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 ...

Frank Arnold Gunasekera (born 1880s),

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, ED was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka ** Demographics of Sri Lanka * Sri Lankan people, or of Sri Lankan descent; this includes: ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan T ...

physician and surgeon. He was elected a 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 ...

in 1948.

Early life and education

Born to a prominent family, Gunasekera's father worked for the Wharfage Company, and Gunasekera had two younger brothers, Eric, who became headmaster of

Wesley College, Colombo Wesley College popularly known as "Wesley" or "The Double Blues", is a Methodist school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka since 1874. History In 1858, Rev. Joseph Rippon wanted to establish a superior educational instit ...

, and Donald, who also worked for the Wharfage Company. He was 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 ...

and at the

Ceylon Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University ...

, where he gained his

Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery (also known as Licentiate in Medical Practice in some instances) is a medical degree of historical importance in India. During the British rule of India some universities conferred this qualification. The qualific ...

(LMS). He took further medical studies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, gaining

Membership Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MRCS) of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is a global community of over 15,000 Members working together to develop skills, knowledge and leadership to drive the highest standards in healthcare. For 425 years, the Royal College of ...

and

Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of p ...

(LRCP). His brothers were Eric Gunasekera and Donald Gunasekera; the former was headmaster of

Medical career

Gunasekera joined the Ceylon Medical Service and served in the

Ceylon Medical Corps 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, ...

as a medical officer. He served as its

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 ...

from 1935 to 1939 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Political career

Gunasekera was elected a member of the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

from 1940 to 1944. Appointed to the

in 1947, he was elected its Deputy President in 1948 and served till 1951.

Honors

For his volunteer military service he was awarded 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, ...

and the appointed

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by George VI, King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appoint ...

. He was knighted as a

Knights Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1950 New Year Honours The 1950 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 2 January 1950 for the Unit ...

The Sir Frank Gunasekera Trophy is awarded annually at the cricket match between Royal College Colombo and

, which has been played since 1893. The Sir Frank Gunasekera Trust is one of the largest donors of the National Diabetes Centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunasekera, Frank Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Members of the Senate of Ceylon Sri Lankan surgeons Sri Lankan philanthropists Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Sri Lankan military doctors Ceylon Medical Corps officers Ceylonese Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese lieutenant colonels Date of birth missing Date of death missing 1880s births