JULY 1995

President's Notes

The committee meets regularly and of late has been busy with the organisation of the Annual Red and Black Ball scheduled for the 23rd of September. An interesting evening of programme, full of surprises have been planned. Tickets are on sale now.

This being the major activity for the year I urge all old boys to be present on this occasion with their families. For those who are unable to be present, the committee urges them to show their solidarity by purchasing a ticket. This is your association and your participation and contribution are essential for the future progress and well being of the association.

A souvenir will be published to mark this occasion. If any old boy is desirous or if they know of anyone wishing to place an advertisement (rates vary) in this souvenir they should contact the Treasurer Dr Sivakadachcham immediately on 9842 4060 .

W.S. Manokaran

President

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

¥Members to look out for the following events:

29th July -Variety Evening organised by Chundikuli Girls College Old Girls Association at the Burwood Uniting Church Hall (Cnr Warrigal Rd and Hyslop St, Burwood) starting at 5p.m. Tickets are priced at $5 for adults and $2.50 for children under 12. For tickets please contact Sharmini Eliezer on 9499 6017.

23rd September - RED and BLACK BALL at St Anthony's Parish Hall,Buckley St, Noble Park starting at 7.00p.m. Tickets are on sale now and are prized at $15 per person( includes Dinner (either - rotti or Hoppers)).Your representatives will contact you regarding purchase of tickets. Members to keep the date free. Book your tickets now and avoid disappointment.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

The Greatest prayer

is patience

(Gautama Buddha)

AT ST.JOHN'S DURING THE WAR YEARS 1942-1945

by

P.C.A.HANDY

In 1938 Rev.H.Peto, Rev J.T.Arulanantham and Mr. E.M.Ponnudurai came to our home in Singapore to meet my Father the Rev J.T.N. Handy and his brother Mr. A.M. Handy as they had agreed to help raise funds for the College in Singapore. I never for a moment thought that 4 years later I myself would be a student in St. John's College, Jaffna. The Japanese War had begun on 7.12.1941 and within 7 weeks they had overun Malaya and were poised to capture Singapore. On the 6th of February 1942, just 10 days before Singapore fell, my Father sent my Mother & sisters, two aunts & myself with Mr. A.M.Handv and family by ship to Ceylon. We had to take a circuitous route sailing down the Java Seas and through the Sunder Straits between Java and Sumatra and out into the Indian Ocean to avoid Japanese planes & submarines. Unfortunately our ship which had been bombed earlier developed trouble and we had to abandon it at Sumatra and take a troopship to Batavia & then a cargo boat from there to Colombo.We arrived in Colombo after 21 days zigzagging in the Indian Ocean and learnt that Singapore had fallen. All Colombo schools had closed for 3 months in anticipation of a Jap attack & the schools taken over for army barracks. I and my two cousins who were studying in Colombo went to Jaffna and joined St. John's College.

After Singapore, St John's was a cultural shock. I found that most of the students were barefooted and I soon abandoned my helmet, school bag and exchanged shoes for slippers. All my classmates in Singapore were Chinese with a handful of Indians (Ceylonese came under this category there). All my former teachers were Chinese, wore suits and drove to school in their cars. Here the younger & elderly masters also wore western suits but the national costume was unfamiliar to me and most of them came on bicycles or walked if they lived round the College.Rev.Arulanantham welcomed me and my sister Mrs.Ranee Eliezer joined the staff of the College as well. I was sent to Form Lower V (which was the pre-S.S.C.) and was relieved to see a familiar face of my cousin J.H.Ariyaratnam. I became a boarder in Thompson House & Mr. P.T Mathai was the Boarding master. He was strict and each night after the 7 p.m. prayers, he administered the cane to those who had been truants!!! One of the highlights of 1942 was the opening of the new Centenary Science Block by an old bov of the College, Prof.A.Kandiah, D.Sc (Lond), Prof. of Chemistry at the Colombo University. The building was built by S.C.Samuel & Sons Ltd, whose Chairman Mr. S.C. Samuel was himself an old boy of the Coilege. It was an impressive building and easily the best in any Jaffna school.

1943 was an interesting year for me. I moved on to the senior boarding house- Fleming House where regulations were less rigid. We had the Singalese teacher Mr. C.H.Gunawardene as our House master and later the Rev.A.J.C.Selvaratnam,who oined the Staff as Chaplain. I was selected :o play football for the College XI under he captaincy of Rajah Brodie and the :ollowing year I won my Football Colours. Due to the influx of large number of students from Colombo and other outstations, the College was pressed for finances and Mr. E.C.A.Naratnarajah, the English Master for the S.S.C. form decided to stage plays as a regular feature to raise funds. I remember that I took part in 1943 and in one scene, I am supposed to light a cigarette but am interrupted and have to throw it outinto the class room adjoining the Hall). For the dress rehersal and two nights the play was shown I was provided a cigarette o light and on all three nights my dorm nates were waiting off stage to catch the cigarette I had to fling!!! The following year some of the younger members of the Staff took part in the plays and my sister Mrs. R.Eliezer was the first lady to act a female part on the St. John's stage.

