Major Basil Cholmondel Henricus (30 October 1922 – 4 August 2002) was a Sri Lankan boxer. He competed in the men's lightweight event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. At the 1952 Summer Olympics, he lost to Robert Bickle of the United States.

Boxing career

He was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a Single-sex education, selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academ ...

. At aged thirteen he took part in the Stubbs Shield Boxing Meet and won his weight. He was named the Best Boxer and won the Jayewardene Cup. In 1940, he participated in the Amateur Boxing Championships and won the Walsmly Trophy. In 1941, he captained the Royal College Boxing Team and won the Stubbs Shield for the College. In 1942, he won the featherweight class at the National Boxing Championships. He retained the National Boxing Championship till 1946, having defeated Eddie Gray and retired due to an injury from a motorcycle accident. He failed to qualify for the Empire Games in 1950, but was able to qualify for the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Military career

Following his schooling and the on-set of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he served as sports instructor from 1941 to 1942 in the Essential Services Corps and in the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In 1943, he was commissioned a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

in the

Ceylon Defence Force 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 ...

. He completed in the Defence Services track and field events held in 1944, where he defeated Duncan White in the 100 yards and came second to White in the 220 yards. He was second in the long jump. After the formation of the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

, Henricus transferred to the regular force and was attached to the Ceylon Corps of Military Police and went on to serve as its

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) 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 given wide latit ...

from September 1964 to October 1969 with the rank of Major. His medals include the

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal was awarded to members of the Ceylon armed services who served within their specific service branch during periods in 1949-1951 when their service branch was established: *Ceylon Army (10 October 1949 ...

, Defence Medal, the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. His brothers were Chief Inspector Barney Henricus, Captain George Henricus of the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

, Alan Henricus, a former Lieutenant in the

Royal Ceylon Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

and Derrick Henricus.Home is where the heart is
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henricus, Basil 1922 births 2002 deaths Sri Lankan male boxers Olympic boxers for Sri Lanka Boxers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Colombo Lightweight boxers Burgher military personnel Burgher sportspeople Ceylonese military personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War II Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police officers Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Sri Lankan emigrants to Australia