John Still (1880–1941) was a British archaeologist and author, known for his discoveries at
Sigiriya 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 conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
John Still (1845–1914) (Canon of Norwich, Rector of
Hethersett, and Vicar of
Ketteringham
Ketteringham is a village and civil parish located in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 169 in 70 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 178 at the 2011 Census.
For the purposes of local governmen ...
) and Anna Elizabeth, née Nihill (1853–1894). He was educated at
Winchester College.
Still emigrated to
British Ceylon 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
Sigiriya in which he played an active role. He also discovered the ruins of the Lotus Bath at
Polonnaruwa. He wrote several works on the history of
Sri Lanka 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 who is 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 w ...
. His book “A Prisoner in Turkey”, published by
The Bodley Head
The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...
, 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 to live near his son. He remained in Africa for the rest of his life as a practising
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
. He suffered from diabetes and died in
Port Alfred,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
on 9 September 1941.
Bibliography
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See also
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Tea production in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon) has a climate and varied elevation that allows for the production of both ''Camellia sinensis var. assamica'' and ''Camellia sinensis var. sinensis'', with the assamica varietal holding the majority of producti ...
*
Norman Rowsell
*
History of Sri Lanka
The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean.
The early human remains found on the island of Sri ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Still, John
1880 births
People from Lambeth
People educated at Winchester College
Planters of British Ceylon
Sri Lankan tea
East Yorkshire Regiment officers
1941 deaths