Till 1943, the College had a Inter-Form where a handful of boys and girls from other Colleges in Jaffna sat for London examinations. A few also attempted to sit for the University Entrance examination and generally one or two were successful. With the formation of the University of Ceylon, it was decided that a two year H.S.C. course would have to be followed with examinations conducted by the University. We had an influx of girls to join these courses from other schools in Jaffna and this necessitated a hostel being provided for them. A section of Mr. E.M.Ponnudurai's house was set apart for these girls next to Evarts Boarding house and Mr. & Mrs. Ponnudurai kept a parental eye on them. Mrs T.Rajadurai & Mrs D.Williams,now in Melbourne,were of this first group.

The War also left its mark on the College. Tywnham Museum was taken over as the A.R.P. Headquarters and Mr. A.J.R. Vethavanam, Education Officer Jaffna and an old boy of the College was the A.R.P. Controller.He had regional Assistant Controllers drawn from other schools and Government Depts. The Scouts and members of the Cadet Corps at College volunteered to be Messengers. Every Saturday morning we were given new Raleigh bicycles, with "A.R.P." armbands and a piece of wooden stick hung round our neck which we were supposed to clamp between our teeth in the event of a bomb attack!!! I remember we all took part in a massive parade on our bicycles when Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, the e Civil Defence Commissioner visited Jaffna to inspect defence preparations. I still recall an interesting observation made by a elderly Jaffna man- "Don't worry when the Japanese pilots fly over Jaffna, they will think that our tall palmyrah trees are really anti-aircraft guns camouflaged and will fly away".

Palali Aerodrome was built during this time and R.A.F. men stationed there. Food rationing was a nightmare for those providing food to us Boarders. We had only two rice meals a week and for the rest of our meals we had to depend on various flour preparations that Mr M.S.Thambithurai provided.Pittu, parripu or keerai curry was basic with fish. Sunday night delicacy would be rice or thosai with meat curry and Staff would join us for dinner and sit at each table to make interesting conversation- this was a good innovation.

Strange as it may seem, we never felt the paucity in our diet as those in the boarding houses had good fellowship and we all looked forward to the end of term concerts. Fifty years later, the present generation will hardly believe that fuel,, sarees, crockery,textiles and milk foods were all rationed. Every adult & child was given a ration book on which the basic items like rice, flour sugar & as and when available, curry stuffs were issued weekly. As expected a roaring blackmarket in these and other scarce goods became prevalent and the house of the Manager of the co-op store was invariably the centre of such activity. Needless to say, a Co-op Inspector was in much demand in the matrimonial scale as he could obtain most of these scarce goods!!

1944 was an interesting year for the College as we became Inter College Athletic champions beating our close neighbour and rival St, Patrick's College, who had been champions for the past ten years. There was added spice to this victory as Mr. P.E.Rajendra, our Athletics Master had left St. Patrick's recently and he wanted to score a point over them.

Some of the outstanding athletes who helped achieve this were from my class (H.S.C.-first year) Victor Benjamin champion Hurdler,M.Dharmaraja & N.Pooranalingam the sprinters, A.R Rasiah the high jump and pole vault champion and P.Tharmalingam the long jump champion.'It was a thrilling finish to the end with St. Patrick's and us neck and neck each with 73 points till the verv last event of the day- the 4x440 yards relay race. The first three laps our rivals led with Lucien Kiel their captain taking the baton-but our anchorman P.Tharmalingam ran the race of his life and pipped the Patrician at the post-What excitement & pandemonium in the Johnian camp." (extract from Co11ege magazine)

In the Inter-House Athletics meet, Swimming was introduced as an event in 1943 due to the pressure of the students who had come from Colombo. Having been used to swimming pools in Singapore our ''pool" in Jaffna was indeed novel.All participants and supporters were marched to the Jaffna lagoon. Participants and judges were rowed out in boats further into the lagoon and there we saw that the local fisherman had stuck poles into the water and cordoned off three lengths with rope- 100, 50 and 25 yards respectively for Senior, Intermediate and junior events. Each group was told to jump overboard into the water and cling on to the starting rope!!! The boatmen were our "life-guards". There were no preliminaries. For each group about 10-15 of us took off and first one to cling on to the rope at the other end was the winner. In 1943, the 3 Kanagasabai brothers from St. Thomas' College swept the board in all three groups. The next year with their departure, I won the senior event. The end of the year culminated in my being appointed Captain of Handy House. I considered this one of the significant events in my life-to captain a College House named to honour my grandfather the late Rev.C.C.Handy. It now appears that I had become not only the first Handy to do so but also the last.

This year also witnessed the retirement of Mr. A.G.Charles. He was one teacher who had been on the staff of the College when my grandfather was Headmaster and he used to relate interesting events in their time at College and as his parishioner at Christ Church Jaffna. Mr. Charles was taken in procession round Kandy Road in a decorated Mercedes Banz car belonging to Mr. Hitler Kandasamy of Valvettithurai, and back to the College where the whole school, staff and Old boys had assembled, for a public farewell.A gift was presented to him & Mrs. Charles and I recall that h e donated a sum of Rs 2000 towards the A.G.Charles Geography Prize. Mr. P.C. Gaussen the Vice Principal who came to St. John's from Persia (Iran today) returned to U.K. as the tide of war had turned and Mr. S.S.Sivapragasam was appointed Vice-Principal.

