St. Aloysius College, Galle - Staff Trip to Jaffna 1959
In 1959, there were many young old boys on the college staff. Among them were S. A. Perera, H. Wimalasundera, B. Wijesinghe, L. Premaratne, D. Alles, B. Ferreira, & several others, whom I cannot now remember.
Towards the end of the term Fr. Peiris, the Principal, summoned us for stencilling the question papers & we did so on the ground floor corridor of the Father' residence directly supervised by Fr. Peiris. We were given short intervals to relax, & whilst we were having a cup of tea together, someone suggested that we do a trip to Jaffna during the holidays. The idea caught on & it did not take long for many of us to agree.
The College had a School Bus, which could accommodate about 20 persons comfortably. Our request to hire the bus for a trip to Jaffna was approved by the Rector, Fr. Morelli & the trip was planned meticulously, with S. A. Perera playing the lead role. He also contacted a number of his friends in Jaffna.
The senior teachers did not join us, but they too contacted several persons in Jaffna & requested them to assist us. The trip to Jaffna was planned to take 4 days & we started a few days after the school closed for the term holidays.
The first day was fully devoted to travelling, because we sometimes stopped on the way to see places of interest, We could not reach Jaffna but spent the night at the premises of a church on the way to Jaffna. I cannot now remember the name of the church.
On the 2nd day morning we reached Jaffna, & were met by one our contacts, who provided us with a delicious breakfast. We thanked him & began our tour of Jaffna but cannot now remember the order in which we visited the various places. We stayed at St. Patrick's college Jaffna, for two nights.
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One of the first things that we noticed in Jaffna was the number of Austin cars on the road; most of them were A40s, & a good number were Austin Cambridge cars. There were Morris Minors & Oxfords too. https://www.dailynews.lk/2023/10/04/featured/151793/golden-era-of-classic-cars-fading-into-the-northern-sunset/ Courtesy Dilshan Joseph
The places visited on the 2nd & third day in Jaffna were as follows:
Jaffna Fort
One of the first places we visited was the Jaffna
Fort. The Portuguese had built this fort originally, just as in the case of the
Galle Fort, & the Dutch had expanded both forts after they took over from
the Portuguese. The Jaffna Fort however was smaller than the Galle Fort &
built some years later. We noticed that the entrance to Jaffna Fort was
similar to the entrance at Galle Fort as shown below:
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| L. Entrance to Jaffna Fort R. Entrance to Galle Fort |
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| Jaffna Ramparts |
Courtesy : https://pulse.lk/everythingelse/celebrating-yalpanam-a-journey-through-jaffnas-rich-legacy/
https://www.thehistoryhub.com/jaffna-fort-facts-pictures.htm
We had seen the modest Public Library in Galle
Fort, but the Jaffna Public Library was an imposing one with a wide selection
of historical & modern-day books. We spent some time there. It had started
in a small building as a private project of an individual but as realization
dawned that it had to serve a public purpose, Jaffna philanthropists had contributed to add new wings to the original
building.
It is unfortunate that this building & its valuable contents were burned
down in 1981.
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| L. Jaffna Library R. Galle Library |
The town was much bigger than the Galle town & seemed to be more orderly. The shops / buildings were also bigger. We were fortunate to meet a Very Important Person in his office in Jaffna, & were served tea & biscuits. What amazed us was his simplicity & humility.
Atchuvely Tholagatty Ashram
The high point of our tour to Jaffna was our visit to the Tholagatty farm in Atchuvely, 20 km from Jaffna. It was here that we received the warmest welcome, because the Rosarean nuns there were a sect of the Roman Catholic Church & from the name of the school bus they at once recognized that we were from a Roman Catholic school.
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| Tholagatty Ashram |
We were shown Nelli trees & grape vineyards for
the first time, & the Sisters were kind enough to show us how the Nelli
& grape juice were made.
