Ceylon In World War II
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

After the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, in the British Crown Colony of Ceylon (modern-day
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, ...
), the government of Sir
Don Baron Jayatilaka Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka, KBE ( Sinhala:ශ්‍රීමත් දොන් බාරොන් ජයතිලක; 13 February 1868 – 29 May 1944) known as ''D.B. Jayatilaka'' was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese educationalist, statesmen and dip ...
assured the British King and his government of its continued support.


Preparations for war

The British had occupied the coastal areas of the island since 1796, but after 1917 the colony had no regular garrison of British troops. The Ceylon Defence Force and Ceylon Navy Volunteer Reserve were mobilised and expanded. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
maintained naval installations in
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 o ...
and the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) had established an aerodrome in China Bay, Trincomalee long before the war. After the
fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...
the Royal Navy's
East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...
was moved to
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
and then to Trincomalee.
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...
Geoffrey Layton Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton, (20 April 1884 – 4 September 1964) was a Royal Navy officer. He was in command of the submarine when, under attack from German vessels, it ran aground off the Danish coast during the First World War. Despite thi ...
was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon with
Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...
John D'Albiac Air Officer Commanding and Admiral Sir James Somerville appointed commander of the British Eastern Fleet. The army headquarters were established at the Colombo Museum building, while the Fighter Operations Room was setup at Bishop's College, Colombo. Naval headquarters was moved to HMS Lanka and its operations room took form in an underground center and Admiral Layton established his headquarters at the
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...
. Admiral Somerville took over the house of the King's Harbour Master adjoining the Victoria Arcade Navy officer's mess. The fixed land defences consisted of four
coastal batteries Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed Artillery battery, gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery ...
at Colombo and five at Trincomalee; these were established prior to the war. Air defences were expanded starting in 1941 with the RAF occupying the civil airfield at
Ratmalana Ratmalana is a suburb in Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Ratmalana is situated 14.6 km south of Colombo city centre. Ratmalana Airport loca ...
near Colombo with its station headquarters set up at Kandawala. Another airfield was rapidly built at
Koggala Koggala (; ) is a small coastal town, situated at the edge of a lagoon on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Galle District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Koggala is bounded on one side by a reef, and on the oth ...
near
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 several temporary airstrips were built across the country, with the largest at Colombo Racecourse Airstrip. Several RAF Squadrons were sent to Ceylon. Several Commonwealth units were also stationed in Ceylon for the duration of the war.


Ceylon volunteers

As with other British Colonies
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
was not implemented in Ceylon. However, Ceylonese were encouraged to volunteer for service. Many volunteered throughout the war, most joining the Ceylon Defence Force, which was expanded from a reserve unit to a mobilised force of 10 infantry battalions, 3 artillery regiments and support units. For the first time, Ceylonese units were deployed outside Ceylon in formation until the Cocos Islands Mutiny after which deployment overseas of Ceylonese units was stopped with a few exceptions. Ceylonese continued to volunteer and joined the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, RAF and the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. They were supplemented by personnel of the Ceylon Defence Force who requested transfer to front line units of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. They served in the
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
and later in Malaya. Ceylonese served in the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and with the
Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...
in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. The 1st battalion, the Ceylon Corps of Military Police, served in Malaya till 1949. Several of those who served with Commonwealth Forces during the war went on to serve in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces after Ceylon gained independence in 1948; these include
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
D. S. Attygalle, Major General Anton Muttukumaru, Major General Bertram Heyn, Major General Richard Udugama, Major General H.W.G. Wijeyekoon and
Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...
Edward Amerasakera.


Ceylon Navy Volunteer Reserve

The Ceylon Navy Volunteer Reserve was taken over by the Royal Navy. Cutting its teeth on the Port Commission Tugs ''Samson'' and ''Goliath'', it later manned and operated trawlers and Antarctic whalers converted as Minesweepers and fitted out with guns, submarine detection equipment and anti-submarine weaponry. They were H.M. Ships ''Overdala Wyike'' (the first ship to be purchased by the Government of Ceylon), ''Okapi'', ''Semla'', ''Sambhur'', ''Hoxa'', ''Balta'' and H.M Tugs ''Barnet'' and ''C405''. In addition it manned several Motor Fishing Vessels (MFV) and miscellaneous auxiliary vessels. All were manned exclusively by CRNVR personnel. These ships were meant to sweep and guard the approaches the harbours but were also often used on extended missions outside Ceylon waters. In the course of these operations, the ships came under enemy fire, recovered essential information from Japanese aircraft shot down, sailed to Akyab after the Burma front was opened in two FMVs for harbour duties, and was called upon to accept the surrender of the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
colonial ship ''
Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
'' and escort her to port with a prize crew on board.


Cocos Islands Mutiny

The sinking of the battleship and the battlecruiser , and the subsequent
fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...
, punctured forever the myth of British invincibility. Against this backdrop, and on the agitation of the
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
-inspired
Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP ( literally: Lanka Equal Society Party, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமாஜக் கட்சி), is a major Trotskyist po ...
, soldiers of the on Horsburgh Island in the
Cocos Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...
mutinied on the night, intending to hand the islands over to the Japanese. The mutiny was suppressed within an hour, however, and three of the mutineers were later executed — the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War. Following the mutiny the use of Ceylonese combat troops was discontinued by the British, although a number of supply and transport units were used in the rear areas in the Middle East. The defences of Ceylon were reinforced by the 7th Australian Division and elements of the 1st (African) Division because of the island's strategic importance, holding almost all the British Empire's resources of rubber.


