WHISPERS OF HISTORY
In 1968 Warden Selvaratnam in writing of the 50th
Anniversary of S. Thomas' at Mount Lavinia wrote that Jubilees
"are occasions for humble thanksgiving and fuller dedication.."
At significant times in the history of S. Thomas' such as the
Golden Jubilee of 1901, the Centenary of 1951, the Golden
Jubilee of the College at Mount Lavinia in 1968, the 125th
Anniversary of the College in 1976, the Centenary of the OBA in
1986 and 75 Years at Mount in 1993, Thomians have celebrated
those milestones with great fervour. There has been much to be
thankful for, and indeed very often there has been fuller
dedication thereafter. I witnessed the last two, the one in 1986
as a schoolboy and the one in 1993 as a member of staff and
participant in the organising of the
celebrations.
As a lover of
historyfon both those occasions I was conscious of the 'whispers
of history'. What are these 'whispers of history'? The phrase
was coined by Dr. George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury to
describe the aura surrounding historic buildings such as his own
residence Lambeth Palace in South London. During my time here in
the United Kingdom, my family and I have spent all our vacations
visiting places of historic interest, castles, palaces,
cathedrals, churches and in each place have experienced very
vividly the 'whispers of history'. It is as though the very
stones are crying out of the events and the people that they
have witnessed.
All of us who have
been privileged to pass through the hallowed portals of our Alma
Mater have I'm sure encountered these 'whispers of history' that
have permeated our College and have undoubtedly been affected by
them. It is believed that there is such a thing as 'memory of
place'. A quiet, contemplative walk round the campus of the
College at Mount Lavinia or indeed the old Cathedral at Mutwal,
near which the College began in 1851, will certainly prove just
how true this theory is. I can remember in 1992 walking around
the large Banyan tree outside the old Cathedral and hearing in
my mind the Thomians of the Mutwal days at play.
Inside the Cathedral I
could almost hear Bishop Chapman speaking or Warden Miller
encouraging the boys of their day. Sometimes sitting in the
Chapel at Mount Lavinia, when no one is around and beginning to
imagine what it must have been like in the early days can be a
marvellous experience. I have personally found these experiences
to be very meaningful.
To me these 'whispers'
do not only come from historic buildings with their 'memories of
place'. I 'hear' them as preserved in College Magazines,
Journals, History Books etc. that contain not just chronological
accounts of the events in the life of the College, but also the
words of wisdom spoken not only by the great men who were
responsible for its humble beginnings but equally those who gave
of themselves to preserve and develop the College over the
years. The former Wardens, Sub-Wardens, Chaplains, Head Masters,
Teachers, Old Boys. Just by picking up a book on the history of
the College one can hear these great people 'whispering' to us
from the past. I certainly experienced this when I took on the
task of writing '75 Years at Mount'. Researching for that book
opened up an archive of old papers, magazines etc in which I
discovered some valuable gems. Wonderful speeches, stories,
sermons, which'established a connection for me with the past. I
could almost hear them being spoken as I read them. I believe
that much of what has been said over the past 150 years is still
apt today.
'What is the point?'
one may ask. I leave the answer to one of my Teachers Mr. J.C.
Jayatilleke, who introduced me to the joys of studying College
History. He wrote in the OBA Centenary Volume, "What is it that
makes S. Thomas' different? What is it that makes schools like
S. Thomas' flourish in the modern age? One word - TRADITION. May
this be remembered by all of us who dare to call ourselves
Thomians. We must preserve that peculiar quality that makes us
unique." Tradition is all-important to us, although in recent
years it would appear not to have been so. In the 150th
year of her existence while giving thanks for what has been,
even the darkest years, all Thomians should rededicate
themselves to furthering the cause of our Founder and successive
stewards of the College who have put the
College above and
beyond their own personal gain and desire for power. May the
words of past great men, our own 'whispers of history' speak to
us and inspire us in this jubilee year.
I begin at the
beginning with Bishop James Chapman, described in 1951 by Canon
R.S. de Saram as "that great and good man to whose faith we owe
our existence". He is the first to 'whisper' to us, indeed the
best qualified for STC is his dream fulfilled.
