Moving memories of tsunami in Galle
| 11:03 UK time, Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Since we have been here in Galle we have been hearing some amazing stories about what happened here when the .
But the magnitude of the events of that day were really brought home to me on Wednesday when Jonathan Agnew spoke to two young men whose lives were changed forever that day.
Charlie Pelham and Spencer Crawley were among the members of the Harrow School cricket team preparing to play a match at the ground when the wave hit.
When the first smaller wave appeared, Spencer admitted, it wasn't clear what had happened.
"There was no sign of the event. We were making jokes that we might need the rollers after lunch."
But as the second larger wave appeared the scale of the catastrophe began to become clear.
The boys managed to scramble to safety at the top of the pavilion. They told Aggers how they witnessed a horrifying sight as the waters drove through the bus station at the back of the ground.
"In Galle high street the buses were strewn and you could see bodies. As we walked down there was a lady who would have tried to make the pavilion but didn't and drowned just beneath us,鈥 Spencer explained.
The tragedy became even more personal for Spencer. His mother Harriet and stepfather Julian, who had been staying 20 minutes away, were on a public bus to the ground when the tsunami came.
His mother escaped, but his stepfather's body was later pulled from the wreckage of the bus.
"My mother thinks Julian saved her by breaking the window of the bus," Spencer told us.
For him this week has been very emotional as it is his first visit back here since that fateful day.
However Charlie Pelham told us he returned to the area only a few months after the tsunami, wanting to help Sri Lankans who suffered.
"They were so kind to us, even though they had been through so much. We returned home on Sri Lankan Airways and when we landed in England we heard an announcement from the Sri Lankan captain apologising for what happened in their country".
Charlie told us how he came back to Galle to help coach cricket to some of the youngsters affected by the tsunami.
"They just love cricket and I really wanted to do something, anything to help."
Spencer's mother Harriet and the Harrow School have certainly done all they can to help. The school's fundraising raised nearly half a million pounds to help local school projects whilst Harriet and her friends wanted to try to establish a more personal memorial.
They raised money for an indoor net facility on the ground named the Julian Ayer Cricket Centre.
Spencer told Jonathan how proud of his mum he is after what she has achieved.
It was a fascinating and very emotional 20 minutes and it was very well summed up by this e-mail from TMS listener Rosalyn Young.
"What eloquent, articulate, thoughtful and charming, mature young men Jonathan Agnew has been talking to,鈥 she wrote.
鈥淚 am full of admiration for them. How they have dealt with the awfulness of the experience at the time and since.
鈥淚 wish them well in whatever they do in their futures. I am sure that they will make a great success of whatever they do in life. Thank you for such an inspiring interview."
