The year 1948 will always be remembered with joy by every Ceylonese as the year in which Ceylon become independent. A free people with a rich heritage had been admitted into the vast Commonwealth of Nations. For St. John's it was more memorable because the College celebrated its 125th anniversary. Through the many vicissitudes that the College had passed, it had proved its power to survive. During the celebrations it was remembered that unselfish devotion and consecrated service of the early Missionaries and the successive generation of teachers who, unknown and unrecognised, by their loyalty and devotion to the College had raised it to its present position. The role of the C. M. S. also should not be forgotten and it was a coincidence that the 150th Anniversary of the C. M. S. too was celebrated at St. John's on 29-07-48. In a tribute to the College in the Ceylon Observer of 31st July, 1948, Denzil Peiris wrote, "There is little merit in more antiquity unless it contains much profitable experience, and the real distinction of St. John's College, Jaffna is that it has initiated many educational experiments in the North".

The Jubilee Celebrations w ere held over 3 days from July 30th to August I st. The decorations admirably suited the
occasion. The boundary wall around the College bad been completed by now and a new iron gate, a gift from Dr. C.Candiah. had been installed as the main entrance on Old Park Road. The gate with the College crest & name was a magnificent one and the path from this main entrance to the dais opposite the Science Block was colourfully decorated with streamers. On the morning of July 30th after a Communion service at the Church, Mr. R. R. Selvadurai, District Judge, Jaffna and President of the Jaffna 0. B. A. opened the School Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition, which attracted many visitors. In the evening the Old Boys and well wishers gathered for a garden party round Figg Hall, while music and entertainment were provided for them. Then followed the highlight of the celebrations, a public meeting held on the dais opposite the Science Block. It was chaired by Mr. A. J. R. Vethavanam and the Chief Guest was the Rev. Dr. A. J. Boyd, M. A., D .D., Principal of Madras Christian College, Tambaram. It was a coincidence that at the Centenary celebrations, Rev. Meston, then Principal of Madras Christian College had participated as one of the Chief Guests. The Principal in his report, gave a brief description of the progress during the last 25 years, highlighting the importance given to Science and Tamil The school student population had increased from 441 in 1924 to 768 in 1948 and the number of boarders had quadrupled and buildings had been provided for them. The number of higher classes and staff had correspondingly increased. But bricks and mortar alone do not build a school. Rev. Arulanantham said, "From the very beginning the School has believed in and acted upon the principle that education is not to be confined to the class room. Activities outside the classroom can contribute towards the development of the child as much as or even more than classroom work. Various clubs and societies of a voluntary nature have sprung up, which have given opportunities for students to develop their powers of leadership and initiative. We have obtained the first place in many a sport, but we have at the same time tried not to place undue emphasis on the winning of a championship as the end and aim of sports. We have always tried to keep before us its true aims, which is to promote healthy rivalry, unselfishness and a spirit of endurance". Rev. Arulanautham paid a genuine tribute to the students when he said I can say without exaggeration that I have enjoyed my 8 years of Principalship because of the friendly cooperation of boys in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the school. I am particularly grateful to the Prefect Body for their high sense of duty and dependability. We have had a succession of Senior Prefects who have always proved worthy of the trust placed on them. The Prefects and through them the boys, realise that they are the custodians of the good name of the College and that it is their responsibility to maintain the name and traditions of the College".

After the public meeting, the visitors were invited to witness the physical display by the lower school boys. This was done to music under a sea of shimmering lights. The Senior Boys did a Wand Drill and a Pole Drill and the grand finale was the Torch Drill.

The next day there were a stream of visitors to see the Exhibition. The Science and Arts Exhibits attracted a large crowd, especially of school children. A Cricket Match between the Old Boys and Present Boys ended in a victory to the former. Then followed a lunch given by the Principal. It is said that the long serving College chefs Velu and Nagamuttu excelled themselves. In the evening there was a football match between the Past and Present and this time the Present Boys won!

In the evening the Jubilee Dinner was held in the College Hall which was decorated with red and black streamers. Covers were laid for 200 and the Chief Guest was Sir John Kotelawala, which ensured a lively and enjoyable evening. The celebrations ended the next evening with a Service of Thanksgiving at the Church.

Among the highlights of the Jubilee was a "Vaalthupa" composed for the occasion by Mr. S. A. Sinnadurai of the Staff and sung at the public meeting. To mark the Jubilee, the College decided to publish a list of Old Boys giving their present positions and addresses. The College magazine is an organ which keeps old Boys in touch with the school and in those days one could read several contributions from Old Boys. This practice seems to have fallen off now, and there is hardly an article by an Old Boy in the present day College Magazines. The 1948 Magazine was a special Jubilee number. A play was staged by "Kalaiarasu" K. Chornalingam which netted Rs. 1656.71 for the College Building Fund. The Old Boys in Batticaloa met together with the, Old Girls' of Chundikuli with their spouses at an inaugural meeting and decided to form a Batticaloa Branch of the St. John's 0. B. A. This does not appear to have been nurtured, but should be pursued to include the Old Boys in Trincomalee and other areas close by to Batticaloa.

Among the Old Boys who hit the headlines, mention should be made of Hon.C. Nagalingam who was made a Puisne Judge, R. R. Crossette Thambiah was a commissioner of Assize, M. Canagasabai was General Manager of Railways, R. G. Leembruggen was Director of Public Works and Gladstone Thevathasari obtained 1st Class Honours in the B. Sc Exam. and was awarded the Mathematics Scholarship to U. K.

Amidst the Jubilee there was a tinge of sadness when Mr. P. 1. Mathai retired after 23 years on the staff, and also
when news was received of the death of Mrs. Thompson, widow of Rev. Jacob Thompson.

