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Cyril Ranatunga
General S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV (19 February 1930 – 16 June 2021) was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s. He was also the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia and later to the United Kingdom. Early life Born and raised in the village of Bakmeedeniya, Kegalle, in a family of six children, Ranatunga attended St. Sylvester's College, Kandy; where he excelled at many sports, and captained the hockey and athletic teams. He was the head prefect and won the gold medal for the best all round student in 1949. Military career He joined the Ceylon Army in 1950 and received his officer training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where his company commander was Patrick Anthony Porteous. After completing his training at Sandhurst, he was sent to Malaya for additional training at the British Army Jungle Warfare School. On his return he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General (Sri Lanka)
General (abbreviated as Gen.) is the highest attainable and full general rank of the Sri Lankan Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of general; it is also considered a four-star rank. The rank of full general is not always given; this rank is held by a Chief of the Defence Staff (if the chief is appointed from the army and not from the navy or the air force) or is mostly awarded as a ceremonial rank to the Commander of the Army on his day of retirement. General is a higher rank than lieutenant general, but is lower than field marshal. General is the equivalent of Admiral in the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Chief Marshal in the Sri Lanka Air Force. History When the Ceylon Army was formed the rank of general was the highest rank defined under the Army Act of 1949. Since the formation the British Army officer heading the army held the rank of brigadier and the first Ceylonese officer to command the army, Anton Muttukumaru was promoted to the ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandy
Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic (''Sri Dalada Maligawa''), one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation. Etymology The city and the region have been known by many different names and versions of those names. Some scholars suggest that the original name of Kandy was Katubulu Nuwara located near the present Watapuluwa. However, the more popular historical name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1958 Lebanon Crisis
The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included an American military intervention, which lasted for around three months until President Camille Chamoun, who had requested the assistance, completed his term as president of Lebanon. American and Lebanese government forces occupied the Port of Beirut and Beirut International Airport. With the crisis over, the United States withdrew. Background Arab Cold War After the end of World War II in 1945, the United States and Soviet Union were the two major world powers. Two years later, the Truman Doctrine was issued, aimed at containing the spread of communism and the Soviet Union. The Cold War is generally considered to have begun around this time. As the world divided into the Eastern (communist) and Western (capitalist) Blocs, a struggle for ideological geopolitical supremacy between the US and USSR emerged. One of the ways it manifested was throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of . Beirut is the country's capital and largest city. Human habitation in Lebanon dates to 5000 BC. From 3200 to 539 BC, it was part of Phoenicia, a maritime civilization that spanned the Mediterranean Basin. In 64 BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Byzantine Empire. After the seventh century, it Muslim conquest of the Levant, came under the rule of different Islamic caliphates, including the Rashidun Caliphate, Rashidun, Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid. The 11th century saw the establishment of Christian Crusader states, which fell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bovington Camp
Bovington Camp () is a British Army military base in Dorset, South West England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison. The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and heathland training areas that support Phase Two training for soldiers of the Royal Armoured Corps and trade training for the Household Cavalry Regiment as well as other armoured units. It also houses The Tank Museum on its property. History The camps at Bovington and Lulworth were originally established in 1899 as an infantry training area and ranges. In 1916, they became training camps for the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps which relocated from Norfolk. The Heavy Branch was responsible for the operation of the tank in the British Army. In 1917 the Heavy Branch split from the Machine Gun Corps to become the Tank Corps, with the Depot and Central Schools being based at Bovington. In 1937 the Central Schools became the Armoure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, Sri Lankan Tamil speaking culture on the island for nearly a millennium. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. It is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name ''Thirukonamalai''. The town is home to other historical monuments such as the Pathirakali Amman Temple, Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee, the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall and, opened in 1897, the R. K. M. Sri Koneswara Hindu College, Trincomalee Hindu College. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 Ceylonese Riots
The 1956 anti-Tamil pogrom, also known as the Gal Oya riots, was the first organised pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon. It began with anti-Tamil rioting in Colombo, followed by anti-Sinhalese rioting in the Batticaloa District. The worst of the violence took place in the Gal Oya valley after the Batticaloa attacks, where local majority Sinhalese colonists and employees of the Gal Oya Development Board commandeered government vehicles, dynamite and weapons and massacred minority Tamils. It is estimated that over 150 people, mostly Tamils, had died during the violence. The police and army were eventually able to bring the situation under control. Background information Gal Oya settlement scheme Gal Oya settlement scheme was begun in 1949 to settle landless peasants in formerly jungle land. Gal Oya river in the Eastern province was dammed and a tank was created with of irrigated land. In 1956 the settlement had over 50 new villages where over 5,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ampara
Ampara (, ) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council. It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa. History This was a hunters' resting place during British colonial days (late 1890s and early 1900). During the development of the Gal Oya scheme from 1949 by the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake, Ampara was transformed into a town. Initially it was the residence for the construction workers of Gal Oya Dam, Inginiyagala Dam. Later it became the main administrative town of the Gal Oya Valley. Religious composition in Ampara DS Division according to 2012 census data is as follows Buddhists 42,584-97.16%, Roman Catholics 537-1.23%, Islam 322-0.73%, Other Christian 237-0.54%, Hindus 145-0.33%, Others 4-0.01%. References Ampara, Towns in Ampara District Ampara DS Division {{EasternLK-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylon Light Infantry
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 22 million and is home to several cultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army Jungle Warfare Training School
The British Army Jungle Warfare Training School (JWTS) of the Jungle Warfare Division (JWD) is an overseas military training establishment of the British Army, tasked with providing operational training in hot, tropical, and jungle warfare environments. It is part of British Forces Brunei (BFB), and the JWTS is headquartered at Medicina Lines (approximately 75 minute car journey from Brunei International Airport), near the Bruneian town Seria within Mukim Seria, Belait District, in the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; whilst its actual training facility is located at Sittang Camp in the Tutong District. The courses run by JWD which train the British Army and Royal Marines are: *Operational Tracking Instructors Course (OTIC) *Jungle Warfare Instructors Course (JWIC) The original Jungle Warfare School was at Kota Tinggi, Johor, in Malaya. This operated from , to ; it originally trained British and Commonwealth troops, and latterly Asian forces. See also *Royal Gurkha Ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federation Of Malaya
Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca. It was established on 1 February 1948.''See'': Cabinet Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 21 February 1956 Initially a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom, Malaya became Sovereign state, fully sovereign on 31 August 1957,The UK Statute Law DatabaseFederation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (c. 60)/ref> and on 16 September 1963, Malaya was superseded by Malaysia when it united with Colony of Singapore, Singapore, Crown Colony of North Borneo, North Borneo (Sabah), and Crown Colony of Sarawak, Sarawak. Singapore_in_Malaysia#Separation, Singapore was expelled on 9 August 1965, leaving the original states of Malaya as well as Sarawak and Sabah – now also known as East Malaysia – makin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
