FERDINANDS

Born 10 Apr 1925
Died ABT Nov 1999
Rodney Ferdinands- Trustee of the TCK FF.

Rodney enjoyed life to the full. Restless energy flowed into all his undertakings. There were no half measures. A shrewd observer and judge of character he could detect the slightest hint of hypocrisy, even, as he confessed, (with a mischievous smile), in himself. In Trinity he excelled in his studies, winning the Napier Clavering prize for English. He learnt carpentry -under Arthur Deane-and became a 1st class craftsman. He became an accountant on leaving school and worked in the hydro electric scheme at Norton Bridge and then the Shell company of Ceylon. He joined the Ceylon Navy as a volunteer and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
He married Persis Brohier, daughter of Dr Eric Brohier of Colombo. They migrated to Sydney and moved subsequently to Melbourne, where he worked for the Ford Motor Company and then Alcoa. On retiring he continued working as a consultant to the Housing Commission of Victoria. He was a past president of the Internal Auditors' of Victoria. Bored during his retirement- he enrolled in La- Trobe University and obtained a degree in Social Studies. Persis and Rodney's passion were (are) their children- Stewart & Suzanne and grandchildren. Of several ideas in his head, one kept recurring. How would his family understand who the Burghers were unless he told them? So began the book " Pride & Prejudice- the story of the Burghers in Sri Lanka". Widely acclaimed as a classic, it was completely sold out. Many bouquets and some brickbats (the truth hurts-he said) were handled with grace, humour & tact. He and his wife were tireless workers in the Ceylonese welfare Organisation. They were also supporters of the "80 club" and he became its auditor.
Rodney was "true" Trinitian, a loyal supporter of the college and the TCK FF, in which, he served well as a trustee. He maintained that Trinity taught him all he needed to know to live and get on in this world . A lateral thinker he could see points that eluded many of us-at times at meetings of the management, it was hard for us , but in the end it turned out well. Many fine tributes were paid at his funeral. He went as he wished, his coffin was draped with the college flag and he was fare welled by his fellow Trinitians to the strains of the chorus of the college song. (By Dr Percy De Zilwa)
In Accountancy, Rodney Ferdinands was successful in the first examination in Ceylon of the profession of Chartered Accountancy. In Australia he was President of the Institute of Internal Auditors in Victoria. Subsequently as an Author he researched the history of the Burgher community in Ceylon, and his book "Proud and Prejudiced" is acclaimed as the history of the community
Image kind Courtesy of Rodney Ferdinands & Persis Brohier as owner of the published item

Born 1930
Image kind Courtesy of Rodney Ferdinands & Persis Brohier as owner of the published item