Sports and Recreation, I get into the Police

(Excerpted from the memoirs of Rtd. Senior DIG Police Edward Gunawardena)

Until the mid fifties there were no organized sports facilities for the youth of the village. However much pleasure was gained by young people particularly males by participating in community activities such as harvesting and threshing, thatching of roofs, New Year celebrations etc.

A remarkable feature of pleasant community living was the harmony in which Christians and Buddhists enjoyed the spirit of Christmas. For about three or four nights continuously Carol Singers from St. Mathew’s Church visited homes, irrespective of religious differences. There were other ad-hoc musical groups some even in fancy dress that visited homes and provided a few minutes of entertainment.

The heavily decorated carol cart that was annually organized by the Headman Lennet Ralahamy drew large crowds on the roads. This carol cart with singers who were well trained, even went up to Moratuwa and sang carols in competition with the Moratuwa carol singers. The support that Lennet Ralahamy received to organize this from even the Buddhists was indeed noteworthy.

Ang adeema and Polgeseema were keenly contested between adult groups known as the Udupila and Yatipila. These traditional contests took place annually and the venue was the Seeniduwa. Significantly the people who participated in these games belonged to the Udupila or Yatipila by birth, a tradition with obscure beginnings.

Villagers turned up in large numbers at Seeniduwa to cheer vociferously for either of the two “pilas” or sides particularly when Ang Adeema took place. What I remember most in this contest was the co-ordinated pulling of a rope, tug-of-war ‘style by the Udupila. This rope was tied to the top of a large columnar post made out of a trunk of a tamarind tree; and with every tug this post which was called the ‘Henakanda’ rocked forward giving a booming sound.

The rivalry between the Udupila and Yatipila was apparent only during this annual contest. There were no arguments or quarrels. It was such healthy rivalry that it resulted more in the promotion of friendship and cordiality than division or animosity. Indeed, it is the curse of party politics that has led to whatever friction that exists or erupts from time to time today.

Football comes to Battaramulla.

In the late forties my brothers and I were keen participants in sports at St. Joseph’s. My eldest brother Owen was a keen sprinter who was a member of the Josephian team that won the Junior Tarbet Cup competition at the Public Schools Athletics Meet when it was introduced for the first time. My brother Irwin was a keen pole vaulter. The coconut land presently occupied by the Maha Vidyalaya which was under my father’s control had sufficient open space for us to run freely. A jumping pit filled with sand and a crude vaulting box was constructed. A 75 yards track was also measured out.

Whilst practicing several track & field items we also started kicking a foot ball about amidst the coconut trees. It was a ball that my father purchased from Diana’s on Chatham St. It was of thick leather with an inflatable tube inside. The lacing of the leather cover was also made of hide. We little realized that this kicking about of a ball was to lead Battaramulla to football fame within three to four years.

Starved of recreation, particularly without a playground in the village, one by one children as well as adults began to join us in the evenings to play football. Even a young priest from Sudassanarama Temple that is on the adjoining land joined in kicking the ball about Leading citizens of the village, Edmund Caldera, Lennet Perera, the village headman, and Edward Rupasinghe also began to take a keen interest. Although Caldera did not play, the other two became keen players. For the first time the youngsters saw the Headman and Rupasinghe dressed in shorts playing with the youth enthusiastically.

By the mid-fifties the Nugegoda District Football league had been formed. The president of the league was that devoted football enthusiast, I.D.M. Van Twest, Superintendent of Police. The Nugegoda league was affiliated to the Ceylon Football Association (CFA) and Van Twest was also a Vice President of the CFA.

There were about six or seven clubs from Maharagama, Kotte, Kalapaluwawa and Rajagiriya affiliated to the Nugegoda league. The most formidable teams were Cotta Park, Red Star and the Nugegoda Police. Red Star had that respected parliamentarian of Kotte the late Stanley Tilakaratna as the patron.

At this time the enthusiasm of the footballers at Battaramulla was very high and they were all eager to play competitive football. However, what was lacking was a formal organization. My brother Irwin was playing for the Colombo University under Peter Ranasinghe. I was playing for Peradeniya. My eldest brother Owen who was a law student enjoyed the game and my younger brother Aelian had the makings of an excellent centre-forward.

P. P. de Silva who was a young engineer at Walkers, Tillekeratne of the Inland Revenue Dept, his brother-in-law Nihal of the Prisons, Leslie Weerakkody who was an engineering student in the University, Jayasena, Munidasa and Premadasa who was the lift operator in the New Secretariat Building formed the backbone of a playing side. Lean and wiry Jayasiri and Muin, a young Malay boy, were daring forwards.

It was in this backdrop that all the football enthusiasts of Battaramulla met one Sunday morning in 1955 under the shade of a large jak tree in the land that we played on. I was on vacation. So was my brother Irwin. The purpose was to form a Football Club and formulate a constitution. With no controversial issues and the camaraderie that existed, the meeting was concluded within hours.

A proposal that the club be named ‘Winger’s Sports Club’ made by me was unanimously adopted and a constitution drafted then and there accepted by all present. Edmund Caldera, Lennet Ralahamy, Edward Rupasinghe, Oliver Almeida and Tony Blake were the architects of the constitution. With my basic knowledge of constitutional law gathered at the lectures of Prof. A.J. Wilson I was able to provide the finishing touches. Edmund Caldera, a senior officer of Ford Rhodes and a respected elder of the village, was unanimously elected The President of the Club.

