Ceylon Pioneers was a
paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
unit formed as a skilled labor force with military type discipline in
British Ceylon
British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...
. Raised in 1821, with recruits from India, personal from the unit were used by the Public Works Department in construction of railways, road and bridges in
Ceylon
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, ...
and
Malaya till 1947. Ceylonese serving with the force in Malaya were eligible for the
General Service Medal with the Malaya Clasp
Notable personal
*
C. P. J. Seneviratne
See also
*
Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps
The Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps (SLAPC) is a pioneer reserve regiment of the Sri Lanka Army that specialized in CBRN defense management, defusing and disposal of bombs and land mines, demolition and underwater demolition, engineer reconnaissance, ...
References
{{reflist
Paramilitary organisations based in Sri Lanka
Labour in Sri Lanka
Military history of British India