OBITUAR,Y

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contains the name of Velusumana, another of DutthagimarliS paladins. He had, in this manner, been o{ much assistance to the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon in its exploration work. C.W. Nicholas made his debut as a rvriter on the history and antiquities of Ceylon rather late in life, much persuasion by his friends

Cyril Wace Nicholas

has not only served as a Member of the council and a vice-president for a- numJrer of years, but also has made an outstancling contribution to thc achievement of its aims.

- By the death of Cyril Wace Nicholas, r,r,hich occurrecl on 14 August, 196r, the Society has lost one of its most valued members-orre'rvho

being necessary to overcome his innate modesty, but his,contributions to the Uniaersity of Ceylon Reaiew,the Jowrnal of the Ceylon Bran'ck

Fauna and Flola of the Island

wld Life-D^epartment, he rvas instrumentat in es-t-abnsrring ih" N"iio""l Parks and Strict Natural Rese_rves designecl for the pr"r.?r,"1io" olin"

invalided out, being.ar,vardecl the,Military iross. At tn..g" "f ' -to __c-.yrg ancl took ,tp ih. Speciar civii'service Examination for war Service personnel-. He pasied this examination and_rvas placed first on the tist, but failed to-secure an appointment to the civil Service on medicar grounds. He *as, horuer."i, apnointsd 3n. Assistant Superintendent.- oI Excise, his tirst it^iion'ti.ing Batticaloa. He served meritoriously in the Excise oep"rt-."i *Jior. to be its Deputy commissioner frlm r,r,hich post he'r,vas ,".orra"dro. service in rg5o as warden of the witcl Life Department. c.w. ltichoras orgarrised this lt, rr"na _newly created Department and remainea untrl he retrred from Government Service in rg57. As warden of the ",

C.W. Nicholas was born on s_August, rggg and receiverl his early lduqatlgn at_the RoyalCollege, He pioceeded for higher stuiieslo tne cambridge University, but enlisted ior service in th! First world war before h9 co1'-d cgmplete his course. His military t'roofh r-,.i.r, r'vas distinguished. From s*baltern he r,vas pto-ot"d a, ""r".., a'captaln n tne Royal Rifles, but at the encl of tivo years was u'ounded and ]<inq.s

he returned

of the Royal Asiatic Society and other publications impressed scholars by their systematic presentation of facts, and the critical acumen and rare historical sense exhibited by them. Among the more important of his papers may be mentioned:-'Epigraphical Map of Ceylon' in the Llrtiaersity of Ceylon Reu'ieu (U .C.R.), Vol. VII, pp. 116-128, 'Territorial Divisions of Ceylon from Early Times to the rzth century' (U.C.R., VII, pp. zo-5o), 'Some Offlces and Titles in the Early Sinhalese Kingdom' (U.C.R., VIII, pp. 116-rz8), 'Brahmaqas in the Early Sinhalese Kingdom' (U.C.R., Vol. VIII, pp. 259 ff.), 'Sinhalese Naval Polver' (Lr.C.R., XVI, pp. Z8-Sz), 'Paieographical Development of the Brahmi Script in Ce5,]6n' (U .C.R., VII, pp. 6o-6$, 'Texts of the Cave Inscriptions in Ruhula National Park' in the Jowrnal, of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon, Branch, New Series (/.R.,4.S., C.8., l/.S.), Vol. II, pp. tz6-r.4o,'Professions and Occupations in the Early Sinhalesc Kingdom' (/.R.,'1.S., C.8., -l/.S.), Vol. II, pp.35-7r, 'Some Lesser Knou'n pre-Christian Ruins' (/.R./.S., C.R., AI.,S., V, pp. r3E-r5g), 'Texts of the Cave Inscriptions at Hiirdagala' in Ceylon' Historical Jowrnal,, Vol. II, pp. zzt-224 and 'BrAhmi Inscriptions in the Yala East Wild Reserve' in Sir Pawl Pieris Felicitation I/ohtm.a, pp. 5E-(r8. In these papers, Nicholas had published the texts and translations of about 4oo Brahmi inscriptions, mostly pre-Christian cave records. Of outstanding value is 'A Short Account of the History of Irrigation Works up to the rrth century'(J.R.,1.S., C..B., -l/.S., VII, pp. 43-70) in rvhich the development of irrigation in the Island has been treated for the first time in its proper historical perspective.

