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Appreciations Grand old gunner, gentleman and officer Brig. Leonard Wickremasooriya Brigadier Leonard Merlyn (Lyn) Wickremasooriya was born on March 26, 1916. He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy. At 24 years he was commissioned in the Ceylon Garrison Artillery (CGA) as a Second Lieutenant, on April 1, 1940, when World War II was raging in Europe. In 1941, he
was ordered to proceed as the Officer commanding the Ceylon Contingent
to Cocos Islands, where he served till 1942. On his return to Ceylon
he was demobilized at the end of World War II. After the Ceylon
Army was inaugurated on October 10, 1949, he was commissioned to
the rank of Captain on November 11 the same year. He was promoted
Major on June 1, 1952, Lieutenant Colonel on October 1, 1957 and
appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment
at Rock House Camp, Mutwal. This was the home of the gunners from
the very inception of the Artillery in British times. In January
1962, consequent to the attempted coup by certain elements of the
armed services and the police, the three Artillery Regiments [including
the 2nd (Volunteer) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment and the 3rd Field
Regiment] were disbanded, as many of the officers involved happened
to be from these two. Col. Wickremasooriya
was annoyed and upset that his regiment, the 1st H.A.A. was also
disbanded, although not a single officer or other ranker was involved.
He was angry as officers from at least two other units were also
involved, but these units were not disbanded. Nothing came
of his protests and the regiment was disbanded in humiliation on
April 25, 1962, and a new regiment namely, the 4th Regiment Ceylon
Artillery was raised on April 26, 1962. The ignominy of his regiment
being disbanded hurt him a great deal, but he bore this ordeal and
pain with courage and equanimity. On May 1, 1964,
Colonel Wickremasooriya was appointed Commandant, Army Training
Centre (now the Sri Lanka Military Academy) and concurrently Garrison
Commander (now Area Commander) Diyatalawa, where he served till
December 31, 1969, on which day he retired from the army. Colonel Wickremasooriya
had a reputation as a gentleman of absolute honour and integrity.
He set the highest possible standards with regard to personal conduct
and discipline and expected his subordinates to fall in line. He
did not tolerate any acts of indiscipline. His turn out was impeccable
and his manners polite in the extreme. He was genial, genteel and
gentle, and even in difficult situations, remained unruffled and
calm. He bore no
grudge or animosity even towards those who attempted to humiliate
him. He had a good memory, a great sense of humour and was a raconteur
par excellence. More than all else he had time for people. On November
1, 1999, Col. Wickremasooriya was promoted to the honorary rank
of Brigadier by the President. A rare honour for an officer who
had retired over 30 years before. The promotion gave him immense
happiness and cheered him up at a time his health was failing. Brigadier Wickremasooriya
passed away on June 25 this year and a military funeral was held
on June 27. The army and the Gunner Regiment paid him the respects
and honour he so richly deserved. May be from
somewhere up above, Brig. Wickremasooriya was listening to the final
gun salute and the Last Post. Nothing would
have given this grand old gunner greater happiness, than this final
farewell. May the turf
lie lightly over him. Major General Gratiaen Silva VSV (retd.) He
led an exemplary life He was 76,
when he died on August 4 after an illness lasting barely two days.
He was kind, religious and saw only the good side of others, whether
it was family, colleagues, superiors or subordinates. He led an
exemplary life and took an active role in helping those in need.
He was never proud or haughty. That was my Aiya. At St. Thomas
College, Matara his esteemed guru, the late Noel Rodrigo saw his
abilities and got him to do the Senior School Certificate examination
in one year instead of the usual two after the Junior School Certificate.
Having obtained an exemption from the London Matriculation examination,
he started a career in agriculture in 1947, winning a scholarship
to the School of Agriculture, Peradeniya. His first posting
after a two-year diploma was to the Batalagoda Paddy Research Station
in NWP. This was a few years prior to Batalagoda becoming famous
for H4 and BG paddies. While at Batalagoda he caught the eye of
eminent scientist M. Chandraratne who was the Deputy Director of
Research. He learnt the
basics of paddy research there. During this period he was selected
with two other young men to follow a six-month training course at
a Japanese paddy research station in Saitama. I remember
spending my university vacations with him at Batalagoda. He had
made many friends outside the farm amongst the Muslim community
who owned paddy. My brother's
grasp of the fundamentals of paddy research brought him in contact
with senior scientists such as the late Dr. A. W. R. Joachim, late
Dr. E Abeyratne, Dr. C. Panabokke and the late Mahinda Silva, who
was Director of Agriculture and later Secretary to the Agriculture
Minister. He was awarded a travelling fellowship to Mississippi
in USA to study methods of paddy cultivation there. While being
attached to the Research Division at Peradeniya he married Rani
Manel Kulatunga of Nugegoda. Rani was a devoted partner attached
not only to her husband but also to the whole Ranatunga family.
