Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

David Narasiah Rockwood,

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

, ED, JP (2 February 1914 – 1976) was a

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 army officer and corporate executive. He was the Deputy Commandant of the Volunteer Force. Born in to a Tamil family of doctors, his father was Dr David Rockwood and his grandfather was Dr W. G. Rockwood, Member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

. Lieutenant Colonel Dr John Rockwood was his uncle. Rockwood joined Rowlands Ltd as an executive and went on to become the managing director of the British Car Company Ltd which introduced the

Morris Minor The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 ...

in Ceylon. He joined 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 ...

in 1940, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1 Battalion,

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 ...

. Mobilized for war service as soon as he joined as a volunteer officer, Rockwood served as a

staff officer 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, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...

in the

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

headquarters in

Peradeniya Peradeniya (; ) is a suburb of the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka with about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the A1 main road, a few kilometres west of Kandy city centre. Peradeniya's name is derived from ''pera'' (guava) and ''deniya'' (a plain ...

. Thereafter he was appointed as second in command of the 4th Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry based at Monkey Bridge, Trincomalee. He remained with the Ceylon Volunteer Force and was attached to the 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry. He received the battalion's

Colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

in 1954 from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during her Royal tour of Ceylon. He served a period on secondment with the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

and was presented to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Viscount Slim Viscount Slim, of Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory, Yarralumla in the Capital Territory of Australia and of Bishopston, Bristol, Bishopston in the City and County of Bristol, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was creat ...

. He was appointed the first Inspector Training of the Ceylon Volunteer Force. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Rockwood served as the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

, 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry from March 1959 to May 1963. Promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, he served as the Deputy Commandant of the Volunteer Force from 1963 to 1964. Rockwood had received the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

, the Defence Medal, the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

and the

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal was awarded to members of the Ceylon armed services who served within their specific service branch during periods in 1949-1951 when their service branch was established: *Ceylon Army (10 October 1949 ...

. He was a Justice of the peace, Commissioner for the East in the St. John Ambulance Brigade and was made a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John. He served as the Scout Commissioner, the Vice President of the Society of Arts and in the Board of Governors of the School for the Deaf and Blind. He married Sarasvathi Kasinathan, they had four children. His son Gabriel Mohan Rockwood retired as a

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

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; ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockwood, David 1914 births 1976 deaths Ceylon Light Infantry officers Durham Light Infantry officers Ceylonese military personnel of World War II Sri Lankan chief executives Sri Lankan Tamil military personnel Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan philanthropists Sri Lankan colonels Sri Lankan justices of the peace Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Businesspeople awarded knighthoods

See also

References