Diyatalawa
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Diyatalawa (දියතලාව, meaning “the watered plain”) is a former
garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
town in the central highlands of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, in the
Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...
District of
Uva Province Uva Province ( si, ඌව පළාත, Uva Paḷāta, ta, ஊவா மாகாணம், Uvā Mākāṇam) is Sri Lanka's second least populated Provinces of Sri Lanka, province, with 1,259,880 people, created in 1896. It consists of two dis ...
. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers. It is home to the
Diyatalawa Garrison The Diyatalawa Garrison is a common name used for collection of military bases of the Sri Lanka Army located in and around the garrison town Diyatalawa in the Uva Province. Sometimes it is referred to as the ''Diyatalawa Cantonment''. It is one ...
of the
Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...
, which includes the
Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...
, officer training centre of the army;
SLAF Diyatalawa SLAF ''Diyatalawa'' is the Sri Lanka Air Force station in Diyatalawa. It is the primary ground combat training centre for SLAF Regiment and other trades. It runs basic combat courses for officer cadets and recruits as well as Advanced training f ...
, the
Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
's ground combat training centre; and facilities of the
Sri Lanka Police (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...
.


History

It is not known when Diyatalawa became a training station for troops, but available records show that it was selected around 1885, when the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
first established a
garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
at Diyatalawa. At that time training was conducted at the Imperial Camp which is now occupied by the
Gemunu Watch The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, Ceylon Light Infantry and the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has bee ...
troops. On 8 August 1900, the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
established a concentration camp in Diyatalawa to house Boer prisoners captured in the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
. Constructed to house 2,500 prisoners and 1,000 guards and staff, the number of prisoners increased to 5,000. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
an internment camp for enemy aliens was set up. Early in World War II the camp was reopened and German nationals resident in Hong Kong and Singapore were imprisoned there, together with a number of Buddhist monks of German extraction, such as
Nyanaponika Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German-born Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and auth ...
and Govinda Anagarika, who had acquired British citizenship. In June 1941 most of the sailors were transferred to Canada. The section for Germans were divided into pro and anti-Nazi sections. There was also a section set up to house
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
POWs. After the Japanese started bombing the island, inmates were transferred to camps in India for safety. Males usually went to
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
. Officer training was also carried out here during the war. After World War II the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
maintained a rest station named
HMS Uva HMS ''Uva'' was a Royal Navy rest camp at Diyatalawa, in British Ceylon. The camp was reportedly built as a prisoner of war camp for use in the Boer War in 1900, and was used as a Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital in the Second World War. The rest ca ...
, which were also sometimes used by RAF personnel, such as from RAF Negombo/Katunayake, and their families; the facilities were later taken over by the
Royal Ceylon Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...
in 1956, commissioning it as HMCYS ''Rangalla'' and established its training centre there. They had to move out in 1962 following the attempted coup d'état and it was taken over by the
Gemunu Watch The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, Ceylon Light Infantry and the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has bee ...
. Sri Lanka gained its independence, as Ceylon, in 1948. In the mid-1950s, all British military facilities were transferred to the Sri Lankan services. In 1952 the
Royal Ceylon Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
established
SLAF Diyatalawa SLAF ''Diyatalawa'' is the Sri Lanka Air Force station in Diyatalawa. It is the primary ground combat training centre for SLAF Regiment and other trades. It runs basic combat courses for officer cadets and recruits as well as Advanced training f ...
.


Sporting events

Fox Hill, Diyatalawa is the venue for the annual Fox Hill Motor Cross organised by the Sri Lanka Military Academy, one of the premier motor racing events in the country. Fox Hill (Nariya Kanda in Sinhalese) was named after the engraving of the whole slope facing the railway station of Diyatalawa, by the British soldiers at the canteen town, with an image of a fox carved in with hundreds of rough rocks of quartz that were once lying scattered all over the hill. Stag Hill (Gona Kanda in Sinhalese) also named following the same style of rock art on hill similar to Fox Hill.


Climate

Due to the high altitude,the garrison town of Diyatalawa located between the hill station retreats of Haputale and Bandarawela of central highlands has a much cooler climate than the lowlands of Sri Lanka, with a mean annual temperature of 19 °C. In the winter months it is quite cold at night, and there can even be frost.


Maps


Map of Diyatalawa


See also

*
Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...
*
SLAF Diyatalawa SLAF ''Diyatalawa'' is the Sri Lanka Air Force station in Diyatalawa. It is the primary ground combat training centre for SLAF Regiment and other trades. It runs basic combat courses for officer cadets and recruits as well as Advanced training f ...
*
Arcadia, Diyatalawa Arcadia is a country house in Diyatalawa, in the Badulla District, Sri Lanka. It is known for being the country house of the press baron D.R. Wijewardene. Built by British planter, G. M. Crabbe, the house and tea estate which was also called ...


References

{{Authority control Hill stations in Sri Lanka Military units and formations of Ceylon in World War II Resorts in Sri Lanka Towns in Badulla District World War II sites in Sri Lanka