R. Thampipillay
Encyclopedia
R. Thampipillay was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
) and joined the Victoria Institution
(V.I.), Kuala Lumpur
as a pupil in 1895 on his arrival in Malaya
.
He was a brilliant scholar and on graduation joined the V.I. teaching staff in 1898. He played a prominent part in the formation and training of the Cadet Corps, holding the rank of Lieutenant. Throughout his career he taught a total of some fifteen thousand pupils, all of whom carried away with them fond memories of a dedicated, versatile and exemplary teacher. In the last 22 years of his service he was in charge of the Cambridge Class subjects.
Mr. Thampipillay also organised the V.I. Old Boys' Association and was its first secretary. He was awarded the Inperial Service Medal on his retirement in 1932 after thirty-four and a half years of service. His final visit to the V.I. was in 1968 when he was a guest of honour at the 75th Anniversary celebrations of the school. The Grand Old Man of the V.I. received a special award from Puan Sharifah Rodziah, the wife of then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
.
In 1928 and 1929, Mr. Thampipillay penned his reminiscences of the old V.I. of High Street in several instalments of The Victorian. Unfortunately only two of these instalments remain and are reproduced below. They give an interesting vignette of the personalities of the Victoria Institution
and life in Kuala Lumpur
in the early twentieth century.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) and joined the Victoria Institution
Victoria Institution
Victoria Institution is a premier secondary school for boys and one of the oldest schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The school is widely known as V.I. and a student of Victoria Institution bears the name Victorian....
(V.I.), Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
as a pupil in 1895 on his arrival in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
.
He was a brilliant scholar and on graduation joined the V.I. teaching staff in 1898. He played a prominent part in the formation and training of the Cadet Corps, holding the rank of Lieutenant. Throughout his career he taught a total of some fifteen thousand pupils, all of whom carried away with them fond memories of a dedicated, versatile and exemplary teacher. In the last 22 years of his service he was in charge of the Cambridge Class subjects.
Mr. Thampipillay also organised the V.I. Old Boys' Association and was its first secretary. He was awarded the Inperial Service Medal on his retirement in 1932 after thirty-four and a half years of service. His final visit to the V.I. was in 1968 when he was a guest of honour at the 75th Anniversary celebrations of the school. The Grand Old Man of the V.I. received a special award from Puan Sharifah Rodziah, the wife of then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
.
In 1928 and 1929, Mr. Thampipillay penned his reminiscences of the old V.I. of High Street in several instalments of The Victorian. Unfortunately only two of these instalments remain and are reproduced below. They give an interesting vignette of the personalities of the Victoria Institution
Victoria Institution
Victoria Institution is a premier secondary school for boys and one of the oldest schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The school is widely known as V.I. and a student of Victoria Institution bears the name Victorian....
and life in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
in the early twentieth century.