James Clifford Aelian Corea was a Sri Lankan educationist. He was the former Principal of

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Si ...

and a former master in

Kingswood College, Kandy Kingswood College, Kandy () is a State school, public Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school for boys in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The school educates over 3,500 students from Primary education, primary to Secondary education, secondary le ...

and

Wesley College, Colombo Wesley College popularly known as "Wesley" or "The Double Blues", is a Methodist school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka since 1874. History In 1858, Rev. Joseph Rippon wanted to establish a superior educational instit ...

Early life

Born in the coastal town of Chilaw in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1904, he was raised by his parents, Gate Mudaliyar James Edward Corea and Frances Eleanor Terentia Ameresekera, in Chilaw. His father sent him to Colombo to be educated at

Royal College Medical royal college, In the United Kingdom, some Commonwealth realms and Ireland, a professional body responsible for the development of and training in one or more medical specialties. Royal College may also refer to: Places * Royal College S ...

. He then gained an MA in Psychology from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and a Diploma in Education from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Educationist career

He became a master at

, and at

. Corea was the President of All Ceylon Teachers' Union and in 1943 was appointed as Vice principal of his alma mater Royal College Colombo. In 1946 he succeeded Principal Bradby as the first Ceylonese Principal of Royal College Colombo in 1946 had held the post until 1953. In 1946 he returned the school to its

buildings A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...

at Reid Avenue after it had been taken over by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during Second World War. During his tenure he had several infrastructure developments made and implemented the Free Education Scheme in 1947. He was also the first old Royalist (Royal Group of 1922) to become Principal of Royal College Colombo.

Diplomatic career

After retirement he became the Warden of the Ceylon Students Centre in London and served as a senior diplomat when he was appointed Education Officer of the Ceylon High Commission in London. In 1983 the Old Royalists' Association in the United Kingdom was formed under his and Principal Bradby's patronage. His nephews were the

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', , ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Departme ...

broadcaster

Vernon Corea Vernon Corea (11 September 1927 – 23 September 2002) was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the S ...

and his brother

Ernest Corea Ernest Corea (1932–11 May 2017) was a Sri Lankan journalist and a diplomat noted for his work to maintain a free and independent press and for negotiations involving Sri Lanka's development programs. Early life Corea was born in 1932 to Rev ...

, who was Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States of America. Both were Old Royalists. J. C. A. Corea was also the President of All Ceylon Teachers' Union. Then Vice principal of Royal College from 1943 to 1945. He succeeded as the Principal in January 1946 and held that position until June 1953. The ''J. C. A. Corea Trophy'' is awarded at the annual hockey encounter between Royal College Colombo and

Trinity College, Kandy Trinity College, Kandy is a private Anglican boys' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It offers both day and boarding facilities. It was founded in 1872 by British Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, modelled on Britis ...

, in his memory.J.C.A. Corea Trophy
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Death

J. C. A. Corea lived in

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

in the United Kingdom for many years. He died in North London in 1988. His ashes were flown to Sri Lanka, accompanied by his nephew, Vernon Corea. The Prefects of Royal College Colombo lined the exit of the

Bandaranaike International Airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA airport code, IATA: CMB, ICAO airport code, ICAO: VC ...

at Katunayake, as a guard of honour, when his ashes were flown to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, draped with the Royal College flag. Old Royalists such as

Junius Richard Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene (; ; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the secon ...

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

Lalith Athulathmudali Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC (; 26 November 1936 – 23 April 1993), known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Sh ...

, a Sri Lankan government minister, and dignitaries, paid their respects at the Royal College Hall,

Navarangahala The Navarangahala (''"New Theatre"''), in Colombo, is one of the main national theatres of Sri Lanka. History I. M. R. A. Iriyagolle, Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs laid the foundation stone for the Royal Primary School Hall on ...

. A memorial service was held at St. Paul's Church, Milagiriya.

References

Bibliography

*''Great Sinhalese Men and Women of History – Edirille Bandara (Domingos Corea)'', by John M. Senaveratna, (1937) *''One Hundred Years of Education in Ceylon'', by J. C. A. Corea, Modern Asian Studies (1969), 3 : pp 151–175, Cambridge University Press (1969) *''Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources'', by A. W. Wright, Asian Educational Services, India; New Ed edition (15 Dec 2007)