1948 was not a distinguished one for St. John's in sports. An unforgettable sporting event that year was the football
match with St. Patrick's College on the St John's College grounds. A thrilling match was marred by mob violence
and after a Patrician victory by 3 goals to 1, there was a free-for-all among spectators and players. This resulted in St. John's cancelling all sports fixtures against St. Patrick's for the next 10 years. Among the excellent performances in cricket around this period were centuries scored by N. K. Brodie against Kingswood College, Kandy in 1948 and by D. J. Nathaniel and M. Z. Deen against Hartley College in 1949.At the Inter-Collegiate boxing meet organised by the Education office, 4 out of 6 Johnians who entered won their titles and the Captain of the team, M.Z.Deen was awarded the Best Boxer's cup as well.. In 1949, the College Volley Ball team under the Captaincy of S.Panchalingam won everlasting fame for the College by winning the All Ceylon Schools Volley Ball Championship. This was the first time in the history of St John's that the college won an All Ceylon title and the school was given a holiday, in honour of the team.. The team was presented to the Governor General and Sporting Times had this to say about the Captain - " S.Panchalingam is one of the best exponents of the dashing play in Ceylon to-day". Singular honour was conferred on him when he was selected to play in the Exhibition Match in Colombo against the All Ceylon C lub Champions. To-day he is a Co- Vice principal of St. John's College.

The College Boxers again did well in 1949 and 14 out of 16 who entered front St. John's won their Semi-finals at which stage the meet was disrupted. There is no doubt they would have retained the Championship they won in 1949 had not the disturbance occurred.

In Athletics, a few leading schools in the North formed the Northern Athletic Group 11 and held a meet, No points
or Championship was involved and St John's fared very wcll, winning a number of places.

They also won the Relay Cup and several places at an inter-club Athletic Meet organised by the Jaffna Sports Association on A. A. A. lines.

At football, St. John's won 4 and lost 3 Matches while in Cricket they had a disastrous year, winning only one match and losing three in 1949.But the Cadets won the Football Cup at Diyatalawa from among the leading schools in Ceylon.

On the staff, there was great joy when S.Sivapragasam was appointed Vice-Principal, succeeding Mr Gaussen. At the same time Miss M.Y.Muttiah was appointed Vice-Principal of Girl's College and both schools enjoyed a holiday on their appointments. Mr Sivapragasam was a winner of the Duff scholarship at Calcutta, and it was felt that he would bring into his new position certain gifts of qualities of mind and heart peculiarly his own and which had characterised his work and relationship with men. His sense of humour, his calm and balanced judgement, his loyalty to the College and his abiding interest in the Students made him eminently suited for the post. He once won a worldwide competition for naming a pet mare, naming it Naggie to rhyme with Maggie of Jiggs cartoon fame.

Another member of the staff, Mr. T. M. Mathai who had worked for 28 years to raise the standard of Scouting not only at St. John's but in the whole of Jaffna was recognised by the Imperial Head Quarters in England and received a Certificate of merit from the Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth an d Empire. 1949 also saw Mr. J. T. Chelliah (B. A. Lond.) on the St. John's staff after 9 years of teaching outside. He was to give long and devoted service to the College before retiring as Vice-principal.

Mr. S. L. Jansen retired that year after 40 years of teaching but continued at the College as Bursar. Another retired teacher, Mr. S. M. Thambyaiyah passed away. His death was followed by those of Miss. Leembruggen in 1950 and Mr. W.A. Walton in 1951.

An Old Boy, Mr Sam A. Sabapathy brought honour to the College by being elected the first Mayor of the Jaffna Municipal Council in 1949.

In 1950, increasing numbers of students, especially from Malaya, compelled the construction of a block of five class-rooms. Another building that was put up housed the tuck shop on one side and the other side was used as day boys' meal-room. Quarters were also built for the servants that year. Another memorable event was the visit of the blind students from Seeduwa. They stayed at St. John's and the general public were amazed at the variety and repertoire of the music they provided, both vocal and instrumental.

The Dramatic Society staged the Tamil play "PUSHPAVALLI" to an appreciative audience. The previous year they had acted a Russian Play "The Inspector General".

It is interesting to note that the VI Form Union had debated the subject "Sinhala should be the Official Language in Ceylon", as long ago as 1950. Another debate was "A Federal Scheme is suitable for Ceylon". The Union also provided some variety in holding a "Sham Court" which was highly commended by both the public and the press, The interesting feature in it was that it was not a mere rehearsal of a trial in a Court of Law, but one in which the counsel for prosecution and defence had to establish their particular contention by leading or cross examining witnesses.

Cadeting was at the height of its popularity around 1950. That year in spite of ten of the best Cadets from St. John's being unable to attend the Camp at Diyatalawa due to the S, S. C, Examination, the St. John's College Corps did well to come 4th the in Squad and Army Drill securing 142.7 marks out of a possible 150. The Junior Cadets were placed 3rd in their Camp at Boossa. 'Among the Senior Cadets, Cpl. E. G. Thevanayagam was selected to represent the Ceylon Cadet Corps in a Cricket Match against the Combined Services at Diyatalawa and performed splendidly, capturing 6 for 32 which was mainly responsible for that Strong side to be dismissed for 119 runs. The Ceylon Army conducted an Athletic meet on 27th & 28th October, 1950 to celebrate the lst anniversary of its inauguration. At this meet, Johnian, G. G. Gnanasegaram came Ist in the half mile race and also ran in the 4 x 440 yard relay team which came first. Gnanasegaram was a superb middle distance runner and was at his best during this period, but unfortunately was not well enough to participate in the Public Schools meet. However, he proved he was the best school-boy middle distance runner in Ceylon by winning the half mile event at the Junior A. A. A. meet and coming 3rd in the A-A-A-meet, both held in Colombo. Another Cadet who did well in the junior A-A-A was E. G. Thevanayagam who came 3rd in 120 yards hurdles. In 1951, though Gnanasegarm was able to participate in the Public Schools meet, he disappointed his supporters by coming only 3rd in both the mile and half mile events. But the C-A-A-A, the parent body in Athletics in the country invited him to represent them in a meet at Boosa and he came 2nd In the 800 metres race. Gnanasegaram was an athlete could have gone on to further representative honours for his country, but strangely faded off.

