Harry Solomons, FOG and Cricketing Philanthrophy Down South
Thank you Kingsgrove Sports, and you Harry, for your generosity towards the Foundation and SAC. Ed. ALOYSIAN
On his return to Galle Ashen was facilitated by the College.
While on the topic of College cricket it will be very appropriate for us to congratulate the SAC Cricket Coach Mr Malaka de Silva who has been elected as the General Secretary of the Galle Cricket Club.
Our congratulations and very best wishes Malaka. May you serve the club well. May you have many years of fruitful involvement in cricket in Galle and in particular as the coach of our beloved College.
Thuppahi, PS:
Harry Solomons was a boarder at St. Aloysius from the early 1950s and carried a bat around with him at free time. I still remember him by his nickname of “Hassett” … and thus inspired he went on to reperesent SAC at cricket and then migrated to Australia.
Lindsay Hassett at the Colombo Oval, 1953
Hassett practising in Colombo in 1938
Harry’s passion for cricket inspired him to form “Kingsgrove Sport” as an all-purpose sports equipment shop at Kingsgrove Rd, in the suburb of Kingsgrove. in Sydney. Steve & Mark Waugh were among the young teenagers who worked there at one point.
Harry is widely known in the cricketing world among all the visitng cricket nations but has kept his roots and priorities firmly on the ground –even as he has access to all the GREATS in the cricketing world. His support for his birthland has been consistent and unrelenting. Immediately after the 21/4 horror attack in Sri Lanka, in June 2019 he and his wife went on a holiday visit to the island and urged other people to support its peoples by perssiting with tour and travel.
Long Live, HARRY !
Remember him well. I played for Richmond when he was playing for Aloysius. Brilliant fielder. Good on ya Harry.