We returned to College at the beginning of 1945 and learned with dismay the exodus of many of our H.S.C teachers. Messers E.C.A. Navaratnarajah (English) to Jaffna College, K.Nesiah(History) to St. Thomas' College Mt. Lavinia D.C.Arulanantham (Chemistry) and V.Sivaguru (Physics) to the Examinations Dept. in Colombo.A few students left to other Colleges in Jaffna & others to Colleges in Colombo. The Principal soon remedied this situation with the arrival of Mr. A.Rajendra to the Arts-division and Messrs J.G.Thambayah (Chemistry), Mr. Sam Somasunderam (Mathematics) and most welcome of all, Miss M.Abraham from India for Physics. She was the first lady to teach in the H.S.C. class at College.We had an excellent Zoology teacher Mr. P.J. Balasing who left in 1945 to become a Lecturer at Andhra University.

This year I became a College prefect which gave me added responsibility in the boarding administration and freedom from regulations. N.Pulendran was Senior Prefect & resided in Flemming House. One of the duties was to read the lessons and take the collection at the College Sunday evening services. I enjoyed immensely the Carol services and whenever I hear the "Hallelujah "chorus I recall the first time I sang in the-choir trained by Miss Kelk and Mrs. Ferdinands with Miss Harriet Lawrence at the organ. The first Choir dinner after the carol service was introduced during our time with the venue alternating between the two colleges. What a lot of scrambling for places as a boy and a girl were placed next to each other under the watchful eyes of the teachers and masters!!! The S.C.M. was also very active and I remember the inter-college seminars that I attended at Jaffna, Uduvil Girls and Union Colleges and the Camp at the Ashram with its austere surroundings and the Chapel where we all had to sit (:n mats. The jolly laughter and humour of Sevak Selvaratnam in such surroundings was indeed a contrast.

In June 1945 the war in Europe was over and with liberation came freedom for many of the countries that suffered under the Nazi regime. The winds of freedom were also blowing over Asia and with the Labour Government in power in U.K., Sir Stafford Cripps came to India to discuss Dominion status . In Ceylon too the Soulbury Commissior- arrived to examine political reforms and we heard the "Fifty-fifty" cry raised by the Tamil leader Mr. G.G.Ponnampalarn. As students we used to go the Jaffna Fort ramparts and listen to him as well as the leftist leaders like Dr. N.M.Perera. Dr. Colvin R. de Silva and Pieter Keuneman. All their policies have gone overboard in retrospect.

Although the war in Europe was over Ceylon became the headquarters of SEAC Command under Lord Louis Mountbatten to recapture Malaya and Singapore. It would have meant heavy losses in lives not only of the invading forces but also civilians by the heavy bombing of cities before the invasion took place. The dropping of the atomic bomb saved the lives of millions of people in Japanese occupied territory. For me personally it meant that my Father and so many of our relations and friends in these places would now not risk being killed through Allied bombings.My time at St.John's came to an end in 1945 and I returned to Singapore, and went to the university there.

Here I would like to digress and recall my class of 1942. Up to this time, only two or three students entered the University each year. But from this class 14 entered the University of whom the most outstanding student was Victor Benjamin who passed the H.S.C. in 1945 in the 1st Division with Distinction in Botany & Chemistry. He won a College Exhibition and at the 1st M.B. exam was awarded the Jeejeebhoy Scholarship by the university. He was an outstanding surgeon and obtained the Master in Surgery of the Ceylon University and F.R.C.S. (London). 4 others passed out as doctors and 9 did an arts or Science degree of whom 4 were in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service- N.Pulendren becoming Food Commissioner. 3 did Banking- M.Dharmaraja and myself became Managing Director & Assistant General Manager respectively of Hatton National Bank and K. Gunaratnam an Assistant Govemor of the Central Bank and recently Chairman of the Export Development Board. J.H.Ariyaratnam became Deputy Registrar of the Jaffna University. I do not think that in any other time, one class produced so many who were to become future leaders at the national level.

Although I spent only 3 years in St. John's College, I shall always be grateful for the time I spent there as it taught me so many values in life that would have escaped me in Singapore. May it continue to flourish and mould future generations.

N E W S F R O M J A FF N A

(Extracted from Principal's Prize giving report of 27/05/1995 and his report of 1st term 1995)

SCHOOL ENROLMENT

The number on roll at present is 1614 the break-up being 368 in the primary, 400 in the Middle and 846 in the Upper School.

1.STAFF TUTORIAL

There are 63 members with 50 on the approved Cadre and 13 outside with 6 awaiting approval from the Department. Among the 63 there are 29 graduates, 15 of them with Post Graduate qualifications. 15 are Trained teachers and the rest with advanced level and other qualification.