This was his vision
for STC as far back as 1845."The real end of all education, is
not to sharpen the intellect or improve the mind alone, but to
form the character of the future man, to mould his habits, to
fix his principles, and to make him good as well as wise and no
system which aims at less than this, which would take any
standard short of it, can be worthy of esteem." What powerful
words. In fact he was elucidating the philosophy of education
current in England at the time. It was a philosophy advocated by
teachers such as Thomas Arnold of Rugby School who believed that
"education is what is left after what has been learnt has been
forgotten." Has STC fulfilled this dream, this vision? On
St.'Thomas' Day, 21st December, 1849 when the
foundation stone of the College was laid by him at Mutwal, he
said "Enduring works are often of humble beginnings...in
building for God, in working, in spending for God, we run no
venture, we hazard no loss, we cherish no vague and uncertain
hope...to spend and be spent in our work is our greatest and
best privilege." It was with that type of dedication that Bishop
Chapman and those who came after him looked after the College.
Wardens C.W. Wood, J.
Bacon, J. Baley, G. Bennet, E.F. Miller and P. Reed in their own
way contributed immensely to the College, some of them more than
others. It is to Warden Reed's successor that the next 'whisper'
comes. We all know the moving words of Warden William Armstrong
Buck's farewell letter to the Thomians of the last decade of the
nineteenth century. (I hope we all know it!) His wish was that
above all else they should be "Men and Gentlemen always". Advice
not very far from Bishop Chapman's vision. They words uttered in
an era when 'muscular' and physical development was the order of
the day in the education
of young men. All
members of Buck House past and present will know off by heart
the ancient maxim of the Greeks and the Romans "Mens Sana in
Corpore Sano" - "A Healthy mind in a healthy body". A maxim
which Warden Buck would certainly have endorsed fully. STC has
always sought to keep the balance between the need for mental
and intellectual development and physical development. There are
those who are critical of STC for giving equal status to extra
and co curricular activities, but the 'whispers of history' cry
out in defence of the system. I am conscious that this article
is for the Cricket souvenir and will take the chance to mention
that Bishop Chapman as an Etonian enjoyed Cricket. He was also a
Fellow of King's College, Cambridge where there was a similar
passion for the game. Thus although Cricket was introduced at
STC only after the 1860s he would whole-heartedly have agreed
with its introduction. Bishop P.C. Claughton, his successor,
also firmly believed in the potential that cricket had for the
education of the mind. Cricket is thus part and parcel of the
Thomian education system along with all other sports, be they
Rugby, Hockey, Rowing, Swimming, Tennis or even
Athletics. !
Next we have the words
of Warden William Arthur Stone, the second longest serving
Warden, who in a sense was the second founder of the College,
because it was he, supported by Bishop E.A Copleston and Mr.
C.E.A. Dias, who successfully uprooted the College from Mutwal
and transplanted it in the new rich soil of Mount Lavinia in
1918. He said quite a few wise things during his time from 1901
to 1925, but the words that I find most emotive were spoken by
him on the eve of his departure from the College. He said, " I
have learnt to love Ceylon and S. Thomas' College. I have learnt
to love the boys and even if I do beat them mercilessly it is
because 1 love them. Many of the boys have justified their
ability, some of them have not. I never despair about a Thomian
even if he has gone wrong for a year or two. Some of them have
gone wrong but I believe there is something in the College
called the 'Thomian Spirit' that can never die. That is the
Spirit which has been created by Bishop Chapman and brought to
full growth by Warden Miller." He went on to say on another
occasion "Live for S. Thomas' - do anything for
her whenever you are
asked to do it; if necessary die for her!"
What a 'whisper'!
Warden Kenneth C.
McPherson was in office for a very short period and was more of
a 'doer' than a 'speaker'. The Chapel and the Boarding and hall
block came up during his time, for which he worked tirelessly. I
suppose one of the best bits of advice a whisper from him could
give would be his words that "a Thomian must sort out three
things for himself - his religion, his profession and his wife!"
Not a bad bit of advice even in this day and age.
In 1932 Reginald
Stewart de Saram, an old Thomian and an Anglican Priest was
appointed 10th Warden of the College, the first son
of the College and the soil to reach that high office. He was to
hold sway for 26 years and during that time the College came of
age at Mount Lavinia. They were 26 golden years in historical
terms and there are many 'whispers' to be heard from that era.
At his Induction Warden de Saram said "My only wish is that this
school, which we all love so much, which is our precious
possession, will go on from strength to strength." Is this not
the wish of every true Thomian today as we look back at 150
years of history?