On Independence day in 1950, the Cadets & Scouts took part in a march past. When the Governor-General, Lord Soulbury, visited Jaffna they presented him a guard of honour at the Railway Station. When the Prime Minister, Hon. D. S. Senanayake visited Jaffna, a similar Guard of honour was inspected by him and he congratulated them on their smart turn out. It should be mentioned that the Scout-Masters at St. John's at this time were Mr. J. A. Durairatnam, Mr. J. G. Aseervatham and Mr. Harold Goodchild, a Woodbadge Scouter. The College was well represented at the Scout Jamboree hold in Colombo in February, 1952. in the Senior Schools Cadet Corps, the rank of Company Sergeant Major was selected from St. John's for six successive years.

It was in 1950 that the Northern Province Teachers' Association (N.P.T.A.) Examination was held for the first time. (Grade VIII). This enabled the College to assess their standard in comparison with other schools in the North. In the December. 1950 examination, 64 passed the N..P.T.A. examination with 7 first divisions and 24 distinctions. The following year 49 out of 56 were successful with 17 first divisions and 25 distinctions. The results through the following years were uniformly good, the best being in December 1957 examination when 100 out of 121 passed, 34 obtaining first divisions and 73 distinctions. These results were the best in Jaffna.

In February, 1951, the St. John's College Governing Board took the decision for the College to join the Government Grant Scheme with effect from 1-4-51 It was with misgivings that this decision was taken. Everybody was alive to the twin dangers of possible falling standards and greater State Control. But the alternative to an independent fee levying school would have caused serious financial hardship to parents and therefore the College authorities decided to throw in their lot with the large majority of schools in the hope that wise statesmanship would prevail and enable the College to continue its work unhampered by Government.

It may be interesting to glance at the S. S. C. results just before and after the "free" scheme. Given below are the
detail results of tile. best and worst years for St. John's just before and after 1951.

Year	No Sat	No Passed	No 1st Divisions	No Distinctions
Dec 1949	104	59	5	21
Dec 1950	88	3	-	-
July 1951	47	34	4	5
Dec 1954	117	19	2	4

No general conclusion can be drawn from these.The very poor results in Dec.'50 was due mainly to English in which only 7 out of the 88 who sat Passed that subject. The poor results were island wide and many schools, including St. John's complained to the Education Dept. and an investigation was held into the matter. Anyway St .John's accepted the results on its face value and re- considered its method of teaching English. The, poor results in December, 1954 was also island wide and was described by newspapers as a wholesale massacre. This time also Principals and teachers held protest meetings and demanded an inquiry from the education Department. In general, however, the S. S. C. results did not evoke however, much public or student interest because the University entrance examination had supplanted it in the public eye and interest as they be all and end all of all school pursuits and objectives St John's was acquiring some fame with regard to this examination and given below are the University Entrance and other higher examination results from 1948-54.

December, 1948 - 12 entered the University, 6 for Science, 3 for Medicine,2 for Arts and I for Engineering at the Technical College.

December, 1949 - 7 entered, 1 for Science, 4 for Medicine and 2 for Arts. 2 also passed the H. S. C. arid 3 the London inter Science Examination.

December 1950 14 entered, 2 for Arts, 9 for Medicine, 1 for Science 1 for Agriculture and 1 for Engineering, 4 also passed the London Inter Science. For the Medical entrance 17 out of 18 were called for the interview and 9 were selected.

December, 1951 - 8 entered in all, 5 passed in all 4 subjects and 5 in 3 subjects. In the H. S. C, Examination, 5 out of 19 passed with one Ist division and 2 distinctions. In addition 4 passed the London Inter Science Examination.

December 1952 - 10 out of 31 who sat the examination entered the University, 6 for Medicine, 2 for Engineering and 2 for Science.

December, 1953 - 15 out of 53 entered, 5 for medicine, 6 for Arts and 4 for Science. Of those who did not enter, 5 passed in 3 subjects & 6 were successful in the H.S.C.

December, 1954 - 17 out of 44 Science students entered, I I for Medicine, for Science and 2 for Engineering. In addition I entered for Arts. In the London G. C. E. Advance Level Examination 12 out of 27 wore successful, in 1954 and 17 out of 27 passed in 1955. 2 Arts Students also passed the Examination.

In the University Entrance Examination in 1955, 14 entered the varsity,8 for Medicine, 5 for Science and 1 for Arts while 8 passed the H. S. C.

These consistently good results placed St. John's College as one of the best in the island.

In the sports field too St. John's did consistently well during his period. Since 1947 when St John's pulled out of the J. S. 5. A. Tournament Matches, they had participated in friendly matches in Cricket, Football and Athletics with other schools. Nevertheless, the competition was keen and no quarter was asked for and none given in these friendly encounters. In athletics, some of the schools formed the Northern Group II and at every contest, though no points were awarded, St John's had her share of lst, 2nd, and 3rd places.