With a unanimously adopted constitution embodying the basic principles necessary and with a set of office bearers who were all honourable and reputed gentlemen, before a month lapsed Wingers Sports Club was admitted to the Nugegoda Football league.

Within a short space of less than two years Wingers had become a popular outfit drawing large crowds whenever they played. In 1957 captained by my brother Aelian, Wingers went on to beat the much fancied Red Star and Cotta Park and qualify to meet the Nugegoda District Police in the league final.

If I remember right this match was played on a Sunday at the Mirihana Police Grounds. The outer fringes of the grounds were decorated with colourful bunting; and with music relayed from a public address system a carnival atmosphere prevailed. By 4 p.m. large crowds had gathered all round the grounds needing uniformed police to keep the crowd from entering the playing area. The arrival of the chief guest, Osmund de Silva, the Inspector General of Police accompanied by I D M Van Twest, Superintendent of Police, was greeted with crackers.

When the two teams lined up, Wingers in red and yellow jerseys looked smarter than the police team dressed in blue. Police with two or three national players were the favourites. When Mantas, the referee, blew the whistle for the commencement of the game there was a roar from the crowd.

In the tenth minute a sharp drive from midfield by Tillakaratne took the police goalie by surprise. Wingers led from this point onwards until the break. Police played far more aggressively in the second half and equalized through a penalty goal. With a one all draw imminent and about a minute to go P.P. de Silva started dribbling the ball solo from midfield and tapped the ball past the police goal keeper. Wingers had become the Nugegoda District Champions; and the toast of the village of Battaramulla.

The Wingers Football Club had by this time become the foremost social organization in the village. Well organized and with a highly disciplined and honourable membership ‘Wingers’ was able to provide leadership to village community activities such as the weeding and cleaning of the cemetery, organizing musical shows with the Talangama Police, and the removal of salvinia that had invaded the paddy fields. The strengthening of cordiality, goodwill and camaraderie among the youth of the village was indeed the lasting contribution of Wingers. Even today the few core members of Wingers who are living meet often to reminisce the glory days of the Club.

The tragic ending of Wingers as an active organization came about with the waning of enthusiasm of the football enthusiasts resulting from the loss of its playing field and meeting place. With the takeover of this land by the Education Department and the development of the Maha Vidyalaya it became the preserve of the school and declared out of bounds for village activities. All the efforts of Winger’s to use the grounds were of no avail. The greater tragedy is that this playing field is used only once or twice a year for a sports meet or Avurudu Celebration and even the children of the school are not seen using this land regularly for cricket, football or athletics. This ‘dog in the manger’ policy of the education authorities sounded the death knell of an admirable village organization.

Personally I have good reason to remember and cherish this wonderful organization. December 24, Christmas eve 1957, is a date deeply etched in my memory. At about 7 a.m. when I drowsily looked for the Ceylon Daily News which was delivered to our home every morning, I found it shredded to bits by a garden fowl that had settled on it. It was common to see our free run hens lay eggs at all places including chairs and even the beds.

It was indeed typical of an all male home of a motherless foursome of teenage brothers living with their father and grandfather. I had missed the good news that this paper had for me.

However, a few moments later there was a virtual invasion of our home by a large group of members of the Wingers Club led by Walter Rupasinghe, the younger brother of Edward Rupasinghe. The others in the group included Oliver and Ratna Almeida, Marshall, Jayasena, Jayasiri, W.A.C. Perera, P.P. de Silva and Victor Henry. They were all smiles and shouting ‘Congratulations’ all the way.

When my brothers and I expressed surprise, Walter asked me, ‘Did you read the good news in the Daily News? I then showed them the newspaper that was in shreds. But they had brought a copy along. In the front page one of the headlines read, ‘Three New Probationary ASP’s.’ The text read as follows:

“The Public Service Commission has announced the selection of the following three candidates to be appointed as Assistant Superintendents of Police in order of merit: Mr. S.D.E.S Gunawardena, Mr. P. Mahendran and Mr. E.S.R. David.

We all had a sumptuous breakfast of hoppers, String hoppers, sambol and plantains. All this had been brought by the crowd to celebrate the occasion. And then it was back to routine — football until the sun became too hot. Such was the wonderful camaraderie among the membership of Wingers.

I entered the Police Training School Kalutara on the 15` February 1958. Sometime before this date, the Wingers organized a formal reception for me at the residence of Mr. Edmund Caldera who was the President of the Club. Respected citizens of the village too had been invited. It was indeed an evening of music and fun. Several speeches were also made. Many of those present expressed surprise that a young man of 23 had become an Assistant Superintendent of Police.

The highest ranking officer that most of them had seen or heard of was Sub-Inspector V. T. Dickman who was the Officer-in-charge of Welikada Police Station. Battaramulla then came under the Welikada Police. The memento that was presented to me that night was a Gold Capped Parker 51 set. I still have the pen in good condition.

The guest artiste to keep the musical show alive on this occasion was Police Sergeant Wally Bastians. But this reputed baila singer did not know what the occasion was. I was to meet him later when in 1959 1 was attached to Colombo West as the understudy to R.A. Stork who was the ASP of the area. Wally Bastian then was a live wire in the Colombo Traffic Circus that conducted hilarious Street Shows to promote good road manners. It is a great pity indeed that a popular artiste of the caliber of this great exponent of baila could not live to see the cassette and DVD age.