Ernest de Silva

Marriage and family

Sir Ernest de Silva's wife, Evadne who, following his knighthood, became known as Lady Evadne de Silva, was herself a prominent philanthropist and, upon independence, became one of the first women in the Senate of Ceylon. He had six children. One of his daughters, Sita, married Business Magnate U. N. Gunasekera, considered to be Ceylon's most notable and influential civil engineer of the 20th century, having built many of the nation's largest buildings, including its first five star hotels, and a silent philanthropist himself. Another daughter, Swarnapali, married O. R. Medonza who was an Emeritus Consultation Physician at General Hospital (Colombo).

Wealth

Sir Ernest was, in his time, Ceylon's richest man and one of the wealthiest Ceylonese of the twentieth century. He inherited and purchased thousands of acres of tea, rubber and coconut estates as well as land in the prominent areas of Colombo. One such estate was the famed 1200 acre (5 km²) Salawa estate which was used as a rubber plantation. And also Rukkattana estate in Bingiriya was another property of him which was used as a coconut plantation. He owned 46 acres (7360 perches) of land mostly in the Cinnamon Gardens (Colombo 7) which, being one of the most expensive areas in Ceylon, would be worth approximately $600 million in the economy of the 2010s. His company dealt in every description of Ceylonese produce, principally plumbago (graphite), desiccated coconut, fibre, cacao, rubber, cinnamon and tea. The main export business was done with the United Kingdom and the continent, through the firm's agents in London, Hamburg and other European ports. His residence, the "Sirimathipaya Mansion", equipped then with horse stables and tennis courts, now serves as the Prime Minister's office.

Sir Ernest de Silva was, arguably, Ceylon's greatest philanthropist of the twentieth century, funding a vast number of charitable endeavours. Among his various projects were the building of four major schools (including Devapathiraja Vidyalaya, Dematagoda Veluvanarama Vidyalaya and Lakshmi College) and providing free education as well as scholarships to its students. Through the Devpathiraja Vidyalaya, Sir Ernest established the inaugural free Buddhist English school in the South, 23 years prior to the establishment of free education in Ceylon and therefore is sometimes referred to as the 'Grandfather of free education' for the conception and successful implementation of the notion. He and his wife, Senator Lady Evadne de Silva, funded the inaugural orphanage in Ceylon in the form of a donation of 9 acres (36,000 m2) in Katunayake.

He went on to establish Ceylon's first tuberculosis sanatorium in Kandana. Sir Ernest also donated a multi-acre cinnamon and coconut estate to cover the expenditure of the organisation. He served as the President of the Ceylon National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (CNAPT). Among Sir Ernest's numerous contributions to health care was the donation of the inaugural Radiology unit inclusive of the first X-ray machine in Ceylon to the National Hospital in memory of his father, A.E. de Silva Snr.

As the founder-chairman of the Bank of Ceylon, he also became the governor of the State Mortgage Bank which was established to provide financial assistance to the island's low-income earners. Among his various philanthropic acts were the establishment of the Angela Children's Home, the Parakrama Home, Children's homes in Negombo, Walana, Biyagama, Kandana and Heenatiyana, a maternity home in Bokanda, a Monastery in Salgala, a hermitage in Rajagiriya in addition to the Welisara Children's hospital and a fully constructed hospital at Wanni Athpaththu Kurunegala. He also supported the establishment of worthy charitable organisations such as the Gamini Matha Elder's home, Mallika Home and Harischandra Vidyalaya. He gave away lands, buildings and funds to numerous orphanages, hospitals, schools, social service bodies, temples and hermitages without fanfare or publicity.