The Braines of Ceylon/Sri Lanka: Scattered Siblings

Rosie, Bee, & Lucy at "Beehive"

Photo taken at Boralessa in the mid-1990s. Standing Bee, Teddy, & Lucy. Rosie is seated.

During school holidays the family would gather at home for a song and dance party to music from a Decca gramophone on H.M.V. records. The popular war songs were

“Kiss me good night Sergeant major”
“White cliffs of Dover”
“Oh my Darling Clementine”
“You are my sunshine”
“Roll out the barrel”
“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do”
“White Christmas”
“It’s a long long way to Tipperary”
“Pack up your troubles in your own kit bag and Smile, Smile, Smile”
“Good Night Irene, Good Night” and
“God Save The King”.

These were the songs the English soldiers and sailors sang when marching on the roads. We had a large Phillips valve radio that worked on battery and was used only to get BBC news regarding the war when Hitler was invading countries in Europe, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill was fighting the Battle of Britain and the Japanese were invading countries in Asia. Eventually, Hitler had to surrender to the allies namely Britain, Russia and the United States of America. Thereafter the United States dropped the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forcing the Emperor to surrender bringing to an end the cruel war in the East.

One by one my sisters were married and like birds on wings left the family nest at “The Meet” to marry partners of their own selection.

Mary to Quintin Wijesekara
Rosie to Marshall Thamel
Lucy to Martin Perera
Amy to Joseph Chelvaratnam
Alice to Ned Nicol
Kate to William Le Mottee and then to Mike Fuad
George to Rose Nicol
Bridget to Eddie Wambeek
Benjamin to Thelma Stevens
Theobald (Me) to Adline Fernie Beatrice Fernanado

Mary at "Pondside", her home. February 1977.

I cannot remember the marriages of my elder sisters since I was in the boarding and was allowed to go home only for very short periods of time

Sister Alice first left home to teach at a convent in Chilaw. Thereafter she worked as a nurse at Teldeniya hospital where she had met Ned Nicol. He used to visit our home in Boralessa with his guitar on weekends and we had a grand sing-song. Their wedding was during a rainy season followed by severe floods. To get to the church we had to wade waist deep in flood water to cross the Kochchikade bridge. He worked on a rubber estate in Aspokuna (near Kandy) where I spent my holidays sometimes. He was a fine gentleman and had three brothers Robin, Earl and Marny and a younger sister Rose. They were all a jolly crowd. Alice, now in her 90’s, lives in Bisbane close to her three daughters Maureen, Virginia, and Heather.

Sister Kate had met William Le Mottee who was a friend of Ned’s and owned an estate of rubber and cocoa at Kosambe, Teldeniya, which also had a large poultry farm. After living a few years on the estate and the birth of a baby girl Delphine, they moved into our house “Stanlodge” in Negombo to send the child to school. In a few years Kate got a divorce and married Mike Fuad who was a clerk at Trinity College. Mike was a keen sportsman and visited the estates where I worked to go on hunting trips. They have a son Donald who was also a keen hunter. They migrated to Australia some years back. Kate passed away a few years ago in Brisbane, where her son Don resides.

Sister Amy first met Joseph Chelveratnam when he as a student visited our home to learn English. They had met again when she was nursing and were married and lived at “Stanlodge”. They had seven children. Amy joined nursing and was last stationed at Ragama Hospital having risen to become Chief Matron. She was of immense help when my son Roy was admitted to Ragama Hospital for a major operation. Joseph passed away in Sri Lanka. Amy and the children migrated to Australia and she too passed away on 6th September 2000. All her children are in Australia. Only her son Lloyd keeps in touch with me.

Sister Lucy became a matron and had met Martin Perera a building contractor. They married and lived in his ancestral home at Kotahena. She was a jewel of a lady and was loved and respected by the medical staff who worked with her and the patients who came under her care. When she was matron at Dickoya hospital, she took me to spend my holidays with her. She has one daughter Charmaine, who now resides abroad. Lucy's last days were not happy and she also passed away in the mid-1990s.