After the free education scheme, suburban schools had been making considerable progress in Sports and the town schools did not have it all that easy as before. Mention has already been made of the indifferent performances of the St. John's College Cricket team in 1948 and their disastrous year in 1949. 1950 also started in woeful manner, with the College losing its first two matches. It was at this juncture that Mr. Jimmy 1. Rajaratnam took charge of the
tea m as Cricket Coach. A former Cricket captain of the College and a very loyal Old Boy, with painstaking effort he gradually instilled confidence into the team which started doing well almost immediately. By the time the big match against Central College came up, St. John's was a different team altogether. Jimmy had surprised everyone by asking Thevanayagam, the leading spinner of the side to open the bowling and it proved a stroke of genius, because Thevanayagm took I I wickets in the match which enabled St. John's to win by 5 wickets. Mr, Rajaratnam was a most knowledgable and competent Cricket coach, probably one of the best in schools in the island at that time. He introduced a style and finesse into the boys which was plainly visible. It was possible to identify a Johnian from the style of his batting, from the forward defensive stroke with the left hand in control (for a right handed batsman) with the bat lifted at a downward angle to the perpendicular, to the flowing off-side drives with the left foot pointing in the direction of the stroke and a full follow through of the bat. It should not be taken that these were the only two strokes taught by Jinmy, nor should it be understood that every batsman played in copy book style. Jimmy was too shrewd for that, and a successful smiter of the ball was encouraged in his art in which occasionally he may indulge in some rustic strokes. Even the manner in which the team fielded and behaved in the field exuded confidence. All this resulted in St. John's having one of its best Cricket teams in 1951. They won 5 of their 6 matches by an innings but lost the big match to Central College by just 7 runs.

Evcn to-day, Johnians feel sad about this match because they let it out of their grasp. First they let Central off the hook by allowing them to score 158 after having them reeling at 55 for 7. St. John's fared fared badly by being all out for 103 but made amends by dismissing Central for 36. Thevanayagam ,the Captain who had taken 6 for 47 in the lst innings took 6 for 12 in the 2nd. St. John's needing 92 for a win seemed well set for victory at 70 for 4 wickets. But Shanmugam and Rajasingam the Central fast bowlers bowled like demons and with St. John's 7 runs behind their last man was run out! The Big Match of the North-Central vs St. John's had by now captured the imagination of the public and large crowds thronged to see this annual encounter. Over the years Central had produced great fast bowlers while St. John's bad mainly relied on their superb spinners and champion batsmen. D. Canaganayagam was the best batsman brought out by Jimmy Rajaratnam's coaching and S. K Mahalingam the best bowler. Who will ever forget that scintillating innings of 148 which D.Canaganayagam made against Kingswood in 1951 ? An elegant left hander with the penchant for the left hander's pet stroke behind square leg. Canaganayagam treated the crowd to a wonderful display of class batsmanship that day, dismissing the bowlers with scant respect from his regal presence. He scored another century against Hindu College.

The lesson taught by the Central Collegc fast bowlers was not lost on Jimmy In 1952 he brought out S.K.Mahalingam as the answer to their thunderbolts. He had made every Johnian batsman to face fast bouncing deliveries unflinchingly. The result was that when the Big Match came, St John's had been unbeaten up to that time drawing 2 and winning 2 matches, including the one against Jaffna College by an innings. In this match S.K.Mahalingam showed that he could bat too, by scoring a swashbuckling century. His 104 contained some of the finest driving seen in Jaffna. The strokes on either side of the wicket fairly screamed to the boundary, seeming to accelerate on their way. The fielders and especially the bowlers must have felt that the boundary line was too close and the lunch interval too far off on that day! Anyway when the final match against Central was played, it proved to be another cliff hanger, St John's eventually emerging as winners by two wickets. It was a nail biting finish and when the winning run was made the College ground was a swarm of boys running to carry their heroes. The crowd lingered on the ground long after the match and were privileged to hear the famous impromptu speech by Jimmy Rajaratnam " A bumper should be retaliated with a bumper". For a rousing and stirring speech, in its own way, that talk should rank alongside with Bruce's address before Bannockburn!

1953 was another good year in Cricket for St. John's who won 3 matches drew one but lost their big match. Jaffna College was beaten by air innings for the 3rd year in running. Jaffna Hindu who had a good team that year and came with high hopes. of defeating St. John's, was put to the rout by Mahalingam who took 8 wickets for 6 runs and dismissed them for 18 in their second innings when asked to make 140 odd for victory. At one stage his figures were 6 for 0 ! He had some amazing spells that year-7 for 14 and 6 for 3 being some of them . There is no doubt that S.K. Mahalingam was one of the best, if not the best, fast bowler Jaffna had produced. He had everything a fast bowler needed; frightening speed, perfect control over length and direction and could swing the ball both ways.
He had a strong and supple body and with a smooth run up and easy action and could keep going for long spells. Once against the strong visiting S. S C. side. lie against a strong he took 5 for 21. But for a strange timidity of temperament and humble disposition, he could have gone on to much greater heights. Had he played in Colombo, he would have won representative honours. But he remained in Jaffna and when Jimmy Rajaratnam left coaching St. John's due to his other duties, Mahalingam carried on as his successor. Being one of Jimmy's students, Mahalingam carried on with Jimmy's methods and style of coaching and produced a succession of great Johnian teams, and brilliant individuals. To these two St. John's Cricket owes a great deal. As has been said already, a Johnian batsman at the wicket could be recognised from his polished stroke-play and their demeanour on the field, their eagerness and alertness all showed a true appreciation of the game.

