In 1917 Mr. T. H. Crossette, M. A., who had been Head-master and Vice principal of St. John's College for eight years, accepted the Principalship of the Manipay Hindu College. His departure from St. John's was considered by all, the most serious disaster that could have occurred to the School at this juncture. During his tenure of office he had closely identified himself with all the activities. of the College ; and had loyally and heartily co-operated with the Principal in raising the College to the high position it had reached among the schools of the island. The Vice-Principal's onerous duties of organisation and administration ..now devolved partly again upon the shoulders of Mr. Thompson and partly upon Mr. F. H. V ' Gulasegaram, B. A., Who was appointed Head-master. Though advancing in Years and gradually declining in health, Mr. Thompson threw himself into the work more vigorously than ever and spared no pains to maintain the high position the School had reached.

Anxiety with regard to his three sons at the Front, added to the exacting demands of the College work, did much to enfeeble the health of Mr. Thompson. He was therefore advised by the doctors to go for a sea voyage and thus recoup his health. A trip to Singapore was decided upon as it would be beneficial both to Mr. Thompson and to the College. In due course the visit to the Strait.. was paid, and a great welcome was accorded to the Principal by many Old Boys and friends, who gave generously towards the College Extension Fund.

These gifts included the gift of a piece of land from Dr. J. M. Handy, the proceeds of the salt of which were used for the erection of a new dormitory for the senior boarders, built in honour of the Rev. G. T. Fleming, Principal of the College from 1880 to 1889. This house is now known as the Fleming House.

Another interesting and valuable addition to the College this year was the Twynam Museum collection. Sir William Twynam, the donor of the collection, had entered the Ceylon Civil Service in 1845. After holding appointments in different parts of the Island, he went finally to Jaffna as Government Agent in 1869. There he held the chief Government post for twenty-seven years, till he retired in 1896. Commonly known as , The Rajah of the North," he earned ., the love and respect of all the people of the Province which he served. Even after his retirement he continued to live at Jaffna, constantly devoting himself to all public interests, till he died on the 12th of March, 1922, at the great age of ninety-four. St. John's always had a prominent place in his affections, and it was to Mr. Thompson as a personal friend that at this time he gave his splendid collection illustrative of the products and arts and crafts of Jaffna and the Northern Province. It was arranged that, though belonging to the School, the Museum should be, open to the public, and its contents be under the joint trusteeship of the Government Agent of the Northern Province, the Maniagar of Jaffna and the Principal of the College. Mr. Thompson at once set to work to raise funds for the building. Half the amount required (Rs 6580) was raised within a few months, and the foundation-stone of the Museum wag laid by Miss Nora Twynam on the 22nd of March, 1918.

This year 1918 saw one or two changes on the Staff of the College. Mr. J. W. N. Hensman, B. A., Advocate, who had left in 1914, came back again, fully convinced that teaching was to be his life-work, and not law. He . was a keen mathematician and an ardent lover of English literature. The Rev. S. Somasundarm, B. A., who had been connected with the College for a long time as Senior mathematical master, and latterly as Dean, left St. John's to take up an appointment as Superintending Missionary of the Wanni district. The loss sustained y his departure was indeed great. The College had counted it a privilege to have in its midst a man of such high character and mental capacity.

Mr. Thompson's inability to cope with the work owing to ill-health told immensely upon the College. There was a general weakness felt in all departments. The Cambridge results were not satisfactory and on the athletic side too the College failed to keep up its record of the past few years. Then came the early part of the year 1919, gloomier still with the Principal's sudden attack of enteric fever. It was noised abroad that it would be long before Mr Thompson would be well enough to take up again the management of the College. After many week's illness Mr. Thompson was finally advised by the Doctors to go to England in March on long leave. Great preparations were made by the masters and boys of the College to give him a fitting farewell, but the Doctors stated emphatically that the Principal's health would not permit of a public demonstration; and so, a few hours before he left for the station, a small group assembled in the drawing room of the Principal's bungalow, when the Senior Prefect of the College read an address, which in plain words expressed the great work Mr. Thompson had done for the College. Mr. Thompson, in spite of his weak state of health, replied very briefly and very kindly, and expressed the fullest hopes of being able to come back to St. John's. Upon his return to England his health steadily improved, but his repeated request to be allowed to return to Ceylon had to be finally refused by his doctors towards the close of 1919. Some months later he was able to take up light work as Chaplain to an Infirmary and Home for the Aged near Liverpool. Subsequently he received the permanent appointment of Rector of Regis, Stony Stratford.

Writing of Mr. Thompson and his work at St. John's, Mr. T. H. Crossette says : "The Rev. Jacob Thompson had charge of St. John's College for nineteen years, from 1900-1919. 'This period may be characterised as the era of consolidation and expansion. Consolidation and expansion generally do not go together. The enthusiasm for expansion generally has a tendency to overlook the necessity for consolidation. That these two factors should have worked together is due to the peculiar genius of Mr. Thompson, who, while his eyes were wide open to the great possibilities in front of him, did not lose sight of the fact that intense and aggressive reform internally must go hand in hand with this idea of a wider vision. Mr. Thompson was gifted with a keen sense of foresight into the future. He realised that the college had come to stay and would stay to grow. He was also a great opportunist. He never let go an opportunity without turning its tide into the stream of the College's progress. The death of the Rev. C. C.Handy who was held in great reverence, esteem and affection by the Old Boys and friends of the College, roused the wish to honour his memory by the extension of the college playground which has contributed so much towards the corporate life of the College students. The great love of the late Dr. J. M. Handy both to the College and to his brother, to whom he owed so much in life, was the opportunity for the gift of the Handy library, which has contributed so greatly to the intellectual life of the college. Mr. Thompson realised more than his predecessors that .

