Ryde House Hostel.

   There were three generations of our family who proudly donned the black and yellow striped jersey of Ryde House. Of them all, my fathers' stay at the hostel was the longest and the full extent of his bide saw him achieve many a credit to his honor. By this time if you ponder over the clueless puzzle why I publish my material in abridged intermittent paragraphs I have a few good reasons to unravel the predicament. Firstly, my darn Wi-Fi has a speed of slower Kbps which hinders the progress of my work and secondly, and yet reciprocal with the first adversity most of my photographs that I've converted into its digital equivalent are deposited in sites to which I have no further access. These photographs are essential in the composition of my storyline.  

Ryde House crest with its motto - Finis origine pendent - The end depends upon the beginning. 

The bull skull has been hanging on the upper dorm wall long before I took my lodging in Ryde. 


 Reverend Robert William Ryde a scholar of Jesus College Cambridge was a Classics Master at Monkton Coombe school in Somerset, England. He was a minister of religion and member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). His dispatch to Ceylon was to take up the post of Vice Principal at Trinity College, Kandy. In 1895, he assumes duties of his newly appointed post. But leaves college in 1899 for the post of Principal at St. John's College, Jaffna. In 1900 on his revisitation, he was appointed at the helm of Trinity succeeding his predecessor Mr. Napier-Clavering. His period at this post spanned only two years after which he called it quits to his teaching career. But the impression he left on the students of both schools was a lasting one, as a result he was made the President of the St John's College Old Boys' Association in 1904, and vis-a-vis of the Trinity OBA (Colombo) in 1908. In the midst of his calling for ministerial duties at St. Andrews Church in Anuradhapura he was taken ill. Rev Ryde died in Colombo in 1909. In honor of this fine educationalist whose loss was felt deeply in Trinity, the OBA of Colombo has since been presenting The Ryde Gold Medal to the best all round boy in his name.

Rev. Robert William Ryde.


 Ryde House Committee of 1957.

Office Bearers. (Term 1).



Standing from Left to Right: W.B.Dissanayake (Assistant Secretary), S.L.Ekanayake (Vice President), G.S.Wattegedara (Treasurer), W.R.Breckenridge (President), T.M.Adhihetty, (Secretary), S.Pathmanathan (Librarian), J.K.L. Pereira (Senior Committee Member).

Squatting from Left to Right:

C.B.Dissanayake and C.De Silva. (Junior Committee Members).

Absent - N.Maralande. (Senior Committee Member)
                                          

Group photograph of the hostelers in 1957. The Senior Boarding Housemaster Mr. Hilary Abeyratne is standing on extreme left wearing a white uniform.


Following is a short biography on Mr. Hilary Abeyratne and his life at Trinity. The inscription also briefly highlights on his academic achievements after leaving college.

 Mr. Hilary Abeyratne was the house master of Ryde for more than two decades. He was a gifted cricketer and his fiery knock of 111 against Royal in 1941 stood as a record for 27 yrs as the fastest century scored by a Trinitian. As a school master he was the designated as Prefect of Games and as coach and mentor, he had helped Trinity produce many talented Rugby players. His aspiration had prompted him to explore his faculty to broaden his responsibilities to his students and as a result, he leaves for England to follow a course of study in his selected field of western history. After the completion of his studies he once again joins the Trinity staff as a fully fledged tutor committed to impart his knowledge to his pupils. Mr. Abeyratne was instrumental in introducing social studies to the college curriculum. In fact, Trinity was the first school in the Island that taught the subject in its syllabus. The crowning of his academic achievements was the completion of his tertiary education at the University of Ceylon in Peradeniya. After which, for a brief period of time, he takes up the mantle of vice principal but had declined his offer for the post of principal. Incidentally, in 1955 he had got married to a beauty queen from the hill capital whose name is Nandani Pelpola. The undermentioned, are excerpts from the Rydite magazine published in 1957 on his marriage to the lady.

Excerpt 01.


Excerpt 02.
His service at Trinity spanned three decades until his migration to Australia in 1975. He was a Trinity Lionsman in cricket, a colorsman in Rugby, a Ryde Gold Medalist and some time later in life he was awarded the General Lion the highest insignia bestowed on any Trinitian for excellence. Mr. Hilary Abeyratne passed away in Melbourne, Australia at the age of 89.    

Mr. Hilary Abeyratne in the prime of life.


                   




An article written by my father to the Rydite magazine published in March 1957.


Ryde House trip to Adams Peak in 1956 - 1957.

The Rydites were on their way back and had to stopover for lunch.

Seated from Left to Right: C.Rajasingham, W.Balthazaar, G.S.Wattegedara, and N.K.Warakaulle.
Ryde House batch of '94.

Standing from Left to Right in front row: Dinesh Wattegedara, Amalan Sattiamoorthy, Dillan Mitchell and T.S.K. Senanayake.
Second row: Jeevan Ranathunga, Brinsley Benjamin and Mohamed Ali.
Third row: Tissa Dissanayake and Darshana Senanayake.


Few of my contemporaries from Ryde House. Location: Upper dorm. Our Senior Housemaster Mr. J.W.K.P. Gunawardena is standing in front row wearing white shirt and trouser. He was also our Botany and Zoology teacher. 
Mr. Gunawardena is a person with timid comportment. I've never seen him raise his voice in class. Even when the chatterboxes idled away oblivious to his scholarly lecture, a latecomer playing truant made petty excuses that ended up in bantering laughter or when the annoying trouble maker caused a tumult in class. Into this degrading category, I for sure would own up as one. His voice was sober and subdued. His white attire that never changed come season or occasion made the boys surreptitiously address him with the caricature namesake of 'station master'. A term explained more precisely in its all-encompassing meaning of railway station master. 
                        Ryde House hostel with its main entrance to the lower dorm.

( P.S. A computer error caused by an external bug erased my previous post on Ryde House).

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