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 ...

Percy Douglas Ramayanayake (26 March 1917 – 7 January 2007) was a senior

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; ...

officer who was the founder of the

Sri Lanka Engineers The Corp of Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) is a combat support arm of the Sri Lanka Army which provides military engineering. It is made up of ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, it is headed by the ...

. He had served as the Commander,

Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII) was a task force deployed by the Sri Lanka Army from 1963 from 1981 to counter illegal immigration from South India. It was the first field formation deployed by the Ceylon Army and had its headquarter ...

Early life and education

Born on 26 March 1917 in

Panadura Panadura (; ) is a main city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo. Panadura was an electoral district in Sri Lanka until 1989 and is surrounded all sides b ...

, Ramayanayake was educated at St. John's College, Panadura and at the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

, where he excelled in sports.

Military career

Ceylon Defence Force

Ramayanayake joined the Ceylon Defence Force during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, following training he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ceylon Engineers. During the war his unit undertook construction projects like the Pallaly Airport, the Water Supply Scheme for Trincomalee at Monkey Bridge and the Anguruwatota Bridge. Following the end of the war, he was demobilized in 1946 and joined the Department of Industries as a staff officer.

Ceylon Army

With 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 October 1949, he was commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the regular force in February 1950. In January 1951, Captain Ramayanayake was one of three officers selected for training at the

Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Techni ...

. On 1 October 1951, the 1 Field Engineer Squadron, Ceylon Engineers was formed with Major Ramayanayake as

officer commanding 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 giv ...

. In July 1959, the 1 Field Engineer Squadron was raised to a field engineer

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

and was re-designated 1st Field Engineer Regiment, Ceylon Engineers. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1957, Ramayanayake was appointed its first

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 ...

. Since he led the formation of the Ceylon Engineers, Ramayanayake is referred to as the "Father of the Sri Lanka Engineers". The squadron moved to 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 ...

and assisted in its construction and was deployed during the 1953 Hartal. He served as commanding officer of the 1st Field Engineer Regiment from October 1958 to November 1965, during which time the regiment undertook the earth works at

Sugathadasa Stadium Sugathadasa Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is currently used for football (soccer), football, Rugby union, rugby union, and Athletics in Jamaica, athletics. The stadium holds 25,000 people and has an on-site hotel. ...

, built bridges across Galoya, in Hiniduma and Amparai. The 1st Field Engineer Regiment was deployed for internal security operations during the strikes. He was thereafter appointed commanding officer of the Ceylon Cadet Corps in 1965 and served till 1969. Between 26 March 1966 and 5 January 1967 he officiated as the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the army. Promoted to colonel, he was appointed commander,

in February 1969 and served till July 1970. He retired from the Ceylon Army in March 1971 with the rank of

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 ...

. He was recalled to active service soon after the start of 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 ...

and was appointed military coordinating officer for the Galle District. He was the chairmen of the army football team board and the Brigadier P.D. Ramanayaka Memorial Sports Ground was named after him at the regimental headquarters of the Sri Lanka Engineers. For wartime service in World War II, he had earned the Defence Medal and 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 ...

, and for service in the Ceylon Army, he received the

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 ...

, the

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') was a service medal of Ceylon from 1968 to 1972. It was gr ...

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 ...

Family

He was married to Christobel Ramayanayake, they had four daughters and one son, Lalith Ramayanayake who became a Director of John Keells Group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramayanayake, P. D. 1917 births 2007 deaths Sri Lankan brigadiers Sinhalese military personnel Ceylon Engineer Corps officers Sri Lanka Engineers officers Sri Lankan military engineers Alumni of St. John's College, Panadura Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) British Army personnel of World War II Ceylonese military personnel of World War II