At the end of the War
in Europe in 1945 he said, "The war is over - six years of the
hardest conflict the world has ever seen...S. Thomas' has not
come through unscathed. The last four years we have spent in
exile, but we have kept the flag flying. Our achievement in the
fields of sport and in the classroom bear witness to how we have
met and surmounted the difficulties that confronted us. The
large number of our old boys who had joined the armed forces of
the allies bear witness to how we answered the call of duty. Our
honour is high and our traditions have been upheld."
In 1946 Bishop C.D.
Horseley of Colombo retired. He had been close to STC and to
Warden de Saram, whom he had appointed a Canon of the Cathedral
in 1945. In his farewell speech to the boys he had this to say.
It is wonderful 'whisper'. "You have much to
be proud of and
grateful for as Thomians. Do not let your pride merely rest on
tradition ..Every Thomian worth his salt has got to be proud not
merely of the 'old school tie' but of responsibility which would
be laid upon him as a responsible citizen in after years."
Another Anglican churchman. Archdeacon A.J. Kendall-Baker,
speaking at the prize giving of 1950 addressed the issue of
private tuition very strongly. He asked, "What is a teacher? Is
he one who teaches subjects such as Arithmetic or Geography? Or
is he a person who teaches boys? He is both. He teaches subjects
to boys. I emphasize this twofold function of the true teacher
because the Warden has been criticising the pernicious custom of
sending boys to private tutors and crams. I entirely agree with
him. These people are not educationalists. They don't teach and
train boys. They merely teach subjects. They advertise 12 model
answers to 12 likely questions. You might as well be taught by a
gramaphone.. We teach by what we are much more than what we say.
This is true teaching. That is character moulding. The impact of
Fine personalities on the developing of the young and immature."
What a scathing denunciation of the teacher that runs home as
soon as the 1.30 bell goes to begin the endless tuition classes!
Warden de Saram in his speech had said this "Private tuition
should be unnecessary for the average boy. One of the objects of
education is to make a person self reliant, to provide him with
the capacity and character to wrestle with a problem and master
it himself. 'Let the boy win his spurs.' With a private tutor at
hand, too often his spurs are buckled on for him."
Warden de Saram
presided over the Centenary celebrations of the College in 1951.
At the OBA AGM of that year he said this: "Our beginnings were
humble and we have endured. We have not only endured, we have
grown stronger with each trial and difficulty met and
surmounted; and there have been many in our history, not least
in our own day." This is a 'whisper' we can echo this year with
as much certainty as when he first spoke them 50 years ago.
In 1953 the Chief
Guest at the Prize Giving was Justice E.F.N. Gratiaen. We know
what he said then for it is often repeated today,
but I am going to
include it for it strikes at the very heart of what STC has
stood for in her 150 years of existence. "What I conclude on
behalf of S. Thomas' is that year in year out, she has sent out
into every walk of public life so many men not necessarily born
with the advantage of wealth and influence, not too well endowed
with the enviable gift of superior intellect but nevertheless
decent men, who marry decent wives and by their own endeavours
set up decent homes; men who represent the right kind of public
opinion who will stand firm against the bogus doctrines which
emerge from time to time in the life of every nation; men who
stand for common sense, integrity, courage and faith in the
traditions of liberty and fairplay."
A 'whisper' from 1954
comes from Sir John Kotalawela, (in spite of the fact that he
came from the 'other place'!) who as Prime Minister was Chief
Guest at the Prize Giving that year. He said, "Our schools are
our strongest bulwark for the future. Schools like yours with
such a glorious history and such a wonderful (rudition set by
Warden de Saram and his illustrious predecessors must continue
to mould character, instil discipline and impart knowledge of a
kind that will ensure that the products that continue to leave
your gates will be of the same high quality as those who left
them and walked into eminence in the public life of ourcountry
in the past."
On the 25th
anniversary of his appointment as Warden, Canon de Saram spoke
thus at a special assembly: "We have inherited from the past
something very good. It is something to be proud of and to be
thankful for. But that's not enough. We in our day must preserve
it, keep it alive, increase it, carry it on and hand it on. We
come and go but S. Thomas' - Esto Perpetua. In the present day •
and they are difficult days - it all rests on you. Do your best
in the classrooms and in your games, but above all in the way
you conduct yourselves in the ideals which you set before
yourselves. There is much that is vulgar, cheap and tawdry and
loud and raucous in contemporary ideas. You come to a school
like this to get a right judgement on these matters..." A year
later at the assembly to bid him farewell on his retirement
after 26 years as Warden, his parting words were "We
have something in this
school which is good and precious. Guard it well, treasure it,
and keep it bright...It won't be at all a bad guide for life if
each of us says 'I shall never do anything that will bring shame
to S. Thomas' College'." His dedication to STC was summed up in
the words "S. Thomas' has been my life, my life has been S.