The 1953 Big Match which St. John's lost was Canaganayagam's last one for the College and his Swan song was a brilliant effort of 58 golden runs. That year too Ccntral had a great pair of fast bowlers, but Canaganayagam called the tune. The faster they bowled, the further he drove, and the more they bounced, the harder he hooked. It was a lone and vain effort, but it won him the batting prize and was a fitting farewell by one of the best school boy batsmen produced by Jaffna. When he came back after getting out, every one of that big crowd stood up and gave him a standing ovation.

In 1954 and 1955 St. John's was undergoing team building and nothing extraordinary was produced, except for a battling century by C. JothiRavi against Kingswood in 1954. However, mention must be made of the team in holding Central to a draw in 1955 by batting about 5hours in the last innings after losing their first 4 batsmen cheaply, the first of many such nerve-tingling draws they were to produce against the old enemy ! That year the College last pair held on for more than one hour against Union College, to earn a draw thus preventing Union College, from their first victory against St. John's at cricket, which they have yet to achieve.

The football teams too progressed tremendously during this time. In 1950 they played 9 matches, won 7 and lost only 1. In their captain A. J. Segarajasinghe, they had a maestro who had perfect ball control, could dribble and pass with amazing accuracy and had a nimble brain. Such supreme artistry is seen only once in a generation and those who saw "Sega" at his best will have something to treasure, especially those moments he used to deceive the opposition as to which direction he would go and score with a flick of the foot. At such moments "e'en the ranks of Tuscany could scarce for-bear to cheer". S. K. Kasinathan was another nippy centre forward of those days. He went on to play soccer for the U. S. A. and now he is the Director of Physical Education at the University of Singapore. In 195I too only l Match was lost, while St, John's won 7. The 2nd XI won all 3 matches they played. Their record in 1952 was still better, the Ist XI winning 8 of 10 matches played and losing only I while the 2nd XI won all 5 matches played. Of the Ist XI victories two were over schools outside Jaffna, one against Dharmaduta College, Badulia and the other against St. Joseph's College, Anuradhapura. In 1954 too St. John's played two matches against outside schools when they toured Batticaloa and won both matches played there, against St. Michael's College and Central College, Batticaloa. Overall the Ist XI played 11 matches, winning 8 and losing 2 while the 2nd XI won 2 & lost I match of the 3 played. A feature of the foot ball season was the bullet like kicks of Johnian inside left C. Jothi-Ravi, which left the opposing goal-keepers nonplussed. Jothi-Ravi later went on to represent a strong Wadia College in Poona in India. 1955 was not that successful, the Ist XI winning 3 and losing 2 of 7 matches played, but the 2nd XI made amends by remaining unbeaten winning 3 and drawing 2matches. But in 1956 the first team played true to form, losing only one match.

It should be borne in mind that other games too were played at St. John' s but not in most schools in Jaffna, with the result that school matches could not be played. When a table tennis tournament was held in Jaffna in 1950, St John's
produced the singles winner and doubles runners-up. In Basket Ball, which Jaffna College had introduced into Jaffna in the early fifties, St. John's beat the Colombo Y. M. C- A in 1953 when they were Champions in Western province. That year the College Boxing team became Inter-collegiate Champions in the North winning the Namasivayam shield. They retained it in 1954 and were runners-up in 1955. Volley ball which received a tremendous boost when St. John's won the All Island title in 1949 had lost some of its interest, but revived when the college were runners-up to Skandavarodaya College in the Inter-school tournament in 1954. In the Northern Province Physical Training competition, the Johnian under 16 squad won the shield in 1955 & 1956.

In Athletics, at the 1951 Inter-House Sports Meet, the Principal Rev. Arulanantham introduced an innovation when he had group events for Athletes. Here, each House had to send 3 competitors for field events, each of whom had to achieve a minimum standard and points were awarded according to the total achievement of the 3 competitors in each House. The purpose of this move was to get more students to participate, and it proved a great success. Mention has already been made that St. John's had her fair share of success at every Group II Athletic meet. Special mention must be made of the high standard reached in 1952, when St John's College set up records in the 4 x110 yds. and 4 x 440 yds relay races. D. Canaganayagam & S.K. Mahalingam broke the 220 yds. and long jump records respectively. D. Canaganayagam proved he was the best school boy sprinter in the island by winning the 100 yards at the Junior A-A-A meet and coming 2nd in the Public Schools meet (losing by a whisker) both held in Colombo. At the Jaffna Sports Association Athletic meet that year, T. D. Ganesh of St. John's set up a new all Jaffna record in the 220 yds race. The College set up new records in the 4 X I I 0 yds. and 4 x 440 Yds. relay at this meet also.

In 1953, at the Group 11 meet N. Varendiran broke the long jump record set up by Mahalingam the previous year, whilst in 1954 S.Sivasubramaniam broke the Group II Javelin record. The masters in charge of sports during this period of success were Mr. E. S. Thevasagayam and Mr. E. A. Champion.

There were important staff changes in 1951-52. Mr. T. M. Mathai who had taught at St. John's for 30 years retired
in April, 1951. Mr. T. M. Mathai was the first Science graduate to be appointed to the permanent staff and contributed immensely to the development of Science at St. John's, especially the, laboratories. He took charge of these when they were in a primitive condition and transformed them into well equipped ones in the new Science Block. He also helped in raising the standard of Scouting, not only at St, John's but in the Jaffna district, and was appointed Assistant District Commissioner. He served the College as Boarding House Master and Sports Master with enthusiasm. A deeply religious man, he was an active social worker. His sister, Miss. Sarah Mathai became Principal of Chundikuli Girls' College in 1950 when Dr. Miss Thillaiampalam retired.

