Charles Henry De Soysa

The commemoration of Charles Henry de Soysa’s birth anniversary falls on March 3. His memory lives on in the hearts and minds of his descendants and many others. They all revere him for his unsurpassed record of philanthropy.

Today we live in a country wrought apart by many man made divisions. Victory at war has not brought us peace. The fruit of the war victory is yet to reach the people and the majority has not yet learned to be magnanimous.

As his great granddaughter, I look back on Charles Henry’s vision which was far beyond his time; with a great deal of pride. It is interesting to note that his largesse to the country was mostly in the specified fields of religion, agriculture, education and health. Living at a time, when both prejudice and bias were the order of the day, he thought far beyond the peripheries of race, caste and religion and helped each and everyone who needed his help.

As far back as his time, he reached out to all communities and religions in his philanthropy which is still unequalled by anyone else. Great Grandpa Charles Henry lived in an era of gracious living, elegance, gentility, peace and contentment. He inherited great wealth, which he worked hard to increase and could have lived in an ivory tower; serene, inviolable and far removed from less fortunate beings and reality.

One wonders what he would have thought of our world today. We live in a world where corruption reigns supreme, amidst constant danger from violence, plunder, rape and fire; a desire for conquest, an urge for conflict, often resulting in the desolation of loss. Peace to us is flimsy and tenuous; hanging with frailty to a crumbling fabric. To us, death, horror, abductions and destruction of the most horrific kind are daily experiences, living as we do, in this turbulent age made so by greed and cruelty to man by man.

A Fairy Tale

My father once wrote that his grandfather’s life read like an incredible fairy tale; yet although he gave lavishly to those who deserved help or requested it, he never sought publicity or fame for his generosity. His example inspired loyalty from those who worked for him which enabled them to contribute meaningfully to their role in his enterprises. In his own life and mode of living, he set incredibly high standards of punctuality, integrity and dedication.

There are many legends related time and time again, about him. Many of them were related to me by my father. I would listen, wide eyed to these tales. One is that ten percent of his vast income was used for contributions to all religions, while the rest went towards development of his empire of interests. Another was that, at the precise time that Great Grandpa Charles Henry was born on March 3, 1836, just before 10 p.m., a cock had crowed which was rare. This was later surmised to mean that a very fortunate person must have been born at that time. Still another legend is that when his father, Jeronis de Soysa, purchased his first estate in Hanguranketha, which he later proceeded to plant with coffee, he had found some buried treasure, which led to the beginning of his wealth. This is said to be only partly true, as apparently, he did find a large receptacle of gold under a massive stone slab there. But Jeronis had insisted on putting it back, and went on to put more soil on the slab and to erect a pillar to support a building which he built above it. He had firmly told his employees that it was inappropriate to take anything which did not belong to him and that bad luck would befall him if he did take it.

Death of C.H. de Soysa

Other legends include one which says that C.H. de Soysa while out riding on his horse one day, had come across a woman in labour, crying out in pain on the road side. He immediately saw to it that she had swift medical aid, and it was this that inspired him to build the De Soysa Maternity Hospital, which has proved a boon to so many women through the years. My favourite story about my revered ancestor, is one I never tired of. This was about the banquet he held in honour of Prince Alfred, the then Prince of Wales, when he visited Ceylon in April, 1870.

Alfred House was specially built just before this visit and The prince and his entourage were served on plates of pure gold with cutlery encrusted with precious stones. It is sad for all of us that what remains of this palatial and historic mansion no longer belongs in the family, and that there are just a few pieces of the crockery and cutlery.

The other interesting legend about him is about his death. When he was ailing with his fatal illness, he had shifted from Alfred House back to De Soysa Walauwa, Moratuwa. One night, he had dreamt that some of the animals he loved, who were at Alfred House were dying. He asked his wife to send someone to Colombo to check on his pets. The story was confirmed that they were indeed very ill and dying. His sorrow knew no bounds and he had told his wife that his end was near; he died soon after that.

It is interesting to note that although he sent all his sons to Cambridge, they lived their lives like Victorian gentlemen and lacked his foresight and business acumen. Perhaps if he had lived longer, this would not have been so. He saw to it though, that his daughters all married professionals — most of his sons in law achieved fame, and reached great heights in their respective professions.

His generosity knew no bounds. He gave 10,000 sterling pounds and 87 acres in Kanatte, to the state for a model farm. His largesse to one and all was wide and varied and reached out to all parts of the country. This includes gifting paddy fields and houses to 100 poverty stricken farmers in Walapane, building several churches and temples, Hindu kovils and Tamil schools in Jaffna, The De Soysa Hospital for Women and hospitals in Lunawa, Marawila and Panadura. The Medical Research Institute, Prince and Princess of Wales Colleges in Moratuwa, all these were built and endowed by him. He did not build the Eye Hospital, but gave a sizable donation to it.

His philanthropy reached outside Sri Lanka too. The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, Brompton Hospital, Royal Free Hospital, Victoria Chest Hospital, the Hospital for Accidents to Dock Labourers, all benefited through his generosity. My father, while doing an internship at The Great Ormond Street Hospital, was pleasantly surprised to see his grandfather’s name on a plaque, stating his generosity.

Charles Henry’s example is an inspiration to one and all. He was a path finder with a vision far beyond his time; who blended economic progress with human welfare. His desire for economic success went hand in hand with a deep personal concern for everyone he met on his journey through life. The fact that he is still spoken of and revered today, as one of our country’s greatest philanthropists, shows that his spirit does linger on, despite this materialistic and violent age we live in.