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 ...

Tuan Samayraan Buhary Sally (18 March 1924 – 3 August 2012) was a Sri Lanka Army officer, who served 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

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; ...

and was the first Malay and Muslim in the country to reach this rank and post.

Ceylon Defense Force

Born and educated in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

, Sally 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 ...

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 ...

in 1942 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th 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 ...

. He specialized as a

ML 3-inch mortar The Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar was the United Kingdom's standard mortar (weapon), mortar used by the British Army from the early 1930s to the late 1960s, superseding the Stokes mortar. Initially handicapped by its short range compared to similar ...

platoon commander A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. ...

and was demobilized after the war with the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. In 1947, he joined the

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

(Ceylon) serving in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. In 1948 he was promoted to

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 ...

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 ...

he was commissioned as lieutenant in the 1st Battalion,

in 1950. The year after he was sent to the

Small Arms School Corps The Small Arms School Corps (SASC) is a small corps of the British Army, established in 1853 by Lord Hardinge. Its personnel provide advice and instruction to infantry weapon trainers throughout the army, in order to maintain proficiency in th ...

Netheravon Netheravon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Avon (Hampshire), River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain. The village is on ...

. He participated in NATO manoeuvers with the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

, Germany and on his return he was promoted to captain, and appointed adjutant of the battalion in 1955. He transferred to the newly raised

Ceylon Sinha Regiment The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second o ...

in 1956 and was appointed company commander in 1957. Having attended a Company Commander's course at the School of Infantry,

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

, he was promoted to Major in 1961. Was posted to the Army Training Center, Diyatalawa in 1963, and made acting commander of 1st Battalion,

Gemunu Watch The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, Ceylon Light Infantry and the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has be ...

in 1965. He then attended a course in Tactics and Counter- Insurgency at Jungle Training Center,

Canungra Canungra is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region of South East Queensland, Australia. In the , Canungra had a population of 1,436 people. Geography Located in South East Queensland, Canungra is situated in the Gold Coast hinte ...

and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served as acting Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Ceylon Light Infantry in 1967. He was made the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment in 1968, and was subsequently sent on a six months' training course in financial management at the

United States Army Financial Management School The United States Army Financial Management School is in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Its mission is to provide the United States Army with military and civilian leaders trained in financial management, and develop complementary concepts, doct ...

and training in personnel management at the

United States Army Adjutant General School The Adjutant General School and the Soldier Support Institute (SSI) are located at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The school was formerly located at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, until its closure. These provide training and development of doctr ...

both in

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 190 ...

. Subsequently, took up appointment at Army HQ Colombo. He was appointed extra aide-de-camp to President

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to ...

and later to Prime Minister

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (; ; ; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan politician. She was the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, world's first fe ...

in 1972. Promoted to Colonel in 1974. Promoted to Brigadier on 5 August 1977. He was appointed chief of staff on 1 December 1977 until his retirement on 18 March 1979. He was acting commander on two occasions, on 18 February 1978 and 16 October 1978, and was the last officer from the Ceylon Defence Force to leave active service. For wartime service in World War II, he had earned the

Defence Medal (United Kingdom) The Defence Medal is a campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945, to be awarded to citizens of the British Commonwealth for both non-operational military and certain types of civilian war service during the Second World War.

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 ...

, the

Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal The Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා යුද්ධ හමුදා 25වන සංවත්සර පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā yuddha hamudā visipasvana sangwathsara padakkama'') was present ...

President's Inauguration Medal __NOTOC__ The President's Inauguration Medal ( Sinhala: ජනාධිපති ධූරප්‍රාප්ත පදක්කම ''janādhipathi dhūraprāptha padakkama'') was a decoration of the Military of Sri Lanka, granted to all regula ...

, 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 ...

Later life

Following his retirement he served as the first secretary general of The Sri Lanka Malay Confederation (SLAMAC); Vice president/patron- Colombo Malay Cricket Club; General secretary- Sri Lanka Malay Association; president- Sri Lanka- Indonesia Friendship Association (SLIFA); treasurer- Sri Lanka- Malaysia Friendship Association; chairman- Welfare Grants Committee, Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen's Association (SLESA); representative member (Defence)- Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA); committee member- Sri Lanka Malay Association Rupee Fund; president- Association of Retired Flag Rank Officers (ARFRO) and president- Manning Lux Residencies.

Illness and death

Brigadier Sally was hospitalised in June 2012 after suffering a stroke, which left him disabled on the right side of his body, and was in bed throughout this time. He died on 3 August 2012 at the Military Hospital, Horton Place, Colombo 7.BRIGADIER TSB(TACKY) SALLY - PressReader
/ref> At the age of 88, he was the oldest surviving officer in the armed forces from World War II. He was given a military funeral with full honours consisting of a 21 gun salute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sally 1924 births 2012 deaths People from Kandy Royal Military Police officers Ceylon Light Infantry officers Sinha Regiment officers Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan brigadiers Ceylonese military personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War II