Thomas'" What inspiring words, especially today, at a time when
self interest and success at all costs is the order of the day!
Our next 'whisper' is
from Warden C.H.L. Davidson, the first layman to be Warden of
the College, when he was appointed to succeed Canon de Saram. He
is said to have been a man of few words, but there is a gem from
him spoken at his first assembly. "We must all remember, must we
not, when we are called upon to do anything however great or
however small, that it is not merely the beginning while we are
still fresh before the race, but it is the continuing of the
same in the face of every trial, through self discipline and
dedication to our purpose till our task be thoroughly
accomplished, that it will bring glory to our school."
Warden M.L.C.
Ilangakoon who was Warden when I joined College spoke of the 130th
anniversary of the College in 1981 in this way. "Traditions are
not something suddenly imposed on a college. They have grown
with the college and developed over the past 130 years. Many
recent state schools have probably better buildings and
facilities than we have at STC. But what matters and makes us
different are the traditions that surround us, the feeling that
every young Thomian starts absorbing from the very first day he
joins the college. The advocates of change want us to throw our
traditions overboard, but have nothing to replace them with. We
have also seen the tragedies that have overtaken persons and
institutions with no roots, in a world full of change and chaos.
I do not think that any of us want our school and our pupils to
face such tragedies. We will change, when change is for the
better, but not just for the sake of change." A powerfully
resonant 'whisper' indeed, from an often wrongly maligned Warden
of the College.
The last 'whispers'
are from more recent history, indeed it is too recent to be even
called history, but human beings forget so soon that it is
necessary to remind them of things even as recent as last year!
These 'whispers' are from one of the two surviving Wardens of
the College, Warden during my time at STC, the 15th
Warden of the College, Neville de Alwis. I am proud of the fact
that I was a first a student and then served as a member of
staff during his period. I believe that his 15 years were great
years for STC, when all spheres of College life, not least of
all Cricket was developed and advanced, with high standards of
excellence achieved. These contributions have been chronicled
for posterity elsewhere and so I am not going to list them here.
I want his 'whispers' to us to be the last word for the purpose
of this article. In the year he took the reigns of office racial
riots erupted and the College played its part with distinction.
At the prize giving of that year he said, "The ethnic issue and
the accompanying wave of terrorism are at its worst. We pray for
a solution. We want peace at all costs. We at S. Thomas' cannot
offer a solution to the problem, but we will always serve as a
model. For over a century people of all communities, all
religions, all races and all linguistic groups have been
together at S. Thomas'. They live together, learn together, and
play together in perfect harmony."
At the start of the
OBA Centenary year in a speech to the Old Boys he said "To rest
on our laurels would be fatal. Every old boy should begin to
think of the College as a mother to whom we owe a nurture fee
for having nurtured us through our formative years. Let not the
principle that the creditor should seek the debtor be applicable
to us Old Thomians. We must reverse the principle and say 'Let
the debtor seek the creditor'. We are all debtors of the
College. We owe the College so much. Let us pledge to repay this
debt..."
In his farewell speech
on the 30th of June 1998, he exhorted the boys thus
"You boys must never forget STC because STC is your mother, your
Alma Mater. At physical birth you went through a symbolic
separation from total dependence on your mother when the
umbilical cord was cut. However, when you
leave College, your
Alma Mater, there will never be any such separation. Rudyard
Kipling said 'there is nothing except a good mother more worthy
of esteem than a good school.' STC is your mother, never forsake
her, always stand with her and by her, through thick and thin.
Be willing to do anything for her without question. I firmly
believe that the College can never be destroyed by any force on
earth. There are people inside and outside the College who seek
by their words and deeds to destroy the College, but they will
never prevail...STC was founded by out of the vision of a man of
God. That vision had the blessing of God...There will be bad
times and tribulation, but never forget this: STC was instituted
for the glory of God, and God will bring us out of the troubles
to greater heights. All I ask is for you to have faith in that,
and stand by the College."
A new order has begun.
The troubled years since the retirement of Warden de Alwis have
ended. Once again God has saved STC. As Thomians young and old
celebrate 150 years of existence and service to Church and
Nation, may the 'whispers of history' continue to inspire and
evoke not only nostalgia but also renewed loyalty and devotion
to our Alma Mater.
ESTOPERPETUA
NMPB
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