Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Ariyaratne "Ariya" Ariyapperuma, psc, GW was a

Sri Lankan Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

, who was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Northern Command. Ariyapperuma joined the army in the first batch of cadet officers to undergo training at the newly established Army Training Centre and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment in 1958. In 1962, now

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Ariyapperuma was transferred to the 1st

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 be ...

. Having attended

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

, he served as the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 1st Gemunu Watch from December 1977 to January 1980 with rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1983, as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

he was serving as Commander (Operations), Colombo when the Black July riots broke out in the city and surroundings. In September 1983, he took over as Commander, Northern Command in the

Jaffna Peninsula The Jaffna Peninsula (, or ) is a region in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval Jaffna Kingdom. The peninsula was historically ...

. There he was killed on 19 November 1984, when his jeep hit a landmine on the Vallai-Tellipalai-Araly road in Tellippalai, Jaffna. At the time he was the most senior officer of the Army to be killed in the line of duty and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier posthumously and the Brigadier Ariyapperuma Memorial Hall at the Kuruwita Army Camp was named in his honor at the Regimental Headquarters of the Gemunu Watch.The Tamil Separatist War in Sri Lanka, By Channa Wickremesekera, Samp Ur N Ananda Sa Msk Rta VI Svavidy Alaya

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariyapperuma, Ariyaratne 1935 births 1984 deaths Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action Landmine victims Assassinated Sri Lankan military personnel People killed during the Sri Lankan civil war Sinhalese military personnel Gemunu Watch officers Sinha Regiment officers Sri Lankan brigadiers