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. Faith Sir Ernest de Silva was a strong Buddhist who contributed much to the advancement of Buddhism. One such instance was when he purchased an Island (Polgasduwa) in 1911 and offered it to Ven. Nanatiloke, the famous German monk, to start a hermitage for Buddhist monks. The founder-Preceptor, a reputed German Professor who had been ordained in Burma, attracted many scholars and thinkers from all parts of the world, to name