DAVID AND GOLIATH by Bernard VanCuylenburg. Archives

DAVID AND GOLIATH by Bernard VanCuylenburg Another interesting “‘true story” from Bernard VanCuylenberg. Straight from “Old Ceylon”, David and Goliath, was a Bible-Story that every Lankan/Aussie Christian should know. Goliath, the “bad-guy” giant was irritating everyone around until young David got his catapult out and shot Old Goliath with a stone, right on the middle of his forehead. End of Goliath & a very straightforward story. Bernard’s story is much more complicated. Estate Politics play a big part in this one & once again, there is a “winner” (young “David” Bracegirdle), and a “loser”, the incumbent Government of the Era, who had already been through some tough times, now faced by this “winner-to-be” This “David” had to listen to all the hard-luck stories of the Government before taking out his catapult, but it was quite sometime before he actually ended up, “THE WINNER” D.K. DAVID AND GOLIATH by Bernard VanCuylenburg ...

DAVID AND GOLIATH by Bernard VanCuylenburg. During the colonial period of the lat 1930’s, a tea plantation in the Madulkelle district Relugas Estate, was the place where what appeared to be a simple act of insubordination by an assistant superintendent, was to have far reaching consequences and wider ramifications not only for the company concerned, but for the colonial government of the time and a left leaning socialist political party called the “Lanka Sama Samaja Party”, (The Lanka Socialist Party) popularly known as the LSSP. The “David” in this case was a young assistant superintendent named Mark Bracegirdle and the “Goliath” was the government of the day – at first glance an uneven match. The Superintendent of this particular estate Mr.H.D.Thomas was badly in need of an assistant, and he petitioned the company accordingly. As was the modus operandum of the day, a young Englishman Mark Bracegirdle was recruited from ...