Military unit
The
Ceylon Defence Force
(
CDF
) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation
Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance
, which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the
military reserve
in the
British
Crown colony
of
Ceylon
. At the time of forming it was only a
reserve
force but soon developed into a
regular
force responsible for the defence of Ceylon. The CDF was under the command of the
General Officer Commanding, Ceylon
of the
British Army
in Ceylon if mobilised. However mobilisation could be carried out only under orders from the
Governor
.
History
[
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]
The origins of the Ceylon Defence Force can be traced back to the formation of the Ceylon Volunteers in 1881, whereby the Citizens' Rifle Society rifle section was designated the 1st Battalion
Ceylon Light Infantry
with Lieutenant Colonel John Scott Armtage appointed as the first Commanding Officer. The Ceylon Volunteers subsequently were renamed the Ceylon Volunteer Force and finally was renamed the Ceylon Defence Force in 1910. Units of the Ceylon Volunteer Force in 1910.
Second Boer War
[
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]
In 1900 Ceylon Mounted Infantry saw action and in 1902 a contingent of Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps, took part in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Their services were recognised by presentation, in 1902, of a colour to the Ceylon Mounted Infantry, and a presentation in 1904, of a Banner to the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps.
Although there were Ceylonese officers much of the officer corps was made up of British officers and the other ranks were mostly Ceylonese with the exception of the
Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps
which was completely made up of Europeans.
First World War
[
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In 1914, with the outbreak of the
First World War
, the Ceylon Defence Force was mobilised and expanded. Many volunteers from the Defence Force traveled to England and joined the British Army, and many of them were killed in action. One of them mentioned by
Arthur Conan Doyle
was Private Jacotine of the Ceylon Light Infantry, who was the last man left alive in his unit at the Battle of Lys, and who continued to fight for 20 minutes before he was killed. The CPRC sent a force of 8 officers and 229 other ranks commanded by Major J. Hall Brown to the Great War. The unit sailed for Egypt in October 1914, and was deployed in defence of the Suez Canal. This unit was officially attached to the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
(ANZAC) and was in 1915 dispatched to
Anzac Cove
(‘Z’ Beach) on the
Gallipoli Peninsula
. The CPRC performed operational duties as guards to ANZAC headquarter staff, including the General Officer Commanding ANZAC, Lieutenant General
William Birdwood
, who remarked, “I have an excellent guard of Ceylon Planters who are such a nice lot of fellows.” According to its onetime Commanding Officer (CO), Colonel T.Y. Wright (1904?1912), the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps had sustained overall losses of 80 killed and 99 wounded in the Great War. Soon after the war the 80th Carnatics, who were the last regular military unit stationed in Ceylon on garrison duties, left. This resulted in the Ceylon Defence Force becoming a regular military unit with some units, such as the Mobilized Detachment of
Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers
having troops mobilised on a permanent basis.
Second World War
[
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]
In 1939, when the
Second World War
began, the Ceylon Defence Force was mobilised and expanded to fortify Ceylon to meet a possible threat posed by the Japanese. CDF came direct command of the
South East Asia Command
(SEAC) and formed part of the
British 11th Army Group
. It was sometimes referred to as the
British Army in Ceylon
or
Ceylon Army Command
during this time.
South East Asia Command
under
Admiral
Lord Louis Mountbatten
had its headquarters located at
Kandy
, Ceylon.
Troops from the Ceylon Defence Force, mainly the
Ceylon Light Infantry
and the
Ceylon Garrison Artillery
were placed outside Ceylon undertaking garrison duties on the
Seychelles
and the
Cocos Islands
. In
Cocos Islands Mutiny
took place (encouraged by
Trotskyist
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
) by a few members of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery but was immediately put down by the Ceylon Light Infantry. CLI troops in 1941 escorted
Italian
POWs
from the
Middle East
to Ceylon, and later in 1946 Japanese
POWs
from Ceylon to
India
.
In 1945 reached its wartime peak at 645 officers and 14,247 other ranks. At the centre of the expansion was the Ceylon Light Infantry which grew by 1946 from one to five battalions.
