Duncan
White, and the Returned Trinity Lion
For the 125th anniversary of Trinity College,
Kandy, The Old Boys Association published a 135-page commemorative volume
titled Memories of Trinity,
containing short pieces written mainly by old boys. Consisting mostly of
humorous anecdotes about teachers and students, the volume was edited by five
old boys, including Lakshman Kadiragamar, who also happened to be the President
of the OBA at that time. Kadiragamar also wrote the Foreword. The cover
depicted a water color painting by Stanley Kirinde of the Hantana peak seen
through the college chapel.
Kadiragamar also wrote a piece titled “The school we knew” for the volume, in which he recalled the visit of Duncan White, the Olympic silver medalist, an old boy of Trinity, to the school. This was in 1948. A holiday was declared, and a general assembly was held. White walked down the school hall, to quote Kadiragamar, “dressed in his Olympic blazer and grey slacks, the silver medal around his neck … The Principal made a speech, and then, … he took from his pocket and presented to Duncan White the Trinity Athletics Lion. Duncan White was speechless, visibly moved and tearful”.
The Lion had been awarded to White in 1938, when, still a
schoolboy, he had been selected to represent Ceylon at the Empire Game in
Sydney. Later, the Lion had been withdrawn over a disciplinary matter.
Kadiragamar wrote that “we felt the Lion in his pocket meant more to him than
the medal round his neck”.
The Trinity Lion is the most prestigious award a
sportsman can achieve at Trinity College, Kandy. Being a rugby school, most
Lions have been awarded to rugby players. Many cricketers, too, are Lions. The
very first Athletics Lion was Duncan White’s in 1938. Kadiragamar himself won
the Athletics Lion in 1948; like White, he was a hurdler. He captained Trinity
at cricket and also played rugby for the school.
On 4th February, 1948, when Ceylon’s
independence was proclaimed, four young men - Duncan White, Lakshman Kadiragamar, M.A.M. Sherrif and Oscar
Wijesinghe - representing the Burgher, Tamil, Muslim, and Sinhalese
communities, brought scrolls to Independence Square to be presented to Prime
Minister D.S. Senanayake.
As for the “disciplinary matter” that nearly cost Duncan White his Lion, I have no clue.