rnscrrptron at vala-ellugoda-kanda in the Biduila District, rvhich mentions thc Gencral Phussadeva (a paladin oI Dutthaga.ui,it,'"na his daughter married to a general named Agidata #ho[ori.i.t ]',tr^dsa, in the reign of Saddhatissa a'd a iave inscription it sit"tp"r,.rr,r, ro,iri.r, "a

from such studies as were necessary for his officiai duties, had been interested. in the history and antiquilie, or-in" rsiand from his youth, and had made himself iamiliar *iir. iurr"i-n"a been rvr-itten on these subjects. Ancient inscriptions of cevto.rt,articularly enga-ged his attention and in the course of his freqrle"i iiritr, official as as unofficial, to remote areas of the Island, h. ,i.".imi*"a 'vell an oppo.rtunity of visiting ancient sites and maki'g eye-copies inscriptions in u'hich, in course of time, he devJroilea J."t"rr.utr. "ii""r.aptitude. In this manner,-Nichorls brought to light'a of .u". and rock inscriptions which are of great signifrcanie for ""."n". of ihe the studv early history of_ceylon. particurai mention may be made of

^,__4e14 c.w. Nicholas

But the field of research in which Nicholas concentrated more particularly was historical topography. In this he continued the u'ork of Codrington, and the results of his labours in this branch of stucly are given in his '.I/isforical Topography of Ancient and Mediaeval Ceylon', published as Volume VI, New Series, of the /.R.,4.S., C.B. This monograph, in u'hich toponyms found in the chronicles, published
and unpublished inscriptions up to the eighth century, and other sources,

i[. ;;r"

are classified according to districts, giving their modern equivalents wherever possible, will no doubt remain the standard r'r'ork on the subject for many years to come.
When the University of Ceylon planned the preparation and publication of an up-to-date History of Ceylon on comprehensive lines, Nicholas lvas invited to contribute a number of chapters to Volume I and to be a member of the Editorial Board. His contributions to this

2ti0 JOUR,NAL, I-i.A.S. (CIIYLON) Vol. ttII, I'art,2

tr (New Seri,es),L961

from the Calla Yoke' Chapter III, 'Ihe Reign of Vijayabahu I' Chapter IV,'CivilWars and the Emergence of Parakramabahu the Great'and Chapter V 'The Reign of Parakramabahu I'of Booli V (The Polonnaruva Period) ancl the sections on Irrigation in the chapters devoted to the Civilisation of the different periods. In the chapters dealing with the Polonnaruva Period, the military campaigns of Vijayabahu I, Vikramabahu and Parakramabahu I have been dealt rvith for the first time in a coherent manner, Nicholas' early military training, his familiarity with the terrain and his topographical knorvledge having enabled him to grasp the tacticai and strategical significance of thc long catalogue of actions at various places given in the CulaaanLsa.

Volume are the Sections on the Geographical Background and Fauna, respectively, of Chapters I and II of Book I, Chapter II, 'Liberation

Nicholas performed his functions as a nrember of the Editorial Board of the University Historyt o;f Celtlott, very conscientiously and expeditiously, ancl it was in no smail measure due to his enthusiasm for the undertaking that the publication of Volume I r,vas possible within a comparatively short time after the initiation of the project. Nicholas n'as joint-author of the Concise History of Ceylon r,vhich is mainly
based on the more comprehensive r'vork already referred to.

Nicholas was planning a number of learned papers when the sick-

with him during the last five years in scverai literary undertakings, the present writer is in a position to say that great indeed has been the loss suffered by scholarship in Ceylon by his demise.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to historical research, the Society had decided to award its Medal for 196o to C.W. Nicholas, but Fate did not spare him for its formal presentation at the Annual General lleeting fixed for r September, 196r.
S.P.

ness which carried him away overtook him. Having collaborated

l.