By the mid1940s, only Bridget (Bee), my youngest sister, was at “The Meet” with mother and me. She became my favorite and we spent a number of happy years during my working period in Colombo until her marriage to Eddie Wambeek. He was the best of my brothers-in-law who also happened to be a friend of brother Benny at St Thomas College, Matale. He had been having an eye on Bridget who was then studying in the adjoining Convent of St. Agnes. Eddie was then a sergeant in the Army and very smart in uniform. After their marriage they were our regular visitors and we too visited them until Eddie had to go on transfer as a senior Public Health Inspector after the war. One incident fresh in my mind was when we visited them in Ranna, a village in the deep South of Ceylon, which I have recounted in an previous entry.

May, 1982. Eddie, Rose, Geo, and Teddy at Iriyagolla Estate, Kuliyapitiya

By now sister Rosie had her baby a girl Marie Flavian Antonnett who was left with us at Boralessa as Rosie was away teaching at Gampola. Bee helped a lot in bringing up Marie. I would sometimes relieve her by standing beside the cot until Marie fell asleep. The naughty thing would open her eyes wide and yell at the top of her voice. I would then place my hand over her mouth and eyes for a while but the moment I took my hands away she would yell again until Bee came back and put her to sleep. Marie was the first grand child my parents saw and was often taken to see her granddad in Negombo. She grew up between Bee and me. We would take evening walks with her along the railway line to the culvert where we sat for some time till it was dusk. I would then signal to planes flying overhead with my torch light in morse code wishing them V for victory and they would thank in morse and fly away. Bee now lives in South Harrow in the UK.

January 24, 1963. Bee and family on the eve of their departure (by ship) to the UK. Teddy, Lucy, & Amy are in the photo. Teddy's second son Roy, who passed away later that year, is seen in front of his father. Edmund, Yvonne, George, Rosita, and Anne and Bee's younger children can also be seen, along with Charmaine, Lucy's only child

Brother George had married Rose Nicol (sister of Ned) and was working at the Glass Factory in Nattandiya and living at “Pondside” in Boralessa. He had been a student of St. Joseph’s College Colombo and was a thorough gentleman, soft spoken and God fearing. He had a hard life with a big family. His last job in Sri Lanka was as superintendent of Iriyagolla Estate in Kuliyapitiya. Much against his wishes he migrated to Australia with the family and worked there until his 81st birthday and passed away in peace on 25th June 1998. Three of his children, Jeanne, Douglas and Judy are still living in Sri Lanka.

Brother Benny married Thelma Stevens and lived on the family property Greenwood Estate, Lihiriyagama. With funds from the sale of produce from the land, he built a grand bungalow, had a poultry farm and bred dogs for sale. All family members were not welcome and only the affluent siblings would visit them. I have never been to their home. He had a lawyer friend, Hector Fernando, with whom he connived and deceived mother to bequeath her half share of Greenwood to him promising to look after her for life. The rest of the children had to share the balance half equally, each getting only about 2 acres of land. This resulted in most of us being disappointed and angry and selling our shares to outsiders.

Ben could not enjoy this ill-gotten wealth for long, Thelma too was responsible for his downfall as she was a proud woman and guided him away from his loving kith and kin. He had to sell all he had and go to Australia where Thelma died first. Thereafter he lived with his former fiancee Kate Andrews, and passed away at a comparatively young age. He has one son Stanley from Thelma living down under. He is said to be a very good lad whom I have not met yet but would love to.

Fate is the result of our past actions. It is we who forge our destiny with our own hands and heart. For years Benny squandered the income from ‘Greenwood’ which ought to have gone equally to all the children, nor did he make mother happy at Boralessa before leaving the country.

Ben was a play-boy as he had sufficient funds to spend on new cars and frequent trips to Colombo. He was also a good ballroom dancer. Probably that’s where he met Thelma. I can recollect joining him when he was a bachelor to Dr Anton Xavior’s wedding reception in a grand hotel. When dancing started a girl came up to me and we got to the floor. I had never danced before. In two minutes I had stepped thrice on her toes, she begged to be excused and limped to a chair. I was too shy to face her again that I went out of the hall and spent the rest of the night in the car until Ben came long past midnight.

May 1975. Family meeting Ben his arrival at the Katunayake Airport. Five siblings -- Teddy, Ben, Geo, Bridget, and Rosie are in the photo. Fernie and Rose are also present. Bridget (Bee) visited Sri Lanka regularly. Ben was on his only return visit from Australia.