Mr. S. Sivapragasam was another who retired, in January, 1952 due to ill-health. He joined the staff of St. John's College in 1936 and was appointed Vice Principal in 1949. A well read and cultured man, he was equally conversant in English and Tamil Literature and was a lover of both, Arts & Science. He died in 1953 and his family gifted his books totalling well over 100 volumes to the College Library. They also perpetuated his memory by founding the Sivapragasam Memorial Prize for General Excellence, the most coveted and prestigious award a student at St. John's could aspire to. He was succeeded by Mr. P. T. Mathai as Vice Principal. Another well known figure to leave the College was Mr. A. W Rajasegarm, who left to take over as Principal of Kopay Christian College when its Principal, Mr. G. S. Chelliali retired due to ill-health in 1952.

In 1951, a chess club for St John's College was formed with Mr.P S .Somasundaram as its first President. They
attained a high standard and in 1955 beat Royal College 16-9 and repeated the victory in 1956 by 10 games to 7. The Camera Club was also formed in 1951. Other new clubs to be inaugurated during this period were the Hi-Y Club (High School Y. M. C, A.) in 1954 and the Economic Society also in 1954. The latter were addressed by Dr. Colvin R. de Silva.

The Senior Literary Association celebrated its diamond jubilee in 1951. Its sister Union, the Sixth Form Union introduced a new innovation by having a model Parliament in 1953 with Mr. E. A. Champion of the Staff as the
Governor General. 3 parties contested the elections, namely Labour, Federal and Communist Parties. The Federal Party won and formed the Government but lost at the budget reading and the other two parties then formed a coalition Government. A slight variation was introduced in 1956 when a ceremonial opening Of Parliament was enacted by the Sixth Form union. S. M V. Tissainayagam was "Governor General" and M. Sivanesan the Prime Minister". The full regalia including the ceremonial procession, singing of National Anthem and the Reading of the Throne speech were enacted in the presence of a large number of students and teachers. It is interesting to note that K. Seevanayagam who organised it. is to-day working in Parliament, as a Deputy Director in its administration

The Dramatic Society acted Oliver Goldsmith's "Lord Babs" to an appreciative audience on 4th August. 1951. In 1952 they presented Shaw's "Androcles and the Lion" and Elizabeth Macnarnara's "Elizabeth Refuses". Perhaps their most successful venture was Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" in 1954 which was acted on 3 successive nights to crowded audiences. Mr. Alagu Subramaniam, the well known Playwright, in paying a tribute to the performance wrote that the St. John's troupe deserved congratulations for their presenting unconventional Wilde in conventional Jaffna.

Old Boys who brought honour to St. John's in 1951 included Justice C. Nagalingam who acted for the Chief Justice, Mr. Sam Sabapathy and Mr. Alfred Durayappah who were elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Jaffna Municipal Council. Among the present boys E. G. Thevanayagam and A. W. Yogarajah did their College proud by being elected for a Commission in the Ceylon Army as Officer Cadets to be trained at Sandhurst. They were two out of six selected from the whole Island. Similarly, R. K. Pillai and T. Sivagnanam were two out of six selected from the Island as C-Plan Scholars to do a course in Engineering in Australia. Viewing it from present days, it appears that there was no need to usher in a just society then, because we were already living in one .

In 1952, the Education. Dept. introduced the 8th standard selective test by which it was hoped that only those who
fared well in it would be allowed to continue to higher grades and those who failed it could follow vocational classes. As an experiment it failed in its aims but St. John's took up the challenge and set up an Arts & Crafts
Workshop under Mr. L. W. D. Nalliah, for students in the Middle school and downwards. At the Arts & Crafts Exhibition held in 1952 by the Education Dept, students from St. John's won several prizes. In 1954, when the Police held a competition for the best poster for a Road Safety Campaign, the St. John's College Arts & Crafts Section won the silver Cup. They also won 7 Silver Medals at an Exhibition held under the auspices of the All Ceylon Union of Teachers in 1954. In 1955, at the Arts & Crafts Society Exhibition, Amirthananthan of the College Staff won 2 Silver Medals, one for Sculpture and another for Pottery.

Time. like an ever rolling stream, bears all its sons away and so it was when at the beginning of 1952 death carried away King George VI and Hon D. S. Senanayake. Towards the end of the year, three stalwarts of St. John's acting Principals of St John's College, Mr T.H. Crosette and Mr A.M. Nathaniel, both of whom had been acting Principals of St John's College and Dr. C. Candiah, a loyal Old Boy and Past President of O.B.A. were no more. The 15 years of King George's Reign saw a World Conflagration and the birth of the atomic age. It also saw a change in the whole concept of the British Empire which was transformed into the Commonwealth. Just before his demise was born the C-plan whereby the developed countries of the Commonwealth came forward to help better the lot of less fortunate members of the Commonwealth, especially those in Asia. The Hon D.S.Senanayake will be remembered as the first Prime Minister of Ceylon who led the country to independence. When Mr Crosette died, an appeal for a Crosette memorial building fund was launched for the construction of a hostel for which an urgent need was felt. A gift of Rs 30,000 was received from Dr and Mrs Rajasingham towards this building fund in early 1953. Dr A. Rajasingham, scion of an ancient family of Jaffna was a distinguished Old Boy who had made his mark as a Provincial Surgeon and his gift was the biggest the College had received up to date. He passed away in October,1953 at the ripe old age of 90 and it was decided to name part of the new hostel as the Rajasingham block and another part as the Crosette block. As more funds were required for this purpose, the College had Science exhibition and Fairs in 1953, 1955 and 1957. For these ventures it was decided that the Exhibition should be planned to be one of educational value, that nothing should be done which was inconsistent with the ideals and principles of the College, and that no opportunity be given to any business firm to work for their profit in connection with the exhibition. These exhibitions were well attended and proved a financial success.

