S. Thomas Archives

CANON BOWYER-YIN & THE SCHOOL BY THE SEA Reverend Canon Roy Henry Bowyer-Yin MA (Cantab) was Chaplain and Choir Master at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia from 1946 until 1962, most of it during Warden de Saram’s time. Bowyer-Yin composed the song The School by the Sea during this period. Canon Bowyer-Yin was born in Singapore in 1910 to a Chinese father Dr Yin Suat Chwan and an English mother, Nurse Lydia Florence Bowyer. His older brother Leslie Charles who preceded Fr. Yin to Cambridge, writing under the pen name “Leslie Charteris,” was the celebrated novelist, who created The Saint. His detective and mystery stories were made into films in the USA with The Saint played by a young Roger Moore. Bowyer-Yin was an Organ Scholar at King’s College Cambridge where he did a Maths Tripos. He trained for the priesthood at Ripon College Cuddesdon and later served as the Chaplain of King’s College. The Festival of Nine Lessons and ...

One of the best batches of the best school! – One of the best batches at RC -The 49 Group – By D.S.Sivapragasam, Canada Royal College is undisputedly the best school in the island. All parents clamour to get their children into Royal, but not all of them are lucky enough. Everyone thinks of other public schools as second best. Royal and S. Thomas (Mt. Lavinia), are the most prestigious, like Eton and Harrow of England. Royal was founded in 1855 by the then British colonial government, mainly for the education of the sons of the Britishers, under the principalship of Dr. Barcroft Boake, a product of Oxford University. Though the school was initially called the Colombo Academy, it came to be known later as Royal College. On the panels of the College Hall are the names of those who distinguished themselves in the field of intellect. Also, in the College ...