“Thomians Young & Thomians Old”
(First appeared in the April edition of the College Magazine of 1916)
Words- Ed de Livera
Air- Rev W A Stone (Warden Emeritus)
Arranged by Prof R B W Jaysekera
1.Thomians young, & Thomians old,
Thomians staunch & true!
Rally round the College flag,
The blue, the black, & blue.
To your Alma Mater sing,
Thomians near & far;
Loudly let the echoes ring for all we have & are.
Chorus
Esto Perpetua ///
The Blue, Black & Blue forever!
2.Like a serpent keen & wise,
Harmless as the dove,
By the Cross we’re knit in one,
Holy bond of love.
Loyal to our Church & King,
Both in peace & war,
To the College we will sing
For all we have & are.
Chorus
3.In the field of Intellect
Many a prize we’ve won;
And upon the field of Sports
Thomians yield to none:
Be it work, or be it play,
We will do & dare.
To the College therefore sing,
For all we have & are.
Chorus
4.We rejoice in victory,
When our foes we beat;
We have learnt when fortune frowns;
How to take defeat.
All unfriendly rivalry
From our lives we bar
To the College therefore sing,
For all we have & are.
Chorus
5.When into the world we go
For our lives career,
As the call of duty sounds
We will answer clear.
Onward to the goal we press
Guided by our star.
To the College therefore sing,
For all we have & are.
Chorus
The College
Colours were introduced by Revd Edward Miller on his return from a holiday in
England in August 1884 & they were first used on 15th January 1885;
the eleven & the College class wearing broad & the Collegiate School, narrow
ribbons. The eleven had also caps, black & blue stripes.
Keble in his History quotes this extract from the Warden’s letter to his wife in
England: “ I am very anxious to introduce without delay College Colours. The
general opinion is that the best combination would be one of dark blue & black &
black in the middle with blue outside. The question is: should the colours be of
equal width or if not, should the blue be wider than the black or the black than
the blue. I am inclined to think that A is preferable with equal widths of dark
blue & black though that is a question which could be best decided by seeing the
ribbons.”
The colours have remained constant since their introduction both blue & black
stripes being of equal width.
THE COLLEGE COAT OF ARMS- CREST
The earliest crest in use since 1951 was the picture of St. Thomas, the apostle standing bareheaded in flowing robes with a staff in his right hand & an open book in the left & a benign expression on his face. The words “The College” above & “of St. Thomas The Apostle 1851” are inscribed below the figure which appears to stand in the niche of a rock. (Illus 1)
Later we have another figure of the Apostle standing in cowl & flowing robes
with a staff in his right hand & an open book held down in his left with a stem
expression on his face. He appears to be standing on the seashore with a sailing
ship in the background. The figure is set in an oval frame with the words “ The
College of St. Thomas The Apostle Colombo 1851”. The medallion was stamped on
the outer cover of the College Calendar/ Handbook. (Illus 2)
In the early twenties, an entirely new design was introduced for the crest
but no evidence is available of the authorship, though it was during the regime
of Warden Stone. It was worn on the breast pocket of the 1st XI
cricket blazer in a black background set in a blue shield 9 ½ cm by 8 cm, worked
in blue silk thread with a white silk beading around it. Diagonally across the
shield from left to right is a rectangular black band 2cm wide with the motto
“Esto Perpetua” worked on it in white silk thread in large capitals. The
heraldry in it was primarily taken from the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ
according to the Gospel of St. Matthew 10:16 - “ Behold I sent you forth as
sheep in midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents & harmless as doves”.
On the top left of the shield is the white dove diving downwards with a
green spring in its beak. On the lower right is an open book in white silk
thread, Immediately below & to the left, in red silk thread is a cross with a
green serpent entwined, its tail resting on the horizontal arm & its head near
the base of the vertical upright. The letters “S.T.C. C.C.”in large white
capitals appear below the shield. (Illus 3)
The elaborate & colourful crest now in use since 1947 was introduced by Canon de
Saram when he was Warden. It adopts the main features of the crest of the
Diocese of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon (popularly known as the coat of Arms
of the diocese).
Rev. Dr. Graham Martyr in a note published in the Centenary Volume of the
“History of the Diocese of Colombo”(1946) says, “ The fact is the Diocese has no
Arms. The bearings were introduced by Bishop Chapman, correct but unimpressive
Heraldry. As there were never matriculated at the College of Arms, they have no
legal existence; as was also the case with the arms used by Bishop Chapman”
The Arms used by the Diocese are blazened as follows-“ Argent Roman Passion
Cross all correct. Gules entwined by a snake coiled in base proper. On a chief
azure a dove velant holding in its beak an olive branch all proper” The present
College Crest is a combination of the Diocesan Crest superposed on the
intersection of a black Sarcelly Cross inset on a large white shield with the
words “Esto Perpetua” in large black capitals on a horizontal yellow scroll
below it. The Bishop’s Mitre is also placed above the section of the dove. This
symbolises the Guidance & Power of the Holy Spirit & the Authority of the Church
over the College. (Illus 4)
COLLEGE MOTTO & GRADE SYSTEM