Wathumullage Gratien Hubert Fernando CGA (1915 – 5 August 1942) was the leader of the Cocos Islands Mutiny and an agitator for the independence of Sri Lanka from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. Fernando was born to Sinhalese

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

parents. His father was a superintendent at the Ceylon Telegraph Office. He went to school at St Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia. He was later converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was impressed by the program of the

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 ...

and by the

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...

literature which it circulated but did not join the party. He was shipped off with his unit first to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

and later to

Horsburgh Island Horsburgh Island ( Malay: Pulo Luar or Pulu Luar) is an uninhabited islet in the South Keeling Islands atoll of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia. The island spans , and is part of a marine protected area. It features a lagoon, coral reefs, a ...

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 ...

. Here, he argued with his officers and agitated for action among his colleagues: his agenda was to create an increase in the support for Sri Lankan independence from British rule. He finally persuaded a core group to rebel, seize the island and signal the

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 ...

ese that they had done so; 30 out of 56 soldiers of his unit took part. On the night of 8/9 May, led by Fernando, men of the unit mutinied. However, their plan failed and the rebellion was suppressed the next day. The leaders of the

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

were

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led and condemned within a week. The commanding officer on Cocos, Captain George Gardiner, an accountant in Colombo who obtained an emergency war commission, while focus of the mutineers' actions, also presided at the Field General Court Martial which convicted them. Fernando’s father petitioned the army authorities to commute the death penalty and asked Sir

Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke () (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from Britain, he became the third Governor-General ...

, the Civil Defence Commissioner, to intercede with Admiral Sir

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 ...

, the British Commander of

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, ...

. However, when Layton interviewed Fernando, he was adamant that he did not wish to be reprieved or pardoned. He told his family 'I’ll never ask a pardon from the British: that would disgrace the cause. Many years hence the World may hear my story'. He was executed on 5 August 1942 at

Welikada Prison The Welikada Prison (; also known as the ''Magazine Prison'') is a maximum-security prison and the largest prison in Sri Lanka. It was built in 1841 by the British colonial government under Governor Campbell. The prison covers an area of . It is ...

, Ceylon, and two other mutineers shortly thereafter. They were the only

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

troops to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War. Fernando showed defiance to the end, his last words being "Loyalty to a country under the heel of a white man is disloyalty". He was buried at the

Kanatte Cemetery Kanatte Cemetery, also known locally as Borella Cemetery, is the main burial ground and crematorium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is located at the intersection of Elvitigala Mawatha (Narahenpita Road), Bauddhaloka Mawatha (Bullers Road) and D. S. ...

in an unmarked grave.

References

Further reading