Responding to a Request from An Aloysian Schoolmate and Friend named Roberts, John de Silva, aka “Johnny,” provided these fascinating genealogical details…… Michael Roberts
UNIQUE FAMILY CONNECTIONS
I am not too sure if I had sent you details of where I came from! In other words, who were my parents and who were their parents. This is often a mundane Family Tree exercise and bears not much significance in the scheme of things. However, I feel that my family connections are unique when it comes to the Island of Sri Lanka.
We are familiar with the various racial groups that are/were Sri Lankan/Ceylonese. There were the predominant Sinhalese, then came the Tamils, next we have the Portuguese, Dutch and then the British. There were many combinations of these races through marriage. So, what has this got to do with me? I have the rare privilege of having all these races DNA running through me! Yes, I have Sinhalese, Tamil, Dutch and British/Irish blood in my veins and I bear a Portuguese surname which is yet another story.
Here is how this massive mixture came about.
My father, Ray, was born a Sinhalese because his father, John R., was a Sinhalese and a pure one at that. John R. descended from the Lindamulage Clan. John R. then marries Helena Blanche, nee McCarthy, whose parents were English on one side and Irish on the other.
Ray falls in love and marries Mary Immaculate (pet name Imsy), nee de Niese, whose parents are George Henry de Niese and Catherine Rebecca nee Puvirajasinghe of Jaffna. George Henry descended from Benjamin de Niese who came to Ceylon in the 1700s while working for the Dutch East India Company. Rebecca was of pure royal Tamil descent. She has a Royal blood line from the rulers in Jaffna. Her roots go back as far as the 1400s
What then am I?
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EDITOR’s RESPONSE: …. a Niyama Lankikayek.
the budding Johnny
OTHER THOUGHTS
John De Silva is standing on the extreme right facing in this picture of a successful team in 1956 led by Mohammed Anwer.
Johnny was our keeper and I have a vivid mental picture of his diving catch to his left when one of the Richmond batsman mishit an attempted hook. Our team pursued a scheme of LEG-THEORY conceived by Anwer and our coach in order to undermine the Richmond team. The theory worked wonders!
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An EMAIL NOTE from JOHN, 26 March 2025
You are right about that catch! I can still picture me appealing while I was flat on the turf! I recall your asking me if it was a fair catch. That was one thing we were very proud of: for, if we were not sure if the ball had hit the turf or not, we would shout ’no catch’.
Coincidentally, I just finished reading the life story of Douglas de Silva son of Charles and grandson of David de Silva. can send a copy of it to Johnny who may already have it. Also the article entitled ” the Henley House Boys” by the Racconteurs which appeared in a past issue of the Ceylankan journal refers to this family.
Enjoyed the script by John de Silva and his notable ancestry which by itself should make him unique in his personality. Was particularly impressed to read about the approach of the cricketers of yesteryear at SAC to ensure fairplay unlike the disgusting win-by-hook or bycrook approach being adopted presently.
Had a chuckle in noting that your coach schooled during the era of Larwood had adopted the Leg Theory at School level!!