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

He was, above all, a man of very wide vision. He believed in his work. He had the confidence and the faith that the funds necessary for the work would be forthcoming. He launched into building operations without the necessary funds, but realised that he could complete the work without any debt. When the plan for the present Robert Williams Hall was laid, the College was heavily in debt, and still he had the courage of his conviction that the hall was necessary and would be completed. The first plan of this building was laid on the estimate that we should raise Rs. 2,000, but the building was completed within a year at a cost of Rs. 15,000, and completed without any debit balance. The buildings in the premises of the College were so transformed during his time that Old Boys who visit the College are hardly able to recognise the old place. Mr. Thompson would have preferred to have his monument erected either in the College premises or next to it, but the state of his health compelled his separation; he has left behind a great many monuments which will proclaim to the future generation the great and glorious work accomplished by him in this place.

A few months before the departure of Mr Thompson, the Rev K.C.McPherson M.A. (Keble College,Oxford) of Trinity College,Kandy, was appointed Acting Principal. He immedietely set to work with vigour and affected several valuable and through-going changes in the college. He directed his attention to every detail of the work, and there was nothing that he did not put his hand to.

One of the College activities on which Mr. McPherson laid great emphasis was the Social Service work. With the knowledge and experience he had gathered at Kandy he was able to drive home to the boys what Social Service meant. Having thus created an interest in the boys for service, he vigorously put into practice what he preached, The enthusiasm shown by the boys for this movement was manifest in the way they set out to the slums in Karaiyoor, and to the hospital, to help the needy and sick. For securing funds for the up-keep of the Social Service Union, the masters and boys of the College staged the Tamil play entitled "Mamohara," in August 1919. This was the first time that a Tamil play had been staged in the College, and it was pronounced a great success by one and all. The Acting-Principal, commenting on the performance, says : "The piece was, in my opinion, remarkably well acted. The actors knew their parts well and, which is very much harder, they lost consciousness of themselves in the enthusiasm over their parts. There was a sense of reality in all they did, and no atmosphere of strain or forced effect. The dresses were beautiful, and looked graceful in spite of the masculinity of the figures. Indeed it was difficult to recognise the identity of the actors, so well had they suffered the change of character which they had assumed."

Another innovation in St. John's during the short regime of Mr. McPherson was the introduction of the Cadet Corps. This was the first time that Jaffna boys and the Jaffna public had had such an organisation in their midst. The Acting Principal worked strenuously to pull into shape the raw material that was the only material then procurable in St. John's. At the end of a few months, Major Evans, who inspected the Corps-which had not yet donned military uniform congratulated the Corps and Mr. McPherson on the splendid progress they had made within a few months of its inception. Drill was not confined to the Cadets only; every boy in the College was forced to attend drill, which till then had been optional and very irregularly carried on, and henceforth regular classes were held.

Mr. McPherson, in spite of the heavy task before him within the College, zealously strove to revive the then defunct Old Boys' Association. A meeting of the 0. B. A. was held on the 2nd of August when many distinguished Old Boys were present. A day's programme of sports was carried out, followed by a public meeting. The Association was thus revived with new life and strength. St. John s was not destined to have Mr. McPherson's energy and enthusiasm for long. In October, 1919, he was rather suddenly called away to fill the important post of Chaplain to the Bishop of Madras.

The gap created by the abrupt departure of Mr. McPherson could not at once be filled by another European missionary, as the Ceylon Mission was very short of men at this time. Accordingly, Mr. A. M. Nathinel B. A., who had been connected with the Staff for a long time, was appointed Acting-Principal. Mr. Nathaniel was one who had won the respect of all masters and boys alike by his sympathy towards all, his winning manners and persuasive tongue. The time when he assumed duties was at the most important part of the School year, important in view of the fact that all the Inspections and examinations were due, the annual Government Inspections of the Secondary and Elementary Schools, the School Promotion Examinations, and the Cambridge and London University Examinations. Mr. Nathaniel steered the College successfully through them all.

A gloom was cast over the College at the close of the year by the death of one of its most beloved masters, Mr. J.W. N. Hensman. His unassuming ways and his patient and ever pleasant disposition had been always a source of great influence for good with both colleagues and boys.

This was a critical time for the College; for much mischievous talk was afloat that the School was bankrupt and was about to be closed. IVIR. Nathaniel, however, was able to lead the College safely, in spite of almost insurmountable difficulties and
disheartening circumstances, into a new and brighter year. A number of new and efficient men joined the Staff, and the attendance, that had dropped considerably at the end of the previous year, improved. The Rev. L. J. Gaster, the Acting-Principal of Trinity College, Kandy, had occasional supervision over the educational side, and the Rev. J. W. Ferrier, the Acting-Secretary of the C. N4. S., over the finances of the College. Some of the College activities, however, could not receive the attention they required. In cricket, lack of funds meant lack of sufficient and good materials, and this lessened much of the enthusiasm that had been usually shown by the boys in previous years. Instead of cricket therefore, the boys took up keenly some of the national games, such as, Kilithaddu". The Social Service work too suffered greatly through neglect.


The rumour of the appointment of a permanent Principal was in the air, but nothing was definitely known for several months. It was now this man, and again another. Once or twice preparations wore oven afoot for a reception, but were dropped in despair.