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| L. Entrance to Tholagatty Farm R. Nelli Trees |
We were also briefed on the history of the Rosarean mission & about the priest from Jaffna who started making Nelli juice for the first time, about 25 years earlier.
His story can be accessed here: https://www.elanka.com.au/spirituality-taste-and-labour-the-story-of-jaffnas-nelli-crush-by-d-s-joseph/
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| Courtesy Tholagatty Website : Today's Products |
Atchuvely Sea Beach
After the visit to Tolagatty Farm, we were directed to a place in Atchuvely Beach for a sea-bath. Here we were also offered fresh palmyrah toddy, which we tasted for the first time. Of course, many of us had not even tasted coconut toddy.
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| Sea Bath at Atchuvely Beach & Sip of fresh Palmyrah Toddy |
Delft Island
On our visit to Delft Island we saw for the first time, a herd of wild horses or ponies. We were surprised to hear that they lived in the wild & wondered why, of all places, they were found only in this area. We were told that these animals have been living here, from colonial times. Read more about Delft Island here:
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/100919/Plus/plus_01.html
Wild Ponies of Delft Island
Courtesy Smithsonian Magazine
https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/detail/wild-ponies-at-delft-island-sri-lanka-nion-d4-nikon-600mmf4-140s-iso200-f11/
Taken in 2013 by Lalith Ekanayake
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| Baobab Tree |
We were in for another surprise. This was a tree with a massive trunk, known as a baobab tree, as seen in the picture.
Religious Places of Worship
Among the religious places of worship, we visited were: the Hindu & Buddhist temples in Nagadeepa after a boat ride, the Nallur Kovil, the Madhu Shrine etc. We learnt of the religious significance of these places of worship.
On the return journey from Nagadeepa we had a minor scare when the boat engine stalled & we were drifting, but the mechanic on the boat soon repaired it .
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| Nallur Kovil |
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| Nagadeepa Kovil & Vihare |
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| Madhu Church |
Food
We looked forward to tasting Jaffna food & we had plenty of opportunities to do so. During our stay we really enjoyed the food, whether it was at a home of a well-wisher or at a wayside restaurant. We also tasted kotta kilangu , palmyrah jaggery, Jaffna mangoes, grapes, a variety of sweets & of course, thosai, idly & masala vadey. etc.
Farming Community
On the way to places of interest, we also stopped by to speak to farmers working in the fields. Everywhere, there were people who could respond to us in English. Some could even speak a little Sinhala. They were extremely polite & simple people.
Schools
We passed by many of the bigger & well-known schools in Jaffna & noted that they were second to none in Colombo or Galle & certainly greater in number than in Galle.
Other Places of Interest
We also visited the Talaimannar Pier.
Conclusion
This trip was undertaken in 1959, three years after the 1956 riots, which were anti-Tamil in Colombo & Gal oya Valley & anti -Sinhalese in Batticaloa. However, we were not apprehensive at all about undertaking this trip & everywhere we went in the North, we were welcomed warmly by the ordinary people. There was no hostility at all. One thing we missed was a visit to one of the Sinhala entrepreneurs in Jaffna, & there were many at the time.
SAC
had a few Tamil speaking students, but none of them, if I am not mistaken, were
Jaffna based.
We did have a student from Batticaloa, & that was Royle Barthelot, who had a commanding personality & a stentorian voice. Dr. Michael Roberts calls him the doyen of cheer leaders under whom Percy Abeysekera learnt the trade. He was an athlete, excelling in Throwing the Discus & Putting the Shot. Royle is no more, but two tributes paid to him are appended below at the end of this article.
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| Roy Vanderputt |
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| Norah Roberts |
Re the Galle Library, it must be mentioned that its Librarian from British times for nearly 40 years was another accomplished sister of Dr. Michael Roberts. She was Norah Roberts, author of "Galle, As Quiet as Sleep". Read a review of the book here: https://thuppahis.com/2017/07/29/galles-eternal-charm/
Our trip to Jaffna was an enjoyable one, made at a time when North South relations were much better.
