The Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද හමුදා වෛද්‍ය බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Yuddha Hamuda Vayidya Balakaya'') is a specialist

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

in the

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; ...

which specializes in military medicine and provides

medical service Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is deliver ...

s to all army personnel and their families in war and in peace. It is made up of 4 regular units and one volunteer unit. Headquartered in

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 ...

, formally at army headquarters. The corps

Cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as ...

depicting the

Rod of Asclepius In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; , , , sometimes also spelled Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing ...

General officer 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 ...

s and senior officers of the SLMC wear

gorget patches Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group ...

of maroon rather than of scarlet worn by other officers of similar rank.

History

The origins of the corps dates back to 29 July 1881 when a

stretcher bearer A stretcher-bearer is a person who carries a stretcher, generally with another person at its other end, especially in a war or emergency times when there is a very serious accident or a disaster. In case of military personnel, for example removi ...

company was raised as a part of the

Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers The Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of sixteen regular battalions and nine volunteer battalions, and is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonme ...

, which evolved into the Ceylon Volunteer Medical Corps (CVMC) of 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 ...

serving in both

world wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

. With Ceylon gaining self rule in 1948 and the formation of 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 1949, the CVMC became a part of the Ceylon Army Volunteer Force with Lt. Col. Sydney Jayawardene was the first Commanding Officer. In October 1950 the Ceylon Army Medical Corps (CAMC) was formed in the

regular force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, caree ...

of the Ceylon Army, with 3 medical officers, and 20 other ranks drawn from the wartime CVMC, under the command of Major H. C. Serasinghe. The CAMC established a 10-bed Medical Reception Station (MRS) at the General Military Hospital, Colombo operated by the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, which was later upgraded to a 50-bed service hospital in 1952. In 1961 a MRS were setup at the

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 ...

. The first Regiment, CAMC was formed in 1965 and the CVMC became the 2nd (Volunteer) Regiment, CAMC with its personal serving during the

1971 JVP insurrection The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection (also known as the 1971 Revolt) was the first of two unsuccessful armed revolts conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the socialist United Front Government of ...

. The corps was renamed once again in 1972 as the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps when Sri Lanka became a republic. With the onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War military base hospitals were established at the

Palaly Military Base Palaly Cantonment is a Sri Lanka Army cantonment located in Palaly, Northern Province of Sri Lanka, and the largest on the Jaffna Peninsula. The base houses the Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna and is near the naval base SLNS Uttara at Kan ...

and at the

Panagoda Cantonment Panagoda Cantonment is a cantonment located in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It serves as the regimental headquarters of many regiments of the Sri Lanka Army and is an arsenal. It also houses one of the main Military Hospitals operated by the ...

in 1985. The Directorate of Army Medical Service was established in 1985. In 1997, a military base hospital was established in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

. With civil war intensifying in the 1980s and 1990s the SLMC was expanded and deployed support combat operations and the high number of casualties.

Hospitals

Since all three armed forces and the police maintain their medical services with their own hospitals, the corp is only responsible for maintaining and operating army medical facilities mainly focused on treatment of battle casualties. Apart from medical reception stations in almost all military stations these include; ;

Military Hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

s * Colombo Military Hospital,

* University Hospital Kotelawala Defence University Hospital, Werahera * Victory Military Hospital,

;Base Hospitals in *

Diyatalawa Garrison The Diyatalawa Garrison is a common name used for collection of military bases of the Sri Lanka Army located in and around the garrison town Diyatalawa in the Uva Province. Sometimes it is referred to as the ''Diyatalawa Cantonment''. It is one o ...

* Ampara Military Base

Units

Regular Army

*1st Regiment, Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (Regimental HQ SLAMC, Werahera) *3rd Regiment, Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (

) *4th Regiment, Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

) *5th Regiment, Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (

Habarana Habarana (; ) is a small city in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka. The location has some mid-range and up hotels aimed at package tourists, and is a departure point for other nearby locations of greater interest. Habarana is a popular tou ...

)

Volunteers

*2nd(V) Regiment, Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (

) (Formed on 29 July 1881)

Training Centres

* Sri Lanka Army Military School Of Nursing

Notable members

* Frank Gunasekera - former Deputy President of the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the Parliament of Ceylon, parliament of Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It ...

and Commanding officer, Ceylon Medical Corps (1935-1939) * Chelliah Thurairaja - former Director Army Medical Services and Colonel Commandant of the SLAMCMajor General C. Thurairaja was a sporting superstar
* Sanjeewa Munasinghe - Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Director General, Army Health Services, and Colonel Commandant of the SLAMC * Dr. S.D.C. De Silva - Former Commanding Officer, 1 SLAMC * Herbert Clifford Serasinghe - former Commanding officer, Ceylon Army Medical Corps *

Vincent Henry Ludovici Anthonisz Colonel Dr Vincent Henry Ludovici Anthonisz, OBE, ED (19 March 1894 – 9 June 1973) was a Ceylonese physician. He was the officer in charge of the Colombo General Hospital, Commandant, Ceylon Medical Corps and Honorary Surgeon to the Governor o ...

- former Commanding officer, Ceylon Medical Corps * Rex De Costa - former Commanding officer,

Ruhunu Regiment The Ruhunu Regiment was a former Military reserve force of the Ceylon Army. The regiment was raised in 1954 in Galle with a detachment in Matara. It was disbanded in 1956 when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike became prime minister as he considered the unit t ...

and Vice President,

World Veterans Federation The World Veterans Federation (WVF) is the world's largest international veteran organisation. The federation consists of 172 veterans organizations from 121 countries representing some 60 million veterans worldwide. It is a humanitarian organisa ...

* Dr.

John Rockwood Lieutenant Colonel Dr John Rajathurai Rockwood, VD (29 October 1881 – 2 December 1935) was the leading administrator and patron of cricket in Ceylon from 1914 to 1935.S. S. Perera, ''The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket (1832–1996)'', ...

, VD - former Commanding officer, Ceylon Medical Corps * H. I. K. Fernando - former Director Army Medical Services and All Ceylon cricket player

Order of precedence

References

External links and sources

Sri Lanka Army

Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps
{{Authority control

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

Army medical administrative corps Military medicine in Sri Lanka Military units and formations of Ceylon in World War II Military units and formations established in 1881