H.S De Silva of Royal Rugby Fame
It was shocking and saddening to hear of the demise at the age of 74 years of H.S., my friend, my classmate and my rugby captain. He was at our table at the last old Royalists Rugby Dinner. He appeared and behaved as a hale and hearty colleague. He did reach into his pocket, pull out a syringe to give himself a jab to keep his diabetes under control but then over the past few years that was not unusual.
H.S. was the eldest son of Mr. Sherman De Silva, the well-known and successful businessman, who owned and lived in a large home down Cambridge Place, barely a stone’s throw from College. H.S.’s mother was a very pleasant and nice lady who always set additional covers for lunch. Many of us made use of her generous hospitality. The food was excellent and her large family was always happy to have “gate-crashers” like us for lunch.
H.S. had an excellent career at Royal. In addition to his studies he was a house captain, a school prefect, the College first XV Rugby Captain in 1960 and Captain of Athletics in 1959. He still holds the record for the number of Bradby Shield matches he played against Trinity, which was a consecutive 10 matches over 5 years. This record was equalled recently but not broken. H.S. was hefty, tall, sturdy and physically fit. So was his younger brother, Lalith. With both of them as my props in the scrum, as the hooker, I had it quite easy.
H.S. was always a dedicated Royalist, rarely missed our annual 1952 group get-togethers and any rugby event.
On leaving school in the same year, both of us played for the first XV CR&FC side in the Clifford Cup Tournament. During this time, H.S. picked me up for rugby practices at Longden Place and dropped me back at my home in Colpetty in his Morris Minor. He always took a devious route to Longden Place, via Bullers Road and sounded the horn a couple of times before reaching the traffic lights. It took me a few days to realize that he was trying to attract the attention of his girlfriend, Neleeka, whom he married later on and with whom he lived happily ever after. Their two sons have done extremely well in their chosen professions, one in the U.S. and the other now back in Sri Lanka. H.S. and Neleeka adored their grandchildren, Isabella and Ariyana.
As a junior cadet, he was a sergeant of one platoon along with our mutual friend, J.B.C. De Silva, commanding the other.
After leaving school, H.S. stepped into his father’s shoes at Sherman & Sons and continued as its number 1 for many years during which time he was honoured by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce where he was elected Deputy Chairman, Vice Chairman and finally Chairman for the customary two years. As in school, his long tenure in the private sector was highly acclaimed.
Despite his very successful overall background, he was soft spoken and humble. He was a very pious Buddhist. He was a gentleman to his fingertips and an extremely good friend.
He leaves behind his loving wife, Neleeka, sons, Lavi and Janith, daughters-in-law, Rethu and Elizabeth and his grandchildren. We will all miss H.S. May he attain Nibbana. – Ken Balendra