TWO GREAT SPORTSMEN OF A BYGONE ERA – by Quintus de Zylva SHANE WARNE met EDDIE GRAY and I at the Tullamarine airport many years ago. Shane was on his way to Sri Lanka to play cricket and we travelled on the same plane that day. SHANE was amazed at Eddie’s sporting achievements and he was fascinated with Eddie’s blazer. He was also interested in the fact that Aidan and Ryan ( my grandsons) attended Mentone Grammar – a school that Shane attended in his formative years. EDWARD IAN GRAY (21 December 1918 – 21 September2004) was educated at Royal College Colombo where he was a Senior Prefect and Captain of the Athletics Team, Boxing Team and Rugby Team. He joined the Ceylon Police Force and his first duty station was in Kandy. When World War 11 broke out Eddie was the OIC at the Koggala Police Station where the RAF ...
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The Burghers of Ceylon/Sri Lanka- Reminiscences and Anecdotes by J. Godwin Perera Source:-island “The Burghers were a riotous lot With song and dance and many a ‘shot’ Were drivers, guards in the Cee Gee Ar For higher jobs were below par” This is only partly true. It was a small segment of Burghers who worked in the CGR and as they would have said ‘did a bloody, damn good job.’ But, there were Burghers and Burghers. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Higher in the social hierarchy were the Planters. Many, having been ruggerites in their colleges, it was an easy jump to the central hills where they were appointed as ‘Sinna Dorays’ (SDs) and later Periya Dorays (PDs) in the tea plantations. They had the endurance and intelligence to rule their kingdoms (‘Thottams’), very, very, successfully. Some ended up as CEOs in the head offices of the ...
Mar 2, 2021
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Tagged D.S. Senanayake, Eddie Gray, Godwin Perera, Periya Dorays, Sinna Dorays
All-round sportsman Eddie Gray was an encyclopaedia in boxing Eddie Gray Source:Dailynews Edward Ian Gray, better known as Eddie Gray, who participated at the 1948 London Olympic Games began his sports career at the tender age of 10 years. He first participated at the Stubbs Shield Boxing Meet in 1930 while representing Royal College. Five years later he made a fine impact when he bagged the Colonel T. Y. Wright Cup awarded to the Most Scientific Boxer at the Stubbs Shield. He had the opportunity of participating at the National Boxing Championships in 1930 while still as a schoolboy while losing to Ganegoda in the quarter-finals. Eddie Gray was also the captain of the Royal College Athletics Team in 1936 and showed his prowess while competing in the one mile, ¼ mile and in the pole vault events. ...