Another notable event in 1953 was the amalgamation of Tamil school with St John's. Earlier it had been a separate school under the management of the Principal of St John's college. That year, the house and property of 5 lachams adjoining Fleming House was purchased by the college and Mr E.M.Ponnudurai and family went into occupation of it.

At the College Prize Giving in 1953, the Chief Guest was Hon. M. D. Banda, the Minister of Education. In his report the Principal pointed out that St John's had sent 4 members to the current Parliament - Mr. M. Senanayake (Medawaehchiya), Mr. S H. Mihadiulwewn (Kalawewa), Mr. D. B, Welagedera (Kurunegala) and Mr. C. Suntheralingam (Vavuniya). It was in this report that Rev. Arulanantham spelt out a most important and far seeing policy in having a Science student to do History and Geography and an Arts student to do Biology for the S- S. C. Examination. It was with the idea of giving students a more liberal and ail round education that this mandatory change was made. Another one of his remarkable suggestions was to abolish the teaching of Physics, Chemistry and Biology as 3 separate subjects for the S S. C. and instead combine all three and have one subject as General Science. At present this is being followed. Another change in the academic curricula was to have Tamil as the medium of instruction from Form I downwards in 1953. This was necessitated by the Government's educational policy and was gradually extended, year by year, to include higher classes, e. g. Form 11 downwards in 1954 and Form 111 downwards in 1955 etc.

The most significant event in 1954 was the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the 0. B. A. St. John's. The actual Jubilee fell on 18th April, but as it was during Lent and the College was closed for the holidays, the celebrations started on 3rd June. which was the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Colombo Branch of the 0. B. A. The celebrations in Jaffna were held over 4 days under the guidance of the President of the 0. B. A., Dr. A. M. D. Richards. They started with a Holy Communion Service which was conducted by Rev. Arulanantham. A large
gathering of Old Boys from all over the island were present and once the service was over, they dispersed to various parts of the school to take part in the many games and competitions which were held. Tournaments were held in Tennis, Chess, Bridge and Table Tennis, and were worked out over three days. A very cordial, happy and friendly atmosphere prevailed throughout.

On the first evening, Old Boys, Parents and well wishers gathered to witness the Inter-House Athletic meet. The Chief Guest was Mr. W. T. I. Alagaratnam, the Director of Irrigation and an Old Boy himself, Among the judges who officiated were Mr. Brant Little, Director of Physical Education and Mr Mac Fadden, Professor of Geography at the University of Ceylon. The final event of the programme was a Tug-of-war between the Old Boys of South Ceylon and the Old Boys of Jaffna, which the former won. Tea was provided by the College to all visitors.

The next day, a Cricket Match was played between the Colombo Branch and the Jaffna Branch of the 0. B. A., which the Colombo Branch won. In the evening, there was a variety entertainment lasting more than 2 hours, to which many Old Boys contributed interesting items.

The third day, June 5th was the most important one, which opened with a Cricket Match between the Old Boys and the Present Boys, The 0. B. A. won and took the Challenge Cup presented for the occasion by Mr. C. S Barr Kumarakulasinghe, a distinguished Old Boy and a Commissioner of Assize. Ever since then, the Old Boys and Present Boys have been annually playing each other for the Barr Kumarakulasinghe Challenge Cup.

All the other competitions were decided on this day and the trophies were presented at a garden party that evening. Before that, however, the Principal entertained the Old Boys to lunch where covers were laid for over 200.

The highlight of the evening was the grand combined tea-party of the Old Girls of Chundikuli ( some of whom had
made the trip from Colombo in a specially chartered train) and the Old Boys of St John's. While tea was being provided, a fancy dress football match was played to the throbbing rhythm of an Oriental Orchestra.

The O.B.A Jubilee dinner was held that night at Robert William's Hall at which the Chief Guest was the Hon. E.B.Wickremanayake, Minister of Justice. Covers were laid for over 150 and among the distinguished guests were Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan, Minister for Housing, Industry and Social Service, the Hon. Bulankulama Disawa, Minister of Lands and Development and Mr & Mrs P.J.Hudson, Government Agent.

The celebrations were concluded the next day with a Thanksgiving service where the sermon was preached by the Rt. Rev. S.Kulendran, Bishop of the Jaffna Diocese of the C.S.I and an old boy. Thus ended the Jubilee celebrations on a note of thankfulness to God for all the mercies of the past 50 years and the hope of years to come.

The O.B.A, South Ceylon too celebrated the Golden Jubilee on July 3rd. After a Holy Communion service at Christ Church, Galle Face at which the celebrant was Rev. J.T.Arulanantham, the scene shifted to the Government Services ground at Parsons road where a Cricket match "Colombo" vs "Rest" was played. After a buffet lunch, the A.G.M was held with the President, Mr. A.J.R . Vethavanam in the chair. This was followed by a Garden Party attended by over 300 Old Boys and Guests. The Chief Guest was His Excellancy, Sir Cecil Syers, K.C.M/G, C.V.O., High Commissioner for the U.K. Other speakers included Mr E.R.De Silva, Principal of Richmond College, Galle and Mr S.J.Gunasegaram.

An important resolution that came out of the Golden Jubilee celebrations was that a suitable memorial be set up in memory of Rev Henry Peto and a belfry be constructed in the college compound in memory of Rev. Jacob Thompson.

