da brdice： Fitzroy R.S
CricInfo14-Jan-2002Fitzroy R.S. de Mel, a highly respected umpire of the Board of Control forCricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) met with an ill-fated train accident whicheventually took his life on Wednesday evening.Initial reports indicate that de Mel who was returning home from work wasinvolved in a heated argument with another person, who is alleged to havepushed him from the Lunawa Railway Station platform when the train hadstarted to move. He was accompanied by his wife at the time of his death.De Mel (66) was employed as the assignment officer at the BCCSL, havingjoined the establishment in 1992 after he decided to retire from activeumpiring in the mid-eighties.He donned the white coat for 30 years and during that time, officiated infirst-class and representative matches and unoffical Tests.De Mel was highly respected in his field and played an active role evenafterwards being vice president of the Association of Cricket Umpires andScorers Sri Lanka (ACUSSL). He was made a life member of the association in1994 for his services to cricket and was also a member of the ACU ofEngland.During his time as an umpire, De Mel was employed in the Survey Departmentwhom he represented at cricket and later, in the Mahaweli Authority. De Melwas also a notable actor in dramas, the most famous of which was in HenryJayasena’s ‘Hunuwataye Kathawa’.His funeral took place on Saturday afternoon at the Anglican Church inLunawa, Moratuwa.