Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Benjamin William Bawa, KC, VD (1865 – 1923) was a Ceylonese (

Sri Lanka 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 subcontinent, ...

n) lawyer. He served as the acting

Solicitor General of Ceylon The solicitor general of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the attorney general of Sri Lanka. The solicitor general of Sri Lanka assists the attorney general, and is assisted by four additional solicitors general. Note that the post was solicit ...

, as well as the private secretary and extra aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of captain-majors of Portugue ...

Early life and education

Bawa's parents were Ahamadu Bawa, a

Sri Lankan Moor Sri Lankan Moors (; Arwi: ; ; formerly Ceylon Moors; colloquially referred to as Sri Lankan Muslims) are an ethnic minority group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.3% of the country's total population. Most of them are native speakers of the Tamil langua ...

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

from

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

, and his English wife, Georgina Mathilda née Ablett. Bawa was educated at

S. Thomas' College Saint Thomas or St. Thomas may refer to: People * Thomas the Apostle (died AD 72), Jewish-Christian follower of Jesus and evangelist * Thomas the Hermit, Coptic Desert Father and Saint of the 4th century * Thomas of Maurienne or Thomas of Farf ...

and

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Si ...

. He played at the

Royal–Thomian The Battle of the Blues (Also known as Royal–Thomian Cricket Encounter) is an annual Big Match in Sri Lanka played between Royal College, Colombo and S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia since 1879. It is known as ''The Battle of the Blues'' ...

and won the

Turnour Prize Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

Legal career

Practicing law under

James Van Langenberg James Arthur Van Langenberg KC (2 March 1866 – 30 April 1915) was the 5th Solicitor General of Ceylon. James Arthur Van Langenberg was born in Colombo on 2 March 1866, the second son of James Arthur Van Langenberg (1839–1886) Knight Command ...

, he was called to bar in 1887. Developing a practice in Kegalle and Colombo, he traveled to England in 1903 entering the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

and was called to the English Bar in 1904. On his return he developed lucrative legal practices gaining appointment as a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. He was a member of the Council of Legal Education.

Military career

He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

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 ...

in 1899 and was promoted to

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 ...

in 1905. While in England he attended the School of Instruction for Officers of the Auxiliary Forces at the

Chelsea Barracks Chelsea Barracks was a British Army barracks located in the City of Westminster, London, between the districts of Belgravia, Chelsea and Pimlico on Chelsea Bridge Road. The barracks closed in the late 2000s, and the site is currently being redev ...

. He commanded the Q (Legal) Company of the Ceylon Light Infantry. He was appointed as aide-de-camp (ADC) to Brigadier-General Sir William Manning,

, serving as his private secretary until 1923.

Family

Bawa married Bertha Marian Campbell née Schrader, a Dutch Burgher woman who was the daughter of a surgeon from Kandy. His sons were

Bevis Bawa Major Bevis William Frederick Bawa, ADC, CLI (26 April 1909 – 18 September 1992) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) planter, soldier and a landscaper. He was also one of the most renowned landscape architects in Sri Lanka and served as the Aide-de- ...

, who was appointed ADC to the Governor like his father, and later became a renowned landscaper and

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, (23 July 191927 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. Often referred to as the leader of the Tropical Modernist movement, he was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoff ...

, who also became a lawyer, later becoming a renowned architect.

Death

Bawa was diagnosed with

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

in 1922 and traveled to England for treatment with his family. He died in 1923 while convalescing in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

References

External links

Bawa Ancestry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bawa, Benjamin William 1865 births 1923 deaths Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Cambridge Burgher people Sri Lankan lawyers Ceylonese Queen's Counsel Sri Lankan barristers Members of Gray's Inn British Ceylon judges 20th-century King's Counsel Sri Lankan people of French descent Ceylon Light Infantry officers