Japanese attack on Ceylon

The ''Easter Sunday Raid'' was the air raid carried out by
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
on Easter Sunday (5 April) 1942 on Colombo; a few days later Trincomalee was also attacked. Although the military effect of the raids was substantial - it resulted in the sinking of several ships including two cruisers and an aircraft carrier, the effect on the Ceylonese population was far greater as it had heard of the
Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly Chinese postal romanization, romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanji ...
s and of the act of brutality of the Japanese in occupied countries. The civilian population began a panicked fleeing of Colombo and of Ceylon by boat to India following the raid.


Opposition and anticolonial nationalism

There was some opposition to the war in Ceylon, particularly among the workers and the
nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
(such as the Ceylon National Congress), encouraged by the
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP ( literally: Lanka Equal Society Party, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமாஜக் கட்சி), is a major Trotskyist po ...
(or "Samasamajists"), which supported the independence movement and led the anti-war movement, made it clear that it did not side with either the Axis powers or the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
and considered the war an internationalist one. In 1940, the LSSP was banned; in response, the LSSP supported the pro-Japanese unrest in Cocos Islands.Ashley Jackson: ''Defend Lanka Your Home: War on the Home Front in Ceylon, 1939–1945'', in: War in History, vol. 16 (2009), no. 2, pp. 213–38 (here: p. 237). The
Communist Party of Ceylon The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (; ) is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004 legislative election, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and ...
too supported the anti-war movement as they saw it also as a war of imperialists, but in 1941 when Germany attacked the Soviet Union they joined the war movement in support of the British calling it a people's war. But much of the populace dreaded a
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
victory. Among Buddhists, there was anger that Buddhist monks of German origin were interned as 'enemy aliens' whereas German and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priests were not. Two young members of the Governing Party, Junius Jayawardene (who later became President) and
Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan wikt:statesman, statesman who thrice served as Prime Minister of C ...
(later the third Prime Minister), held discussions with the Japanese with a view to collaboration to oust the British. These discussions did not go further since the much older D. S. Senanayake (later the first Prime Minister) stopped them. Independence agitators turned to opposition to the Ministers' support for the British war effort. The local Ministers brought motions gifting the Ceylonese taxpayers' money to the British war effort, which were opposed by the pro-independence members of the State Council. Propaganda was carried out among the troops,
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
and British as well as indigenous with little effect. Starting in November 1939 and during the first half of 1940 there was a wave of spontaneous strikes on the British-owned plantations, basically aimed at winning the right of organisation. There were two main plantation unions, Natesa Iyer's Ceylon Indian Congress and the All-Ceylon Estate Workers Union (later the Lanka Estate Workers Union, LEWU) led by Samasamajists. In the Central Province the strike wave reached the zenith on the Mool Oya Estate strike, which was led by Samasamajists. After Mool Oya, the strike wave spread southward towards Uva, the strikes became more prolonged and the workers began to seek the militant leadership of the Samasamajists more and more. The Trotskyist leader N. M. Perera addressed a large meeting in Badulla on 12 May, and the police were powerless to act, although it was banned. At Wewessa Estate the workers set up an elected council and the Superintendent agreed to act in consultation with the
Workers' Council A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of polit ...
. An armed
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
party that went to restore 'law and order' was disarmed by the workers. The strike wave at last was beaten back by a wave of terror by the police, aided by floods which cut Uva off from the rest of the country for over a week. However, the colonial authorities were finding that the independence struggle was becoming too powerful. After
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
, the British colonial authorities reacted in panic (as revealed in secret files released decades later) and the LSSP State Council members N. M. Perera and
Philip Gunawardena Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena (11 January 1901 – 26 March 1972) was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyi ...
and others were arrested on 18 June. The Samasamajist press was raided and sealed. Regulations were promulgated which made open party work practically impossible. Public opposition to British colonial rule continued to grow. Among the elite there was irritation at the colour-bar practised by the leading clubs. Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke, the Civil Defence Commissioner complained that the British commander of Ceylon, Admiral Layton called him a 'black bastard'. Ceylonese in Japanese occupied Singapore and Malaya formed the 'Lanka Regiment' of the so called
Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...
which had been established by Nazi Germany, directly under Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...
. A plan was made to transport them to Ceylon by submarine, to begin the independence struggle, but this was abortive. The LSSP leaders were able to escape, with the help of one of their guards. Several of them fled to India, where they participated in the struggle there, underscoring what had been established before the war, that India's and Ceylon's independence struggles were interlinked. However, a sizable contingent remained, led by
Robert Gunawardena Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena (12 March 1904 - 26 December 1971: ), popularly as Robert Gunawardena, was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which was the first politica ...
, Philip's brother.


Images


References


Citations


Sources

* Arsecularatne, S.N. (1991) ''Sinhalese immigrants in Malaysia & Singapore, 1860–1990: History through recollections'', KVG de Silva & Sons: Colombo. * Crusz, N. (2001) ''The Cocos Islands Mutiny'', Fremantle Arts Centre Press: Fremantle. * Muthiah, W. & Wanasinghe, S. (1996) ''Britain, World War 2 and the Sama Samajists'', Young Socialist Publications: Colombo. * Senewiratne, A.M. (2020) ''Till The Mountains Disappear'', Sri Lanka.
Lankan was privy to WW II covert operation


See also

*
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 ...
*
Sri Lankan Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...
* The Easter Sunday Raid on Colombo * Indian Ocean raid * Military history of the British Commonwealth in the Second World War {{British Ceylon period topics
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
South-East Asian theatre of World War II Wars involving Sri Lanka Ceylon Defence Force Military history of Ceylon in World War II