1.5.2008
By Wakeley Paul
One
of Sri Lanka's leading Thoracic surgeons, A T S Paul,
passed away at age 94 on Sunday April 27. He was a member
of the distinguished medical PAUL family. His father was
the illustrious Dr S C Paul who was the Senior Surgeon
of the General Hospital for 25 years, assuming that position
when he was a mere 30 years old.
When
a British Governor Sir John Anderson needed to be operated
upon, The British medical authorities recommended that
Dr Paul be appointed to perform the operation. He was
the first F R C S in Ceylon’. His eldest son was
the illustrious Dr Milroy Paul, the Professor of Surgery
for 27 years and thric e invited to deliver the distinguished
Hunterian oration to the Royal College of Surgeons
Dr
A T S Paul was an all rounder of rare distinction. He
graduated with a first class honors with three distinctions
from what was then the Medical College, the only other
first class graduate being the very distinguished Dr George
Ratnavale. In that same year, Dr Paul won a first prize
in the Art Gallery for his drawing of Rabindranath Tagore,
captained the cricket team, and built a boat and a model
plane.
As
a cricketer he was the star spin bowler of the Tamil Union.
having once performed a hat trick, clean bowling four
star batsman of the star studded S S C . He was a triple
F R C S, specialized in Thoracic surgery and with Dr Weinman
devised a mechanism to improve the success of heart surgery.
He ended his successful career as the senior Thoracic
surgeon of the General Hospital, and spent his leisure
sailing. He was also an excellent marksman with a rifle.
He
was the oldest live person who played at the Royal Thomian
this year Society bids good bye to a rare individual.
His only surviving son Dr S C Paul is a surgeon in England.
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune