Sat Mag
Sir Ernest de Silva – the Laird of Ratgama
About seven miles to the north of Galle — the capital of Ruhuna, is the village of Ratgama. It is a historic village which is referred to in the Mahawansa and Mayura and Thisara Sandesa Kawyas.
It abuts the sea. The Galle-Colombo High Road runs across it. It has areas of surpassing beauty, with coconut palms and stretches of paddy fields and the placid waters of the Ratgama Lake.
Devapathiraja – the viceroy of King Parakrama Bahu IVth – had reigned in this village which was then Rajagama (meaning King’s village), later to become Ratgama.
Ratgama is also a village which has traditionally supplied warriors and weaponry, during the times of the Sinhala kings, and some of the Ratgama wasagama – names (surnames) like “Agampodi” means king’s bodyguard of soldiers or a regiment of warriors.
Among its main vocations are the coir industry, the fishing industry and agricultural pursuits.
Emanuel de Silva and Alice de Silva Gunasekera, on 26th November 1887, with the proverbial silver spoon in the mouth.
After his early education at Royal College, Colombo, where he excelled, both in studies and sports, he proceeded to England and entered Cambridge University, where there were students from elite families and eminent scholars from various countries in the world.
In 1912, he came to his Motherland in a blaze of glory as a Barrister-at-Law at the age of 25.
Before long he joined the select band of English Educated Barristers who devoted their lives (and their wealth) to win freedom for their Motherland.
He was also a planter and a wealthy land owner of large extent of lands running into acres. During the World War Two, some of the refugees, from Colombo, were accommodated in his Salava Estate.
He had a pleasing personality. His charm and simplicity won the affection of all those who came in contact with him. As an honest social worker and a phlonthrophist and his munificence knew no bounds contributing lavishly to many a worthy cause.
A great human being, he once declared that he derived immense satisfaction in helping those in distress.
Though he had no ambitions as a politician, he was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council is 1919.
In 1920, he founded the Devapathiraja College, the leading school at Ratgama, managing it and meeting all its expenses. That was 25 years before the Free Education Scheme.
It is said that the day after the foundation was laid, the stone was found missing. It was later discovered thrown to the sea which abutted the proposed school.
When Sir Ernest was told about it, he had merely said that it showed the high standard of illiteracy in the area and the need to expedite the opening of the school.
One day, in later years, the timepiece of the school was found missing and all the evidence pointed to a villager having stolen it. On hearing it, Sir Ernest had taken steps to supply every village home, in that area, with a timepiece.
Shri Jawaharlal Nehru and his family visited this college in 1929.
At the reception, held in their honour, Shri Nehru said “Ernest is a friend of mine who was with me at the Cambridge University. I am happy to see him engaged in serving the people.”
He was a popular turfite. The Governor’s Cup Day in 1927, at the Boosa race course, attracted easily the biggest crowd present at a meet of the Galle Gymkhana Club.
The scene was a spectacular one. The big enclosure was comfortably crowded, while thousands were present at the other enclosures and the hillsides studded with village folk, presented a setup seldom seen.
Lippia, Sir Ernest’s horse, with the rider Corkhill, won the race in splendid style and in record time, giving Sir Ernest his first Governor’s cup.
Of interest some names of horses at the time were; Goldon Day, Lady Canteen, Vin, Goodbye, Luck, Lily of the Valley, Slippery John, Come Soon, Cash Box, Miss Mount, Little Tom, Silly Billy.
He helped several sports bodies and was a keen spectator at cricket, football and tennis matches. He excelled as a billiard player at the Orient Club.
On the 1st of August 1938, he became the first Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon. This Bank catered to the needs of the Ceylonese in the agricultural, industrial and trade spheres, when most of the foreign Banks were reluctant to do so.
He was a renowned philatelist who had a rare collection of world stamps, as equal to those of King George the fifth and King George the Sixth, who were also reputed stamp collectors. He very willingly exhibited them to local and foreign philatelists, when necessary.
When a delegation of the Colombo Fort YMBA, led by Sir Cyril de Zoysa, walked into his gracious home Sirimathipaya, for the first donation of their fund, Sir Ernest greeted them cordially. The visitors then stated the nature of their visit. For a moment or two, Sir Ernest was lost in thought. Then rising to his feet, he went upstairs.
Returning a few minutes later with an envelope, he took out of it a simple postage stamp in a transparent protective wrapper.
“This is an old and rare Mauritius stamp,” he told the delegation. “Send it to H.R. Hamers, the leading stamp dealer in London, and ask them to sell it for you. Whatever the stamp fetches, is my donation to your fund”.
Trying not to show his disappointment (and disgust), Sir Cyril thanked Sir Ernest and he and his men took his leave.
A few weeks later, to everybody’s astonishment, Sir Cyril received a cheque from H.R. Hamers of London (in pounds sterling) which when converted came to 100, 142 rupees and 13 cents!
When the Government of the day decided to confer him a knighthood, he vehemently refused such honour. But, Sir Oliver was not prepared to take “no” for an answer. He organised two bus loads of villagers from his native village of Ratgama, who implored him to accept the knighthood, as he was worthy of that honour.
The newspapers of the 1st January 1946, highlighted the conferment of a knighthood to him in that year’s New Year Honours List.
Soon afterwards, a largely attended public reception was held to felicitate Sir Ernest, presided over by an erudite monk from the Siam Nikaya, who spoke glowingly of the wonderful qualities and the meritorious work of Sir Ernest, and wound up his oration by asking Sir Ernest to crown his good life by becoming a monk!
In the course of his speech, Sir Ernest the laird of “Ratgama” the outspoken man said “Your suggestion is a good one hamuduruwane, but despite all the wonderful things you said about me just now, you will never admit me to your Nikaya!”
(Cast divisions were rife in the community of monks at the time).
During World War Two, there were several German bhikkus at the famous island hermitage of Polgasduwa nestling on the placid waters of Ratgama Lake and they were interned under war regulations as enemy aliens. When the war was over, the British Imperial Government auctioned off this beautiful island. Sir Ernest de Silva bought it at the auction and gifted it to the German bhikkus who were meditating there.
Sir Ernest de Silva and Lady Evelyne de Silva were proud parents of two sons and four daughters. Lady de Silva, too hailed from a very wealthy family and was also a munificient patroness in her own right. A livewire of the Mahila Samithi Movement, she once served as a Senator.
On the 09th of May 1957, a grateful people came in flocks to “Sirimathipaya” to pay homage to a patriotic son of Mother Lanka!