Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Gerard Royce Maxwell De Mel,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1917-199??) was

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri ...

admiral. He was the Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1955 to 1961, the first Ceylonese to hold the post. He was accused and convicted in the

1962 Ceylonese coup d'état attempt The 1962 Ceylonese coup d'état attempt (also known as the ''Colonels' coup'' ) was a failed military coup d'état planned in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). A group of Christian officers in the military and police planned to topple the government of Prime ...

Early life

Born to a wealthy

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

family, he was educated at Saint Joseph's College, Colombo, where he excelled in athletics. He was the eldest of six brothers, which included

Maurice de Mel Colonel Maurice Ann Gerard de Mel is a Ceylonese army officer. He served as Chief of Staff of the Ceylon Army and Commandant of the Ceylon Volunteer Force. He was one of the principals accused of the 1962 Ceylonese coup d'état attempt. Early ...

, later a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

and Chief of Staff of the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

and another was the Very Reverend Joe de Mel, Vicar General,

Archdiocese of Colombo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo ( la, Archidioecesis Columbensis in Taprobane) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives (which are ...

and Rector of the National Seminary Ampitiya.

Naval career

Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force

When De Mel completed his schooling,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

had started, he joined the

Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force (SLVNF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Navy. The SLVNF, which consists of the volunteer force and the volunteer reserve is separate from the Regular Naval Force, which consists of t ...

(CNVF) and was commissioned as a probationary

Sub Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

after undergoing training at Trincomolee on 7 February 1940. Following the start of the war in the far east, the CNVF which had been renamed as the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (CRNVR) functioned under the command of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. He was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1941 and to

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in 1945. Having served in all CRNVR ships and had seen action off the cost of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. With the end of the war and de-mobilization, Commander De Mel remained with the CRNVR and took over as its

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) 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 given wide latit ...

from Captain

W. G. Beauchamp Captain Willoughby Greaves Beauchamp CBE, VRD (5 April 1890 – 24 February 1960) was a British merchant. He served as the Commanding Officer of the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Force from its formation in 1938 to 1946. Born to Willoughby Jame ...

Royal Ceylon Navy

In 1950, the

Royal Ceylon Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

was established, Commander De Mel transferred to a regular commission as its most senior officer and was sent to the United Kingdom for training. On his return he served as Chief of Staff of the Navy. In 1954, he was appointed extra Aide-de-camp to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on her royal tour of Ceylon. He was confirmed in the rank of Captain and promoted to Commodore in 1955.

Captain of the Navy

Commodore De Mel took over as the first

Captain of the navy on 15 August 1955 succeeding Commodore P. M. B. Chavasse. De Mel was promoted to rear admiral in 1959, becoming the first serving officer to hold the rank. During his tenor the Royal Ceylon Navy took over Royal Navy facilities in Ceylon including the Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee. The navy expanded its blue water capability and in 1960, a naval fleet undertook a deployment to the far east. However, on its return the fleet was search for contraband. The board of investigation in to the affair recommended the dismissal of several navy officers and Admiral De Mel was relieved of command on 15 November 1960 and sent on compulsory retirement on 15 August 1961. He was succeeded by Captain

Rajan Kadiragamar Rear Admiral Rajanathan "Rajan" Kadiragamar, MVO (born 1922) was a Ceylonese flag officer. He was the second Ceylonese Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1960 to 1970 and as such the longest serving Commander of the Navy. Early life and educ ...

. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Military Division) (OBE) in the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, a ...

and his other medals include the

1939–1945 Star The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Batt ...

, the

Burma Star The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Pacific, was ...

, the Defense 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 ...

for war service with the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. For service in the Royal Ceylon Navy he received the service medals Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal ribbon bar

Attempted military coup

In 1962, De Mel was accused in the

and an arrest warrant was issued for him along with his brother was Colonel

, the Commandant of the Volunteer Force (second-in-command of the Army). Avoiding arrest, De Mel was suspected of using his connections in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

to smuggle him out of Ceylon, but surrendered to the court through his lawyer

G. G. Ponnambalam Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam ( ta, கணபதி காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்; 8 November 1901 – 9 February 1977) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and l ...

when the trail of the accused started in June 1962. In 1964, the trail at bar, found Royce De Mel along with 11 of the 24 accused guilty and sentenced then to ten years in jail and confiscation of property. However, on appeal to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

, it ruled in December 1965 holding Special Act of 1962 to be

ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be terme ...

of the 1947 Constitution of Ceylon and said that the Act had denied the

right to a fair trial A fair trial is a trial which is "conducted fairly, justly, and with procedural regularity by an impartial judge". Various rights associated with a fair trial are explicitly proclaimed in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, th ...

. According to the Privy Council, the law had been specially enacted to convict the men, under trial they did not have the protections that they would have had under general criminal law. It acquitted all the eleven.

References

{{Commanders of the Sri Lankan Navy Commanders of the Navy (Sri Lanka) Sri Lankan rear admirals Sri Lankan Roman Catholics 1917 births Possibly living people Ceylonese military personnel of World War II Prisoners and detainees of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan prisoners and detainees Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire De Mel family Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Officers