Mr. TIDDY WIJERATNE – dedicated teacher and an inspiring cricket coach at St. Anthony’s College

Tiddy Wijeratne, 19 August 1923 – 11 July 2020
Tiddy Wijeratne of Weston, Canberra passed away peacefully on 11 July 2020. Tiddy was much loved husband of Indra(deceased), and father and father-in-law ofAsoka and Ramani, Chandani (deceased)and Peter.

(Canberra Times, Jul y 14, 2020)

TIDDY WIJERATNE – dedicated teacher and an inspiring cricket coach at St. Anthony’s College

TIDDY WIJERATNE IS NO MORE

The name Tiddy Wijeratne may not ring any bells to the many Antonians living around the world. But, for those who were fortunate to study at St Anthony’s during the 1950s, Tiddy will be remembered as a dedicated teacher and an inspiring cricket coach.

Tiddy passed away peacefully last Saturday in Canberra (Australia) just a few months shy of his 97th birthday.

We were fortunate to meet him at our Annual Dinner Dance in Melbourne in 2014 (photo attached) when he travelled from his home in Canberra just to be with us on the night.

Our ever-green Tom Deen who attended Tiddy’s 90th birthday celebrations back in 2013 was instrumental in introducing him to his fellow Antonians in Melbourne. Tom recalled “I came to know Tiddy well when he invited me and Patricia my wife for various functions involved with the Sri Lankan Association. He has become a family friend and we quite frequently meet in Sydney amongst few other Antonions including the late George Denlow with whom he had a very close association”.

Tom continued “I was told that when he was at St. Anthony’s, besides being a dedicated teacher he was also responsible for laying the basic foundation for schoolboy cricketers like Charlie Joseph.”

In a special tribute to Tiddy, the Antonian magazine had this to say “The The first term of 1959 saw one of the most unassuming members of our tutorial staff, Mr Tiddy Wijeratne, leave St Anthony’s to teach at his old school, Mahinda. During his brief though colourful period of teaching here, he endeared himself to the boys and masters alike and his departure has left a big void in the life of the school. Mr Wijeratne as cricket coach to the junior teams played a vital role in making cricket more interesting to the lads by injecting his own infectious enthusiasm. He taught our lads the finer points of the game and today we see them blossoming out to be the future stars of St Anthony’s.”

May he Rest In Peace!

(posted by Afzal Laphir)