PRIMARY SCHOOL HEADMASTER

We congratulate Mr.D.J Thevathason on his appointment as the Primary School Headmaster in January, this year. He is an old boy of the School who is familiar with the traditions. His appointment was greeted with jubilation by the Staff and Students. We welcome him most warmly to the new Office and wish him well.

STAFF CHANGES

We welcome the following members who joined us on a temporarv basis, some of them for those who are on study leave.

Mr.T.P Murugiah (Popular Maths teacher)

Mr.V.S.B Thuseetharan

Mr.A.S Selladurai

Mr.S Srishankar

Miss.N Rasiah &

Miss.S Nadarajah

The following teachers left us during the period under review:

Mrs.M.J Pushparajah - Government appointment

Miss.H Mahadeva - Married

Mr.T Umashankar & Mr.G.S Devasuthan - to enter the Universitv.

We wish them well.

STUDY LEAVE

The following teachers returned in Januarv this year after study leave.

Mr.N.J Gnanaponrajah - Post Grad. Dip. in R.Ed. U.K.

Mrs.S.A Jeevanesan - Post Grad. Dip. in Ed.

Miss.S.A Thuraisingam & Miss.E.I Jeevanantham- Primary Training.

MEMBERS ON STUDY LEAVE

Mr.T Nanthakumaran-Post Grad Dip in Ed

Mr.S Soruban-English Training

Mr.T Robert-Tamil Training

Mr.T.J Selvakumar-Maths Training

Mrs.S Sivapalan-Art Training

STAFF NON - TUTORIAL

Consists of 6 in the office, 3 each in the welfare office, Library and Laboratories. 11 in other categories making a total of 26. Mr Chandrasooriyar who has been working as a gardener for more than a decade left us to take up an appointment in the Middle East.RESULTS OF PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS

Our records continue to be good and the high percentage level is still maintained.

YEAR 5 SCHOLARSHIP 1994

11 out of 71 qualified

G.C.E. (O/L) DECEMBER 1994

112 appeared and 93 qualified for Advanced Level studies. The percentages of passes being 83.04.

2 Students obtained 8 D's

9 Students obtained 7D's

5 Students obtained 6D's

10 Students obtained 5D's

34 Students obtained 4D's

G.C.E (A/L) 1994

117 appeared 95 passed in 3 or 4 subjects with 81 qualified to apply for admissions to the University.

Physical Science :- 2 students obtained 3 A's & B each.

Bio Science:- 2 students obtained 3 A's and B each.

Commerce:- 1 student had 3 A's and B.

In Physical Science 1 student became 14th and 45th rank in District and Islandwide respectively. In Bio-Science one student became 5th arld 67 rank in District and Islandwide respectively, whereas in Commerce one student came 7th and 26th rank respectively.

UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS: G.C.E (A/L) AUGUST, 1993.

Out of 90 students qualified to apply for admission 34 were

selected for various faculties as shown below:

Medicine 10

Bio Science 02

EngineeringI 06

Engineering II 01

Commerce 03

Physical Science 08

Agriculture 03

Management 01

The number entering Medicine is by far the largest among schools in the Peninsula. These 10 were placed within the first twenty two on merit in the Peninsula.

GAMES AND ATHLETICS

SOCCER 1994: 1 st XI Captain:-A.S Selladurai

2 nd XI:-V.S. Nirmalanathan

3 rd XI:- A.T. Gownpahan

The 1 st XI played 9 matches won 2 drew 5 & lost 2

2 nd XI played 9 matches won 3 drew 2 & lost 4

3 rd XI played 8 won 3 drew 2 & lost 3

ATHLETICS 1995: Captain - G. RatharaInanan

The Senior Inter-House Athletic Meet was held on the 14th of February with Dr.K Kunarasa District Secretary and Mrs.Kamala Kunarasa as the Chief Guests.

The Primary School Athletic Meet was held on the 2nd of March with Mr.R Venkadaraman Manager, Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd., as Chief Guest.

S.Vimalan won the best performance cup for Triple Jump at the meet organised by the Jaffna

District A.A in Sept 1994.N. Janahan won the 1st place in 110 metres Hurdles at the same meet.

CRICKET 1 ST XI :- Captain - G.Sritharan

The team played 8 Inter-School matches and one with University of Jaffna, won one and drew the rest.

St John's Vs University (Draw)

S.J.C 112 and 57 University 150 (S.Vimalan 4/46) and 5 for 1 at close of play.

St John's Vs Canagaratnarn M.V (Draw)

S.J.C 238/8 Decld (S.Niroshan 57 & P.Rubenthiran 52 n.o) and 45/0 at close of play.