An interesting point to note is that Peto House was started in 1954 and took part in the Inter House Athletic competition for the first time at the meet held during the celebrations. The house won the march past competition and was led by T.G. Arulampalam. It is pertinent to point out that in 1927 an eight house system was tried out, but was given up two years later due to inadequacy of numbers. At present the College has approximately 1,500 on its roll and it may be desirable to have a sixth house, and named possibly Arulanantham house.

A special souvenir was published on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the O.B.A and consists of a wealth of information about the beginnings of the O.B.A and also several interesting articles.

Another important event that took place in 1954 was the purchase of Mahendra Theatre sited opposite the college and which had been a source of irritation to the College and Church. This purchase was funded by the Old Boys and was suitably converted into a Hostel and named Henry Peto Hostel, thus fulfilling one of the main resolutions adopted by the Old Boys at the Jubilee celebrations. The Henry Peto Hostel was ceremoniously opened by Mr C.Suntharalingam and 60 boarders shifted into it., with Boarding House Master and his family, for whom suitable accommodation was found within the building.

The foundation for the new hostel for which Dr, Rajasingam had contributed Rs. 30,000/- was also laid in early 1954 by Mrs. A. Rajasingam, his widow.

The Jubilee Year of the 0. B. A. was marked with a few splendid achievements by some Old Boys, notably Mr. W. T. I Alagaratnam who was made Director of Irrigation, Mr. M. Kanagasabai who was made General Manager of Railways and above all, Justice Nagalingam, who while acting as Chief Justice, acted for the Governor General. the first Ceylonese and only Tamil to have done so. Mr. Clough Thuraisingam, an Old Boy who was ,Minister of Education in Malaya, received his Knighthood. Two former Senior Prefects of the College, Mr C. E. Anandarajan and Mr. S. Punchalingam joined the staff. They were later to serve as Principal and Vice Principal of St. John's. Mr. V. R. Amarasingam and Mr. Y. Edwin were two others who joined the Staff about this time. They too were to give long and loyal services.

1955was a year of expansion for the College The new hostel was opened by the Bishop of Colombo on 24th June, 1955. It was named the Memorial Block. It bad four wings, one named in memory of Dr. A. Rajasingham, another
named in memorv of his son Alison Rajasingam, his only child who had died fairly young, a third wing was named in memory of Mr. T. H. Crossette and the fourth wing named in memory of Rev. C.C. Handy. This Block had all modern amenities with four rooms, three for boarding masters and one for the Senior Prefect. The completion of this boarding house almost doubled the accommodation for boarders, for each wing was capable of accommodating about 25.

The Primary School Block with 7 classrooms, Music Room and Art Room was also opened that year by Miss. M. Y. Muthiah, former Vice Principal of Girls' College who after her retirement was doing full time Church work. Another improvement that was effected was the construction of a drain to lead rain water from the College compound into a Municipal drain. Before this construction, after a heavy shower, the grounds used to fill up and took several days to dry out.

In 1955, St. John's was lucky to receive a magnificent gift of a fine collection of books totalling about 6000 from Mrs, Mackintosh Smith, widow of tin, late Mr. Mackintosh Smith, of Caledonia Estate, Lindula, who had been a planter in Ccylon for 49 years. This gift was made possible by the good offices of Rev. Timmins and the Bishop of Colombo. The collection consisted of Fiction, History, Science, Travel etc. and reference books, Dictionaries and Encylopaedias, greatly enhancing the College Library.

The year 1956 marks a watershed in the post-independent political history of Ceylon. That was the year when Mr S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike came into power and ushered in the "common man's era". But it will always be regrettable that he came into power using the communal cry of Slnhala only in 24 hours. The Tamils naturally were apprehensive and protested against it. The divergence, of the two races in recent times can be traced to this act. The so called freedom of 'the man in the street", used indiscriminately resulted in the erosion of discipline in the public service and together with political sycophancy which was another legacy that can be traced to 1956, has resulted in the present deterioration of standards in the public service.

The silver lining in this dark political cloud, in 1956, as far as St. John's was concerned, was the appointment of Hon. Maitripala Senanayake as Cabinet Minister of Transport & Works and also the election of Mr. C. Suntheralingam and Mr. S. J. V. Chelvauayagam as members of Parliament in 1956.

Another cause for rejoicing lay in her sister school, Chundikuli Girls' College celebrating her Diamond Jubilee. Further, an Old Boy, Justice H. W. Thambiah was appointed a Commissioner of Assize. Another well known Old Boy, Kalaiarasu K. Cbornalingam produced a Tamil play "Demon Land', which netted a tidy sum for the College Building fund.

Among school activities, a new society, Manavar Manram, was formed, with the object of the study of Tamil Literature. This was formed on the initiative of the senior students, perhaps as a counter-balance to the Sinhala Only Policy, as was the case when voluntary teaching of Sinhala in the College was given up so as not to provoke a public outcry.

The College Cricket team which had struggled in the process of team building in 1954 and 1955, came back with a vengeance in 1956 remaining the only unbeaten side among Jaffna schools, winning 4 matches and drawing 4. Two members of this team, Skipper R. Navaratnam & M. B. J. Tisainayagam were selected to represent the Jaffna Combined Schools against a visiting Australian Schoolboys team when the Jaffna team narrowly failed to win, with rain interfering and drawing the match. R. Navaratnam scored a swashbuckling century against Christian College, Kotte which almost brought victory to St. John's after being in danger of defeat, the match ending with Kotte holding on for dear life,

The academic standards and examination results were very satisfactory, as were the achievements on the sports fields. Therefore the period which began with the euphoria of Independence, and extended up to the time when doubts and fears assailed the Tamils because of the Sinhala Only Policy, can be considered a period of rapid consolidation and progress. at. St. John's.








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