sociology, a Doctorate from Oxford and is now a Professor at
Harvard. P.T. Shantikumar, Captain of Cricket in 1949 came first
in the Ceylon Civil Service examination in 1954, P.I.
Pieris, Captain of
Cricket in 1953, and a Cambridge Blue who represented Ceylon for
many years after his return to the Island, Rupert Ferdinands was
Captain of our Davies Cup Team when he was still an
undergraduate of the University of Ceylon in the early nineteen
sixties and Mano Ponniah who represented Ceylon in Cricket
during his years as an undergraduate of the University of
Peradeniya. In more recent years, Geffary Dulapanden Captained
the Sri Lanka team in Swimming while an undergraduate at the
University of Colombo.
The calibre of a
school is often determined by its Principal and Staff. S.
Thomas' was singularly fortunate to have been headed by
educationists of the high calibre of Warden W.A. Stone and his
pupil Warden R.S. De Saram for fifty of its one hundred and
fifty years. They moulded their students as they deemed fit, in
the best traditions of the British public school system. They
never spared the rod to spoil the child and terrified successive
generations ofThomians. On the other hand they concealed a
genuine fondness for; their pupils. The parable of the lost
sheep as enunciated by Jesus Christ was deeply embedded in their
thinking. So was the concept that a Resurrection can come only
after a Crucifixion. They have now returned to their Maker but
their spirit lives beyond the grave, in the hearts and minds of
thousands of grateful Thomians staunch and true.
By the same token S.
Thomas' has been so fortunate by the dedication of their
tutorial staff. Teaching has many rewards but none financially.
Dedicated teachers are almost an extinct species today in Sri
Lanka. It was not so in Ceylon in the years gone by. One of the
Rolls of Honour at S. Thomas' are for teachers who have served
for twenty five years or more. That long list includes such
famous teachers as The Rev. G.A.H. Amdt, C.H. Christie David,
C.V. Pereira, E.O. Pereira, O.P. Gunaratne, A.J. Schaffter,
Harold Jantz, Miss A.E. Bay, Mrs. Ruth Anthonisz, V.P. Cooke,
The Rev. J.Y. Baranabas, The Rev. Cannon A.J. Foster, Dr. R.L.
Hayman, D.F. David, B.C. D'Silva, C.S. Weerasinghe and W.I.
Muttiah, amongst others. Regrettably that long list narrows down
appreciably sometime after our Independence. Unfortunately Royal
College suffers from the same affliction, which imperils the
moulding of character which is even more important than the
imparting of knowledge.
The moulding of
character can be achieved basically in the classroom and on the
playing fields. S. Thomas' can be proud of the sportsmen they
have moulded based on the theme,
Vemon Prins, Michael
Tissera, Anura Tenekoon and Duleep Mendis were famous Captains
of Cricket at S. Thomas' who went on to Captain the Ceylon/Sri
Lanka team. To those who have the privilege of knowing them
personally, as I do, they have surpassed their capacity to excel
in cricket with their immeasurable capacity to be the
personification of gentlemen, both on and off the field. No
commentary on Cricket at S. Thomas' is complete without
reference to Thomian grit in the context of the Centenary Match
of thfe Royail-Thomian. The Thomian wickets were falling like
ninepins on the last day and the match was expected to be over
before Tea. Then Mahinda Halangoda and C.P. Richards were
associated in a 91 run,unbroken partnership for the ninth
wicket. Many Thomians still say "Never in our history have so
many owed so much to so few.”
Tragically S. Thomas'
like Royal has produced a string of Heads of Governments who
have done much good and much harm to our nation. At the advent
of Independence we were both stable and prosperous. We were the
envy of other nations in South-East Asia. Today nobody, except
perhaps those of unsound mind, would envy our nation or deem it
to be either stable or prosperous. Our Prime Ministers and
Presidents, be they from S. Thomas' or Royal or elsewhere, be
they from the male or the female of the species, have exhibited
one tragic flaw. They have systematically placed their personal
interests and Party interests ahead of our national interests.
Down the ages and around the world, that has been a certain
recipe for chaos and chaos we see all around us. Not
surprisingly Sri Lanka has not produced one statesman since
Independence. In that sense both S. Thomas' and Royal have
failed the nation. I do hope that deficiency will be set right
in this century, and sooner the better.
There is just one
sphere of activity where S. Thomas' has completely eclipsed
Royal. The benefactors of S. Thomas' have been truly
marvellous. They have stood by the school in dark days and in
happier times. They have indeed been a catalyst in the pursuit
of excellence by S. Thomas'.
This article has been
an attempt to summarize the many virtues and the few infirmities
of S. Thomas'. On the balance, the overall performance of this
great school has been truly marvellous. That rich heritage must
be used wisely to enhance S. Thomas' in this century. Indeed S.
Thomas' has made a magnificent start by appointing Dr. David
Ajunan Ponniah as the new Warden. A supreme example of ''men
sana in corpore sano' he stunned the massive crowd at the Royal-Thomian
of 1967 when as a fresher he scored a century. Later that year
he sailed into the University of Peradeniya at a young age, much
to the relief of Royalists. He did his post-graduate work in the
UK and sacrificed a certain Professorship in the years to come,
to answer a call of duty by his Alma Mater in its hour of need.
A true example of Thomian grit!
Today we live in an
open society almost free of indigenous tyranny and have tasted
the fruits offan open economy for nearly a quarter of a century.
Yet such enlightened thinking has not yet percolated into the
field of education. ^Bureaucratic controls have not decreased
but increased on the private schools. It is so different in
India and Pakistan, in Malaysia and Singapore. Sri Lanka must
follow those examples and permit magnificent schools like S.
Thomas' to blossom out to its full potential.
Thomians young and
Thomians old, Thomians staunch and true, to those of us at Royal
it is truly our privilege to salute you on your one hundred and
fiftieth anniversary. May your foundations be not on concrete
but on the teachings of Jesus Christ, as they have always been.
May you continue to serve Mother Lanka in the magnificent way
you have always done. May you continue to be our friendly rival,
as you have always been.
WEL DONE S. THOMAS'
Esto Perpetua (Be Thou
for Ever)
Esto Perpetua
Esto Perpetua
The Blue Black and
Blue, for ever!
<<
BACK
