Major General C.H. Fernando, VSV (1930 – 2020) was a

Sri Lanka 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; ...

general, who was the former Director of Operations,

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

; GOC, 2 Division; Commander, Northern Command.Major General C H Fernando VSV psc
Educated at the

Royal College, Colombo 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 ...

, Fernando graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and went on to join the

Ceylon 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 ...

in 1957. He was commissioned in to the Ceylon Armoured Corps as a Second Lieutenant after basic training at the Young Officers Course in the UK. He was a graduate of the

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 ...

gaining the psc qualification and attended the Senior Command Course at

Army War College, Mhow The Army War College, Mhow (A.W.C.) is a defence service training and research institution of the Indian Army located in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. It is a premier training institute of warfare and carries out research in tactics, logistics, contem ...

. Fernando became an instructor at the Army Training Centre,

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (), (), meaning ) is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers. It is home ...

and went on to become its Chief Instructor. Serving as the Acting Adjutant General, Army Headquarters, he became the 2IC and then after Commanding Officer,

Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police The Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police (SLCMP) is the branch of the Sri Lanka Army responsible for the policing of service personnel and providing a military police presence on service property, operations and exercises. It is made up of three re ...

; Officer Cadet School,

Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatal ...

and the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment,

Sri Lanka Armoured Corps The Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC) provides the armour capability of the Sri Lanka Army, with vehicles such as the T-55#Modernization, T-55AM2 main battle tank; the BMP development, BMP infantry fighting vehicle; and the BTR-80 and WZ551 armoured ...

. He was the

Colonel-Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. Brigadier Fernando took up the posts of Commander, Northern Command; Commandant, Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa; Commander, Support Forces Headquarters; Director of Training, Army Headquarters; Director of Operations, Army Headquarters; Commander, 21 Brigade; Regimental Commander, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. In 1988 he was promoted to the rank of Major General and made General Officer Commanding, 2 Division. He was awarded the

Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Order) ( Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය ''viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in recognit ...

(VSV),

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal The Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal was awarded to members of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka who were in service on 22 May 1972, subject to recommendation by the commanders of the respective service co ...

Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal The Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද්ධ හමුදා 25වන සංවත්සර පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā yuddha hamudā visipasvana sangwathsara padakkama'') was present ...

President's Inauguration Medal __NOTOC__ The President's Inauguration Medal ( Sinhala: ජනාධිපති ධූරප්‍රාප්ත පදක්කම ''janādhipathi dhūraprāptha padakkama'') was a decoration of the Military of Sri Lanka, granted to all regula ...

Purna Bhumi Padakkama The Purna Bhumi Padakkama ( Sinhala: පූර්ණ භූමි පදක්කම ''pūrna bhūmi padakkama'') was a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka (regular and volunteer) and Sri Lanka Police to all ranks of its forces ...

and the

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') was a service medal of Ceylon from 1968 to 1972. It was gr ...

. After his retirement he was a member of the Member of the Sri Lanka Salaries and Pensions Commission and a patron of the Royal College Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, C.H. Sri Lankan major generals Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Living people Alumni of the University of London Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Sinhalese military personnel Sri Lanka Armoured Corps officers Army War College, Mhow alumni