John Still (1880–1941) was a British archaeologist and author, known for his discoveries at

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' , , pronounced SEE-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeologic ...

and his book "The Jungle Tide".

Biography

Still was born in 1880 in Lambeth, England, the only son of

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

John Still (1845–1914) (Canon of Norwich, Rector of

Hethersett Hethersett is a large village and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the county of Norfolk, England, about south-west of Norwich. It covers an area of and had a population of 5,441 in 2,321 households at ...

, and Vicar of Ketteringham) and Anna Elizabeth, née Nihill (1853–1894). He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

. Still emigrated to

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

in 1897, where he worked as a tea planter near Dickoya. In 1911 he was appointed as an assistant to Norman Rowsell of the Ceylon Labour Commission and he was also a Secretary of the Ceylon Planters Society. He also became an Archaeological Surveyor and Assistant Archaeological Commissioner (1 January 1902–31 December 1907) in the Department of Archaeology, under the supervision of H. C. P. Bell. Still is associated with the discoveries at

in which he played an active role. He also discovered the ruins of the Lotus Bath at

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, (; ) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in History of Sri Lanka, ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, ...

. He wrote several works on the history of

Sri Lanka 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, ...

including "Ancient Capitals of Ceylon", "Tantrimalai", and "Index to the Mahavamsa". Still served as a second lieutenant in the 6th Battalion,

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

, which took part in the Suvla Bay Landing of the Gallipoli Campaign on 6 August 1915. He was captured by the Turkish forces on 9 August 1915 and spent three years and 84 days as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. His book “A Prisoner in Turkey”, published by

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

, was an account of his experiences as a prisoner in a Turkish prison camp. Whilst in captivity he wrote the book "Poems in Captivity", which was published by John Lane of London in 1919. Still married Winifred Mary (known as Alice) née Evans and they had two children, Eileen Alice (1916–1992) and John (1919–1941). Still's most well-known book is "The Jungle Tide" which was published in 1930 and was one of four textbooks prescribed for English literature in the Sri Lankan Senior School Certificate (English) Examination in the 1940s. In 1939 Still moved to

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

to live near his son. He remained in Africa for the rest of his life as a practising

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. He suffered from diabetes and died in

Port Alfred Port Alfred is a small town with a population of just under 26,000 in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated on the eastern seaboard of the country at the mouth of the Kowie River, almost exactly halfway between the larger ci ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 9 September 1941.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Still, John 1880 births People from Lambeth Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth People educated at Winchester College Planters from British Ceylon Sri Lankan tea East Yorkshire Regiment officers 1941 deaths

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links