K. K. de Silva
About Royle Barthelot
Royle's first love
Royle Barthelot, the mainspring of the Raddoluwa M.V. cricket and a much-respected member of the Bloomfield C and A.C. passed away last week after a brief illness.
An old boy of St. Aloysius College, Galle, his first love was cricket. He served Bloomfield in various capacities in the early '70s when the club emerged as a frontline team in the local scene.
He had the knack to get anything done with his charming ways. He looked into the player interest and as an administrator had the patience and understanding to even to get the better of his adversaries. In the end Bloomfield cricket rose to great heights during his stints with the club in the '70s. I was privileged to have him as one of my hardworking members in my committee. There was nothing impossible to him and left no stone unturned. The likes of him are hard to find, and a great loss to the game especially to the youngsters in Raddoluwa. He got the experience at Bloomfield and later on did much for Gampaha district cricket.
He served as an international umpire and acted without fear or favour. There may have been a human error, but no way cheating. As an umpire when he officiates a junior match (Schoolboys) he will assemble both teams before the match. Address them to adhere to the spirit of the game, abide by the laws and maintain a high standard of sportsmanship on and off the field. Put aside cricket, it was fatherly advice to the lads.
After retirement from active umpiring, he took up to coaching and Raddoluwa M.V. benefited from his knowhow. It was a dedicated effort by him after a humble beginning, that he was able to play in the top Div. I. Soft-spoken Royle served the Gampaha District C.A. for five consecutive years. He also served the district as its coach and unearthed hidden talent.
His demise will be felt by all and sundry - especially the young schoolboys in the area and his numerous friends where he was held in high esteem for his integrity and honesty. He even went out of the way to find cricketing gear for the needy schools through his old schoolmate Harry Solomons, who is the director of the Kingsgrove Sports Centre in Sydney.
Put aside his services for the promotion of the game, his community service for the have-nots will linger in the hearts for a long time. He has left an indelible mark be it at Bloomfield or at Raddoluwa.
There was a big gathering at the General Cemetery, Borella, to give a fitting farewell to the "Patron Saint" of Raddoluwa Cricket.
"In the midst of life, we live in death."
Being a Christian, who lived a life of simplicity serving others in the name of God. May the Good Lord grant him eternal life and salvation!
(Shelley Wickremasinghe, President of Bloomfield C and A.C.)
Royle: 27 years with Bloomfield
Royle Barthelot, an ardent supporter of cricket, who hails from St. Aloysius Galle, has rendered yeoman service to the century old Club, Bloomfield C & AC for 27 years. At the start of his tenure, the club was perched on four wheels at Campbell Park.
Unlike today, Bloomfield, was struggling for their very existence. It was during this period Royle joined them in 1966. Along with personalities like late Hinton Gunaratne, C.A.P. Samarasekera, Terrence Perera, Bonnie Wijesinghe, D.P. Wickremaratchie and the present President, Shelley Wickremasinghe etc. who helped the club to surface.
An umpire cum cricketer, Royle, was a jack of all trades. He served as Ground Secretary from 1967 - '70 Cricket Secretary from 1970 - '84. During this period Bloomfield was in the forefront in the local cricket scene. Barthelot played a dynamic role as an official on and off the field. He gave all encouragement and support to achieve success. In 1980 - '81 they won the Div. I title; the Lakspray Trophy - 1982 - '83; and Div. II in 1981 - '82; and Div. III in 1970.
To the credit of Barthelot he spent much of his personal time ungrudgingly.
In 1990, Royle, was made an Hony. Life Member for the services rendered.
Though now retired from umpiring and leading a quiet life, Royle still continues to help the game among the youngsters at Raddoluwa M.V.
His contribution is immense. In collaboration with his old schoolmate Harry Solomons the Chairman of Kingsgrove Sport Centre, in Sydney, Australia, Royle was able to get some Cricketing gear, to be distributed among deserving schools.
Bernie Wijesekera
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