MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS. – by Charles Schokman

In 1934, the late Shelton Schokman Snr. founded the Dematagoda Christian Guild. It ran its own Sunday school that catered to the spiritual needs of children and also sought to help the elderly and needy by frequently visiting the residents of The City Refuge, The Home for the Aged’ and The Home for the Incurables.

In 1950 the Guild extended its activities to help families in the neighbourhood partake in social and sporting activities by forming the Dematagoda Christian Guild Recreation Club.

The most popular branch of sport was Badminton. The Guild was fortunate to have its own floodlit court and the regular evening practices resulted in a high standard of efficiency, which earned much recognition at several outstanding tournaments.

Table tennis, carrom, occasional socials, dances and picnics were also very popular and provided good recreation.

Under the capable guidance of its indefatigable secretary, Malcolm Walker Snr. (dec.) the club made immense strides especially in the Badminton Tournaments organised by the Y.M.C.A. and the Badminton Association of Ceylon.

The clubs that took part in the International Badminton Tournament were the Y.M.C.A., University of Ceylon, Cosmopolitan Sports Club, Nugegoda Tamkins, The Swifts, Chitra Club, Havelock Town and some colleges.

The recognised and champion players in the Badminton Association of Ceylon were:-

Men—P. Sivalingam, Raif Jansz, N. Rasalingam, Sam Schoorman, Dick Schoorman, Sam Chandrasena, G.F Rajaratnam and Tony Dickson.

Women—Nanda Nagasinghe, L. Nagasinghe,  C .J Fernando, A. R .L Wijesekera, and R. Bartholomeus.

In the Junior National Championships1958, the Guild won the following titles:–

Junior National Singles—            Tony Dickson

Junior National Doubles—           Tony Dickson & Ernie Walker

Junior National Mixed Doubles   Tony Dickson & Miss Jeanne Schokman

Junior National Girls’ Doubles      Jeanne Schokman & Dawn Walker

Junior National Girls’ Singles        Jeanne Schokman (Runner-up)

In 1959 the Guild won the “C” Division Title in the Inter- Club Tournament.

They also fared very well in the Junior Badminton Championship winning three Titles, represented by Donald La’Brooy, Jeanne Schokman, Ernie Walker, Tony Dickson & Oville La’Brooy.

Donald La’Brooy who won the Single & Doubles Title narrowly missed the Triple Crown.

Mr. Basil P de Silva, Hony. Secretary of the Badminton Association of Ceylon in a message had this to say: —-

“It is a privilege to contribute a message of goodwill to the Dance Souvenir of the Dematagoda Christian Guild Recreation Club. The task of evaluating the contribution made by this Club to Badminton in Ceylon is by no means an easy one.

As one who possesses an intimate knowledge of the progress made by this Club since 1950, the year in which both the Badminton Association and Club were founded. I wish to record that the D.C.G.R.C. have played a major role in the development of the shuttle game in Ceylon. It may be of interest to Badminton circles to know that beside the Y.M.C.A. (Colombo) and the University of Ceylon, this is the only other Club that has figured in the Inter-Club League Championships organised by the Association without a break since 1950. The players from this Club have always taken part in the National Championships of Ceylon, and spontaneously made available their services in running the Championships.

The achievements of the members of the Club have been outstanding, and their teams have won the “C” Division (1955-56) and the “B” Division (1957-58) titles. Apart from this they have had the honour of producing the Junior Singles Champion for three successive years since the Junior National Championships were staged for the first time in 1955-56. This year they achieved another unique feat in having the distinction of the first Triple Crown winner among its ranks at the Junior National Championships in Tony Dickson—a champion of the future.

The secret of the success of this club is largely attributable to the strict discipline maintained among the members. Their devotion and loyalty in upholding the spiritual and physical ideals, for which the Club was founded, have always been of a high standard.

I take this opportunity of expressing my warm appreciation to the Club for the valuable assistance given to the Association by the membership, and in particular to its indefatigable Secretary, Mr M.E.Walker, Snr. In conclusion I wish the members of the D.C.G.R.C. the best of luck for a successful dance and many more years of service to the cause of the shuttle game in Ceylon and to the youth of the city.”