Noel Weerakoon
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Noel Weerakoon
Major Noel Weerakoon, CA was a Sri Lankan army officer. He was the first officer of the Sri Lanka Army to be killed in action during the 1971 Insurrection. Trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Weerakoon was commissioned into the Ceylon Artillery. He played cricket for Sandhurst and the Ceylon Army. In April 1971, with the onset of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...-led insurrection Ceylon Army mobilized for its first combat operations since its formation in 1949. Captain Weerakoon lead a supply convoy from Vavuniya to Anuradhapura to deliver ammunition to the besieged town. He was wounded when his convoy was ambushed by insurgents. He succumbed to his wounds at the Anuradhapura hospital, becoming the first Sri Lankan army o ...
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Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank above captain, and one rank below lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks. Background Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers while in some nations, like Germany, majors are often in command of a company. When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including ''general-major'' or ''major general'', denoting a low-level general officer, and ''sergeant major'', denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) of a military unit. The term ''major'' can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as ...
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Ceylon Artillery
The Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA) is the artillery arm of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of ten regular regiments and two volunteer regiments. The SLA is headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda. The emblem of the SLA is modeled after that used by the Royal Artillery, but with the lion from both the flag and emblem instead of the crown, with the lion depicted holding the Kastane sabre. Unlike other artillery units in the Commonwealth the SLA is entitled to a strand of Colours. History Ceylon Artillery Volunteers The roots of the Sri Lanka Artillery goes back to 1888, when on 12 April 1888 the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers was formed as a gun battery under the command of Captain C.E.H Symons of the Royal Artillery to man a gun battery equipped with BL 12-pounder 6 cwt guns. By 1901 it numbered a strength of 162. In 1910, its headquarters was moved to Galle Buck Road in Colombo Fort (which is now part of SLNS Parakrama). During World War I the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers w ...
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Sri Lanka Army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date = , dates = , country = Sri Lanka , allegiance = Sri Lanka , branch = , type = Army , role = Land warfare , size = 250,000+ personnel , command_structure = Sri Lanka Armed Forces , garrison = Army Headquarters, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte , garrison_label = Headquarters , nickname = , patron = , colors = Gold, blue and orange , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , ...
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Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire, though its ceremonial entrance is in Camberley, Surrey, southwest of London. The academy's stated aim is to be "the national centre of excellence for leadership". All British Army officers, including late-entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as other men and women from overseas, are trained at the academy. Sandhurst is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Location Despite its name, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst's address is located in Camberley; the boundaries of the academy straddle the counties of Berkshire and Surrey. The county border is marked by a small stream known as the Wish Stream, after which the academy jo ...
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Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and another in 1987–89 ( UNP). The motive for both uprisings was to establish a socialist state. The JVP was initially a small organisation that became a well-organised party that could influence mainstream politics. Its members campaigned openly for the left-wing coalition government, United Front. Following their disillusion with the coalition, they started an insurrection against the Dominion of Ceylon in early 1971, which intensified following the ban on the party. The military arm the Red Guard captured over 76 police strongholds throughout the island of Ceylon. The JVP entered democratic politics in 1977 when President J.R. Jayewardene released the JVP leader, Rohana Wijeweera, from prison. After the United Front coalition government co ...
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1971 Deaths
* The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events January * January 2 – 66 people are killed and over 200 injured during a crush in Glasgow, Scotland. * January 5 – The first ever One Day International cricket match is played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. * January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September. * January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day. * January 12 – The landmark United States television sitcom ''All in the Family'', starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, debuts on CBS. * January 14 – Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are rel ...
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Sri Lanka Artillery Officers
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', Shiri, Shree, ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, but also as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for local rulers. Shri is also another name for Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra. Etymology Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the meaning of ...
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