C.M.M.V 191 (S.Thayanesan 4/49)

St John's Vs Skandavarodhya College (Won by Innings and 111 runs)

S.J.C 264/9 Decld (S.Vimalan 57 & S.Thayanesan 50)

Skanda 78 & 75

St John's Vs Kokuvil Hindu College (Draw)

S.J.C 300/9 (G.Sritharan 81 & B.Sanjeev 58) and 119/6

Kokuvil H.C 250 (S.Thayanesan 5/67)

St John's Vs Jaffna Hindu College (Draw)

S.J.C 201 and 240/3 (S.Vimalan 45,P.Rubenthiran 83 & A.Aravinthan 53 n.o)

Jaffna Hindu 311 (S.Vimalan 4/80)

St John's Vs Manipay Hindu College (Draw)

S.J.C 230 (S.Niroshan 71 n.o)

M.H.C 116 & 161 (G.Vaheesan 4/23)

St John's Vs St Patrick's College (Draw)

S.J.C 123 and 62/1

St Patricks 110 (S.Thayanesan 5/36) & 228/6 Decld.

St John's Vs Jaffna College (Draw)

S.J.C 346/6 Decld (G.Sritharan 125,5.Niroshan 56 n.o & B.Sanjeev 53) Jaffna College 159 and 113/6

(S.Vimalan 4/29)

St John's Vs Jaffna Central College (91st Encounter ended in Draw)

S.J.C 233 (S.Niroshan 48 & A.Aravinthan 40) and 283/9 (S.Niroshan 101 n.o & S.Vimalan 59)

Jaffna Central 188 ( G.Sritharan 5/37 & S.Vimalan 4/63). Best Bowler prize was awarded to G.SritharanBest Fielder to A.Gowribahan and Highest scoarer to S.Nlroshan- !

TABLE TENNIS 1994: School team :- Captain - V.S Nirmalananthan.

The team entered the tournament organised by the Department of Education and won the following titles:

DIVISIONAL LEVEL:

Under 15 - Singles - Runner-up,Doubles - Champions & Doubles- Runners-up

Under 19 - Singles - Champion, Runner-up & Doubles - Runners-up.

DISTRICT LEVEL:

Under 15 Singles Rurmer-up, Doubles Champions & Doubles Runner-up.

Under 19 Singles - Champions & Runner-up and Doubles - Champions

BADMINTON 1994 Captain College Team - N.S Rajeev

The team entered the tournament organised by the Department of Education and won the following titles:

DIVISIONAL LEVEL

Under 15 Doubles Champions and Runner-up

Under 19 - Singles - Champion, Doubles - Champions & Runners-up.

DISTRICT LEVEL

Under 15 Singles - Champion, 3Oubles Champions & Runners-up

Under 19 - Singles Champion, Doubles Champions & Runners-up

VOLLEY-BALL: Captain - Under 19 S.Vimalan & Under 17 S.Gunaparan

Both teams entered the tournament for Schools organised by the Department of Education. They performed very well to become Champions and Runners - up respectively.

COACHES AND MASTERS IN-CHARGE

C o ac he s

Cricket:- 1st XI, Under 17 and 15 C.Sooriyakumar

Basket Ball:- Under 19 & 17 P.Thayaparan

Soccer:- 1st XI S.Anthonypillai

2nd XI C.Sooriyakumar

3rd XI T.Robert

Hockey:- 1st & 2nd XI S.Chandramouleesan

VolleyBall:- K.Rajaratnam & S.Ramanan

Masters in Charge

Cricket:- K.S.Muhunthan

Athletics:- V.S.B. Thuseetharan

VolleyBall:- S.Chandramouleesan

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

1994

1. Saraswathy Pooja was conducted on the 14 th of October.

2. The Advanced Level Union Lunch was held on the 18 the of October. Professor.N Balakrishnan Department of Economics, University of Jaffna was the Chief Guest and Dr.K Sivanesan from the Teaching Hospital, Jaffna was the Guest of Honour.

3. The Interact Week was held from the 24th to 28th of October.

4. The Festival of Carols was held on the 12 th of November and the St.John's-Chundikuli Carol Service on the 13th of November.

5. The Primary School Parents Day took place on the 19th of November with an Exhibition & the Christmas Party on the 2nd December

1995

1. The Social Science Forum organised a National Games Festival on the 23 rd of February with "Thachchi" and "Co - Co" as the main games.

2. The Library Week was held from the 7th to 9 th of March with Mr.V.P Balasingam Municipal Commissioner, Jaffna as the Chief Guest on the final day.

3. Science Day took place on the 15th of March. Mr.V Sundaralingam Assistant Director of Education Science Zone I, Jaffna was the Chief Guest. Dr.K Mahesan, Teaching Hospital, Jaffna and Miss.S Arulanantham, Senior Lecturer, University of Jaffna were invited as

Special Guests. The Magazine "Science on focus" Vol.III released on that day. One of our students G.Vasanthakumar won the 1st place in 'Speech Contest" in the Schools Science Competition organised by the Jaffna Science Association.