Post war
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In 1947 the CDF was again mobilised in its last major internal security operation to suppress a left wing
hartal
, or mass stoppage of work. The Ceylon Defence Force was given additional support by an armed detachment of British
Royal Marines
from
HMS
Glasgow
, who were utilised to deter strikers in
Colombo
.
The Ceylon Defence Force was officially disbanded on 11 April 1949 and reconstituted by
Army Act No. 17 of 1949
which revoked the
Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance of 1910
as the
Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF)
, itself becoming the
Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force
(SLAVF) in 1972.
Impact on the Ceylon Army
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Soldiers who had experience in the CDF were actively recruited into the newly constructed regular force, and reconstituted volunteer force of the new
Ceylon Army
. In its first few years, and with few exceptions, the only new recruits enlisted were
officer cadets
and soldiers below the rank of
warrant officer
. Ceylon Defence Force veterans featured prominently in the post-independence regular
Ceylon Army
until
General
D. S. Attygalle
(1967?1977) finished his term as Commander. The last Ceylon Defence Force veteran to leave the Army was
Brigadier
T. S. B. Sally
, who ended his service tenure in 1979.
Units of the Ceylon Defence Force
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Personnel
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]
Its
commissioned officers
received their
commission
from the Governor, instead of the
British Monarch
which was the case in the
British Army
. Since the force was a volunteer force, its personnel were made up of exclusively of the upper and middle class of the island who could spare the free time. Much of the officer carder was made up of Europeans,
Burghers
and a smaller extent from the
Sinhalese
,
Tamils
and
Moor
communities. A few Europeans had served with the
British Army
, vast majority were planters, landowners and professionals such as lawyers, doctors engineers and civil servants.
Oxbridge
graduates could easily gain a commission. Officer training was limited with, much of the training and activity were planned on weekends and at the annual training camp and exercise that took place in
Diyatalawa
. Infantry companies were formed in cities and towns with local volunteers.
Recruitment
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Recruitment took place at regiment and unit level, with the commanding officer of the regiment deciding on both the officer and other ranks recruited into their respective units, following an application and an interview by a recruitment board. This meant that regiments retained exclusiveness such as the Ceylon Mounted Rifles and the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps which was limited to Europeans and not opened to native Ceylonese.
Training
[
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]
As
volunteer units
, the CDF personal served in a part-time basis. They would carryout dills and practice during a weekend per month and would undertake a training camp of two week duration once a year at Imperial Camp in the
Diyatalawa Garrison
.
Commandants
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Notable members
[
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]
- The Rt. Hon.
Don Stephen Senanayake
,
CTG
- First
Prime Minister of Ceylon
.
- General
Sir
John Lionel Kotelawala
CH
,
KBE
,
CLI
- Third
Prime Minister of Ceylon
- Captain
Henry Pedris
,
CTG
- A prominent figure executed by the British.
- Major
Hon.
E. A. Nugawela
,
CLI
- former Minister of Education (of the first cabinet 1948), Member of Parliament & State Council
- Major General
Anton Muttukumaru
OBE
,
ED
,
CLI
- First Ceylonese
Commander of the Ceylon Army
(1955?1959)
- Major General
H. W. G. Wijeyekoon
,
OBE
,
ED
,
CLI
- Former
Commander of the Ceylon Army
(1960?1963)
- Major General
Richard Udugama
,
MBE
,
CLI
- Former
Commander of the Ceylon Army
(1964?1966)
- Major General
B.R. Heyn
,
CLI
- Former
Commander of the Ceylon Army
(1966?1967)
- General
D. S. Attygalle
MVO
,
CLI
- Former
Commander of the Sri Lankan Army
(1967?1977)
- Lieutenant
Basil Arthur Horsfall
,
VC
,
ELR
- only Ceylonese to win a
Victoria Cross
- Brigadier
Douglas Ramanayake
- first commanding officer, Sri Lanka Engineers
[2]
- Brigadier
T. S. B. Sally
- Former
Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army
- Colonel
Fredrick C. de Saram
,
OBE
,
CA
- first commanding officer,
Sri Lanka Artillery
and the leader of the
Attempted military coup in 1962
- Bombardier
Gratien Fernando
,
CGA
- leader of the
Cocos Islands Mutiny
Former decorations & medals
[
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]
From its formation the Ceylon Defence Force used
British military decorations
.
See also
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References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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