Their only child is Dilani. After serving
a spell at Peradeniya, my brother served as Farm Manager of Hingurakgoda.
From there he took charge of the Hambantota district as the District
Agriculture Extension officer. Later he was offered a scholarship
to the University of British Colombia, Canada and obtained a degree
in Agricultural Economics. After his return he played an active
role at agriculture headquarters in Peradeniya. A few years later
when the Agriculture Research and Training Institute (AR & TI)
was set up at Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7, he was the automatic
choice to fill a key post. He served there
till his retirement and got a position in a World Bank project in
Kaduna, Nigeria. On his return from Nigeria, he accepted a number
of assignments at IFAD. He also served on the Board of the Coconut
Research Institute thereby sharing his experience with others. The large number
of old friends, colleagues and family members who attended his funeral
bears testimony to the attachment they had to my beloved brother. A
precious gift that brought so much love Dada, akki
and I have gone through 12 months of untold grief and I sometimes
wonder whether I will have the strength to face life and the many
years ahead. I dream of
you often, and see your beautiful face smiling and happy. You tell
me not to worry, that you didn't suffer any pain and that you are
happy and for me to be happy too. Then I wake
up and I am more devastated than before, because I realize that
it was only a dream, and that you are lost to me forever. I look back
upon every single moment we spent together as a family and remember
all the happy times we had, all the laughter we shared. If I had known
the years with you were going to be so short I would have held onto
those moments like a lifeline. When I recollect
a moment I spoke to you harshly, I regret it ten times more. Putha
it was always done in good faith and with a love only a mother will
know. After I had
akki, I yearned with all my heart for another baby but it was not
to be. Then after
almost ten years of prayer that beautiful miracle took place- you
were born. You were God's gift to me for many years of prayer and
devotion. You were the "miracle" that God gave to me.
Our happiness
knew no bounds, you were so beautiful, your ways so loving, generous
and sweet. You were precious not only to our family but you touched
the lives of all the other family members too. When you were
taken away I realised that you had been a temporary gift given to
me by God and that the Lord had taken you back for safekeeping. I see your
beautiful smiling face everytime I look around me. I imagine your
lovely dancing steps whenever I listen to a song. Your name enters
unknowingly into every conversation I have and your image enters
my tired mind when I go to sleep. Everyone who
loved you will be remembering you on your first death anniversary.
Thank you darling for the wonderful child that you were. The memory
of the precious gift we had for 15 years will remain with us till
the end of our days A
wonderful father Man of God He never complained
when overloaded with work or when wrongly blamed for negligence.
If asked a favour, he would readily oblige with a smile. At the Society
for the Uplift and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Patients (SUROL), he
was office manager, but he was also accountant, cashier, clerk,
peon and at times, field officer. Having worked
at SUROL for many years, he knew his work and the leprosy patients
- their families, strengths and weaknesses. Only a man
like Bernard could keep his cool with some patients who were not
the easiest to work with. At his funeral, the tears shed by leprosy
patients bore ample testimony to the care and concern he showed
them. He was so scrupulously
honest that I took the risk of signing blank cheques he could fill
in when necessary. My friendship
with Bernard spanned over 55 years. At St. Sebastian's
College, Moratuwa, we were classmates, body-builders and wrestling
partners. Even as a boy he was different. He would not join a fight,
play truant or enjoy a forbidden sea or river bath. Unlike us, he
respected and obeyed parental and school authority. I am still
to meet a family as happy as Bernard's. In 1975, I had the pleasure
of solemnizing the marriage of Bernard and Susila. Often, he told
me that Susila and he were made for each other. During their 27
years of wedded life, I do not think they hurt each other by even
a word. A loving husband was he to Susila, and a devoted caring
father to his two daughters, Dharsini and Darshika. Bernard was
a rare man, a man who lived by Gospel values and radiated the love,
care and concern of Christ to all those he met, worked and lived
with. He may not be canonized, but he was a saintly being, a man
of God. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