COLLEGE MAGAZINE

We continue to publish one covering a period of two years. The Editors, Mr.S Kanapathippillai and Mr.M.S Kathirgamathamby are working cn the next issue to be released at the end of the year

Dr G.R.Handy, the eminent heart specialist, and one of the most outstanding products of St John's ,Jaffna, passed away recently in Colombo. The following tribute to him is extracted from an appreciation written by the well known surgeon, Mr Victor Benjamin, himself a distinguished Old Johnian. Not many readers will know that it was Dr Handy's father, the Rev C.C. Handv (Actg Principal of St John's l890-92) who gave the college its name St John's in l89l on the occasion of the 5Oth anniversary of its shifting to Chundikuli in 1841, from Nallur - Editor

Dr George Rasanayagam Handy

O.B.E., M.D.,(Lond) F.R.C.P.,(Lond)

D.T.M.& H.,(Eng) L.M.S.,(Ceylon)

A very distinguished Old Boy of St John's College, Jaffna

Remembered with great admiration, and genuine affection

By

A student and former Senior House Officer of his,

VICTOR ARIYARATNAM BENJAMIN

Dr George Rasanayagam Handy died in 1995, in Colombo. He was born in 1902, and was therefore 93 years when he died. We are told that his funeral was a very private one, and people came to know that he had passed away from this life, only long after his funeral, in accordance to his wishes. In death, his modesty, disguising a unique blend of arrogance prevailed. He wanted to be different from others. In life, he had toiled and laboured with an unparalleled sense of pride and dignity, never wanting respect or honour from anybody. He did not want others to come to his aid, or to him. On the contrary, he went to the aid of others, and he made himself available to all others, at all times. He knew that he was always reconciled with his God, who created him, sustained him, and blessed him more than anyone else he may have known. He always preferred to disappear as quietly, as he entered, and make his exit from this world be as unnoticed as happened everyday during his work as a Physician at General Hospital, Colombo.

His origins, and school days

I do not know of anyone living now, who remembers his early life. Those who knew that aspect of George Handy are all dead. This makes it very difficult to find out details about his childhood and youth. His nephew Percy Handy informs me that George Handy's parents were Revd and Mrs C.C. Handy, and that Revd C.C. Handy was the first Ceylonese to act as Principal of St John's College during the years 1890 to 1892. The name "Handy" has found a permanent and everlastingly visible place in St John's College, Jaffna. Handy House, and Handy Memorial Library were established in memory of Revd C.C. Handy, (Dr G R Handy's father). The Handy Memorial Hostel and Handy Hall were so named in recognition of the services to the College by Mr J C Handy, (Dr G R Handy's brother).

George Handy was an intelligent scholar, as a school boy at St John's College. One of his contemporaries at school, (our former JDCSI Bishop in Jaffna, the late Rt Revd Dr Sabapathy Kulandran) often spoke to me, in extremely complimentary terms about Dr George Handy's days in school, and subsequent career. To be admired by Bishop Kulandran was a unique recognition, when one realises that the only other person whose school career was also similarly admired by Bishop Kulandran, was Bishop Kulandran's own brother Sam Sabapathy. Kulandran almost conceded that these were the only two students at school, who were smarter than himself. In personal conversation with me, Bishop Kulandran never got tired of talking in glowing terms about George Handy and one other Tamil doctor, the late Dr S.L. Navaratnam, (who also was a teacher of mine). To Bishop Kulandran, all other doctors were mere ordinary mortals. Another great Tamil intellect who has spoken to me in shining terms about George Handy was the late Mr K Nesiah. (Nesiah too was my teacher). (Clearly, Sabapathv Kulandran, Nesiah, and George Handy were born about the same time, and they had profound mutual respect for each other. All three of them were great men, and they all reached the age of 90, at least a few years before each one died).

In Ceylon Medical College.

As a medical student at the Ceylon Medical College, George Handy won numerous Gold Medals, Prizes, and Distinctions, at all examinations. It is stated that he came first in order of merit at all examinations, and qualified as a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery in 1927. I am personally aware that he was extremely proud of his L.M.S.,(Ceylon) qualification.

Later on, he was appointed a Lecturer/Demonstrator in Physiology at the Ceylon Medical College. This was the commencement of his role as a Teacher in the medical profession. Thereafter, he remained a teacher, all his life.

Career as a doctor.

He went to Britain for postgraduate studies and obtained in the London M.B.B.S degree, and the Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. I am told that he won a Gold Medal in Physiology, and the Duncan Medal in Tropical Medicine, on the results of these examinations. The outbreak of World War Two compelled him to return to Ceylon, without completing al 1 his intended studies.

In 1942 he was appointed as Judicial Medical Officer in Colombo. Soon, he became an authority in Forensic Medicine and Pathology. (He often told me about his having been a Pathologist, but I do not know whether he was referring to his period as the Premier Forensic Pathologist in Colombo, or whether he had also held the position of a Hospital Pathologist in Colombo, a t sometime or other).

He proceeded again to Britain in 1947, and obtained the prestigious qualifications, a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of London, and the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of London. There were only 8 others in the whole of Ceylon, at that time, with the qualification of M.R.C.P.,(London). They were John Blaze, Cyril Fernando, D.J.Liyanage, V.E.P. Seneviratne, E.M. Wijerama, Prof P.B.Fernando, Prof Milroy Paul, (the surgeon) and Ramanathan, (who was Physician at Jaffna). Among these 8, three did not have the additional qualification of MD., although one of them earned the MD. (Lond) qualification in 1951, for out-standing research, and in order to become the principal examiner at the very first local MD.(Ceylon) examination which was held in Colombo in 1952. When George Handy returned to Ceylon with these qualifications, he was appointed as another Visiting Physician to General Hospital, Colombo.

