“Trinity’s One And Only Triple Lion” – A response

I Suresh Ratwatte (son of late Sydney Ratwatte) refer to the article headline “Trinity’s One And Only Triple Lion” which appeared in The Sunday Leader of 18th April 2010. I wish to state that this article is factually incorrect and distortion of facts.

My late father Sydney Ratwatte was a triple Lion produced by Trinity College Kandy.

He won the Lion in the following sports

1. Boxing-1927 (at the age of 14 years)

2. Rugby-1931

3. Cricket-1932 and was awarded the best fielder’s prize (according to my father E.W.A Buultjans and B.A Wijewardena also won the lion with him).

I posses the triple Lion and I would like to invite Mr. Sharm de Alwis to call over and see for him self the facts without resorting to distort facts.

This is not the first that Mr. Sharm de Alwis had tried to defame my late father. When my father died in 1992 his body lay in state at the Trinity College hall as a mark of respect for a rare triple Lion and he was wearing the blazer with the triple Lion.

It took 18 years since my father’s death for Mr.Sharm de Alwis to write an article to the papers which is incorrect and distortion of facts like the Asgiriya Stadium.
Suresh Ratwatte

Sharm De Alwis Responds:

Mr. Suresh Ratwatte flirts with the truth when he says I have more than once defamed his late father. On the contrary, I have had high respect for Sydney Ratwatte who won his rugger Lion in 1931 and four years previously in 1927 he had won the Junior Best Boxer’s Cup at the Stubbs Shield Meet which is a precursor and only criterion to be awarded the Trinity Boxing Lion. And I have often lauded his achievements in print.

He writes of his father’s mortal remains lying in state at the Trinity Chapel “as a mark of respect for a rare triple Lion.” Many others before and after have had their mortal remains lying in state at the Trinity Chapel when members of the family have made a request.

He writes of my having distorted facts on the Asgiriya Stadium. Would he please revisit my memory with what I am supposed to have written?

In the course of his tirade Mr. Suresh Ratwatte descends to shards of  vigorous Mahiyawa rhetoric and for that I grieve that Trinity was in close proximity to the slums.
No Trinitian could aspire to the cricket Lion by virtue of the Bowling Prize and two knocks of 55 not out  Vs Wesley and 71 against STC over a three year period. Blackham Wijewardena and Eddie Buultjens who are named by Suresh Ratwatte as recipients of the award of the Lion had 7 and 5 bags of over 5 wicket hauls  and in the same period of Ratwatte’s three years had 50, 77 and 85 [BW] and 135, 105, 70, 92, 83, 55 and 65 [EB] Buultjens captained cricket for two years and Wijewardena took over the mantle when Buultjens declined the offer as he did not wish to equal Percy Maralanda’s record.

I am invited to see for myself SR’s triple Lion. The Trinity Archives in the formation of which I had a hand in assisting the late Lakshman Kadirgamar and my own mini-Trinity archives give a plethora of Trinity lore. The 1933 College magazine explicitly and conclusively mentions in its VALATE:

S. RATWATTE [Ryde]
*  Monitor
*  Matriculation Form
*  College Rugger Captain [Lion]
*  College Boxing Captain  [Lion]
*  College Sports
*  College Cricket Colours

This information is repeated in the other authentic publication, painstakingly compiled by Mr. Hilary Abeyratne to mark the 1st 100 Years of Trinity.

Although the display of the Lion awarded to any sport precludes the use of Colours given to another sport I have seen for myself  the deviation and I am privy to one who was awarded two Lions wearing one lion over the other when he presented himself to be interviewed by A Trinity Lionsman.