He was the very first person from Ceylon to qualify thus, as a Physician, after the outbreak of war in 1939. Ceylon was yet a Crown Colony in the British Empire. At the time of his return to Ceylon with these qualifications, the priority in Ceylon (both for the British Government, and the Ceylon Government), was the successful transition to Independence for Ceylon, and the resulting changes. At that time, in General Hospital, Colombo, there were 7 Medical Units, each with a different Physician in charge. One of these Physicians was the Professor of Medicine at the University of Ceylon. The other six were designated Visiting Physicians. Each of these seven Physicians had separate wards for their male and female patients. At that time, the Ceylon Government could not understand how an 8th or 9th medical Unit could be inaugurated in General Hospital, Colombo. Their thinking was that there were only 7 days in a week. They had 7 Medical Units. Each unit covered all the emergency work, on one day, each week. The Government was unable to conceive of any situation that could result in the creation of another Medical Unit, and putting Dr George Handy in charge of such a unit. Dr Handy was soon followed by the arrival of another Ceylonese Physician, Dr Hilary Gunawardene. Dr Handy was assigned as assistant to the Senior Physician Dr John Blaze, while Dr Gunawardene became the assistant to Dr Gunaratnam Cooke, MD. As Medical Students, we felt that Blaze (with Handy, as his assistant) and Cooke(with Gunawardene as the assistant) both felt very important, but also a bit uncomfortable. No clinician would have liked having an assistant who was in greater demand than the boss. So, when Physicians went on overseas leave, and their wards were looked after by Handy or Gunawardene, everybody was happy. In this unstable and unsatisfactory situation, we knew that both Handy, and Gunawardene, were absolutely loyal to the Physicians whose "assistants " they were.

During the 3 years I knew Dr Handy in the 'student-teacher' relationship, he never even once displayed any knowledge that he was aware of my family connections, or that I was from Jaffna, or that we both had been students of the same school, in spite of his having known my father, and his awareness that he and I were Old Boy s of St John's College; both our names have appeared in the same issues of the St John s College Magazine, but on different pages, and for different reasons. To reciprocate the cultivated aloofness, I too, in my own way, never showed that I knew anything about his background, or Jaffna connections. This bit of "distance" kept between us was really necessary to be able to get "close'' to him, and to get the best out of him, as a teacher. We had great mutual respect for each other, but never was there any place for familiarity.

My next contact with him started in July 1955, when I was appointed a Senior House Officer at Colombo General Hospital, and was assigned to work under Dr George R. Handy. He was as pleased as I was. No predecessor of mine seemed to have worked consistently, to Dr Handy's entire satisfaction. Working with Dr Handy was really very difficult. He had more patients than any of the other Physicians. There was a constant and unending influx of new patients admitted to Dr Handy's wards.There were far more patients than the number of beds. In Colombo's General Hospital, the number of beds in a ward had no relevance to the number of patients admitted. There were "floor patients'' who had no beds, and who were given a mat and a pillow. ( I believe that the same situation still prevails in most hospitals in Sri Lanka, even today). While many "floor patients" in hospitals were willing to gratefully accept this lack of a hospital bed, in Dr Handy's medical wards, the situation was very different. Most of the "floor patients" came from segments of society where lack of a bed was totally unacceptable, and who seemed to have an inexhaustible number of Very Important Persons interested in them, all trying to obtain a bed for them. Dr Handy never intervened in the issues of bed allocation to patients. There were Roman Catholic Nursing Nuns in charge of hospital wards during that era, and these ladies exercised a considerable authority with independence. When refusal by the Nursing Nuns, of a request for a bed had occurred, the VIP's would telephone the House Officers with the same requests. It was never possible to please all. We were willing to do our duty. We were not in a position to provide favours. With this reality, it was difficult working under a Physician who was far too popular in the country. Yet, we all survived.

The Paying Wards too were full of Dr Handy's patients. Dr Handy had more patients on certain days, than all other Physicians, combined. Among his patients in the Paying Wards, there would be Supreme Court Judges, Commissioners of Assize (a category almost equal to the Supreme Court Judges), Permanent Secretaries,Heads of Government Departments, members of the now defunct Ceylon Civil Service, politicians of every persuasion including Cabinet Ministers, Members of the Parliament, religious dignitaries, big businessmen, senior policemen, doctors, lawyers, and such persons of great social standing. While attending on such patients provided very useful influential contacts, they simultaneously created greater demands on our time. They would want everything explained. They would not have necessarily understood the brief, polite, puzzling, riddles in which Dr Handy would have answered their questions, often with a pleasant, but sarcastic smile, which communicated without words, that such questions should be directed to his assistants who had more time on their hands.. It would be easier to explain the symptoms, and answer the questions that such patients would ask, talking directly to such patients.It was far more difficult talking with the wives of such patients. Often, these VIP patients would want to relate some story which they remembered as very funny, or important. They would want more of our time listening to it, than in attending on their medical needs. It was just not possible to rudely get away without listening to most of what they had to say. We were dealing with persons of standing in the society. Fortunately, our tasks were made easy, because every patient was seen at least once each day by Dr George Handy; he did ward rounds every morning, and every afternoon. We did ward rounds every morning, every afternoon, and every night as well.

People never really knew the volume of work that Dr Handy undertook. In addition to Colombo General Hospital, he had to visit almost every Private Hospital in Colombo, every day. He had patients in all those Private Hospitals. In addition, he had a very large Consulting Practice in the Consulting Rooms at his residence, initially at Havelock Road, Colombo 5, and later at Guildford Crescent, Colombo 7. He was always immaculately dressed, in a spotlessly clean and fresh suit, and matching tie, at all times. Being smart was part of his professional image.

As a teacher.

George Handy enjoyed his teaching. He was always well prepared. He studied his subject, and taught with clarity and authority. Attendance was never compulsory for his lectures and at clinical teaching sessions, at the bedside of patients. Students would never miss his classes. He never carried even a scrap of paper to his lectures.He had a perfect memory, and knew what he taught. He was very precise in what he said. Some years later, when the University advertised for a Professor of Medicine, Dr George R.Handy was an applicant. It was widely known that the Faculty of Medicine was not looking for the most eligible person to become the Professor. Divisive politics had eaten its way into University, which at that time had begun to look for criteria other than academic merit, professional eminence, character,suitability, and such factors. Dr Handy was far above matters such as ethnicity,racial, linguistic, cultural, and religious issues. The University was unable to overlook Dr George Handy's application. The University did not want Handy. So, the University had to resort to re-advertising the same vacancy, stating that the earlier advertisement had been inaccurate, and altered conditions of service were introduced for that position as Professor. The new advertisement stated that no form of Private Practice would be allowed. They knew that George Handy would never forego his privilege of Private Practice, which made him available to everyone, and at an times, outside the sole teaching hospital premises. It was the source of his great influence, importance, amd power. The University succeeded in appointing its very first full-time Clinical Professor who did not enjoy the right of Private Practice. That Professor was not G R Handy.

Other honours.

Sometime before British Imperial Honours were abolished in Ceylon, Dr Handy was conferred the O.B.E. by the British Government. O.B.E stood for the Order of the British Empire. The Royal College of Physicians of London made Dr Handy a Fellow of their College. The American College of Cardiologists also made Dr Handy, one of their Fellows. There must have been many other similar Colleges which also honoured Handy.

After retirement from Government Employment.

Dr Handy retired from the Department of Health in 1962, on reaching the age of 60 years. It did not have any effect on the volume of patients he continued to have,outside the ,Government Institutions. In fact, he became more busy in the Private Sector, after his retirement from Public Service. He continued to be the most sought after Physician in Colombo.

The human side of Dr Handy.

In 1965, I met him one day, in a Private Hospital in Colombo, where I had a single patient. I had commenced work at Colombo South Hospital. He was very pleased that I held a position in Colombo. He thought that I was intending to remain in Colombo for the rest of my working life. He felt that he should share with me, some wisdom, which he had found useful. He called me aside, and gave me a bit of advice, which he thought was appropriate, and he wished me to follow it. He told me never to consider my working colleagues as my equals. He wanted me to always be conscious that others were no match for me to be concerned with. He said that I should always look down on my colleagues with sneer, and work at a level far better than all of them. I realised then, that he had at last accepted me as a colleague of his, and whom he was proud of. I also knew that he had been very honest and sincere in the advice he gave me that day. He had practised that attitude all his working life, but without causing any offence to any one. He was aware that his colleagues were envious of him, and his success.

In conclusion.

Dr George Handy has been the Physician from whom I learnt most of my medicine,during my medical student years. Three years after graduation, it was my remarkable and unequalled privilege to have worked under Dr Handy at Colombo General Hospital. He is the greatest Physician I have ever known. Cardiology was his main area of special interest, but he was an authority in every aspect of General Medicine. That such a great man could have come from Jaffna, having his almost entire schooling at St John's College, Jaffna, and then outshine in Colombo, all the medical talent from the whole of our country, makes me feel proud that I too am from Jaffna, and that I too studied at St John's College,Jaffna.

In a letter written by Dr Handy's daughter Kanti to Mr Percy Handv. she quotes her father, saying, - Whatever I have achieved in the medical profession is mainly due to the influence of two mothers - my own dear mother and my Alma Mater. ' A measure of his stature can be gauged from the fact that his friends and relations, past students & patients and other doctors have planned to put up a 3 storeyed ward in the premises of the General Hospital, Colombo to be named the -Dr G.R.Handy Memorial Ward' to commemmorate his services to the medical profession. St John's can be truly be proud of this great son of hers. May the turf lie lightly over him. - Editor