Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ananda Sri Sisira Kumara Hamangoda, RWP, RSP, USP (1 November 1950 – 4 July 1996) was a senior

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 ...

officer, who was the former

brigade commander A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

of the 51-2 Brigade based in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

, when he was killed by a

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

female suicide bomber.

Early life and education

Born on 1 November 1950, Kalutara north. His father was a police officer and he had three brothers and a sister. He was educated at Maliyadeva College, Kurunagala, where he excelled in academic and sports. He was judged as the best orator and best overall student in the year 1971, served as deputy head prefect, house captain and was a sergeant of the college cadet platoon. Only the Good Die Young
www.dailymirror.lk In 1969 he was the leader of school western music band. His talents in sports showed great excellence. He received school colours on many occasions for his success in sports. In 1971 he played for the school badminton team. He won the coveted prize for the "Best Cadet" and the gold medal for the "Best All Round Student" in 1971.

Military career

Hamangoda joined the Sri Lanka Army and received his basic officer cadet training at the

Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...

. He was thereafter commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 1 January 1973 in the 4th Regiment,

Sri Lanka 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 ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant on 5 January 1976, to captain on 5 January 1979, to major on 1 March 1983, to lieutenant colonel on 15 June 1990, to colonel on 20 April 1994 and to brigadier on 15 November 1995. He attended the senior tactics course at the Army Training Center; young officers course at Indian Army School of Artillery, Devlali; regimental signal officer course at the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

; senior officers artillery course at the Pakistan Army School of artillery, Nawashera and the senior commanders course at the Indian Army School of Artillery, Devlali. He attended the defence services course at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington gaining the Psc and a MSc degree in Defence and Strategic Studies. He served as

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the 4th Regiment from 1981 to 1983, before taking up appointment as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in the 5th (Volunteer) Regiment from 1983 to 1985. He formed a new Field Battery in the newly formed 6th Regiment becoming its first battery commander, before serving as the first Second in Command in the newly raised 7th Light Artillery Regiment in November 1988. He served as the commanding officer of the 6th Field Regiment, Sri Lanka Artillery from October 1992 to March 1994. Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda was appointed as commanding officer of 51-2 Brigade in Jaffna in 1995 and was popular among the people of Jaffna. His sporting prowess in cricket, volleyball as well as in boxing contributed to the promotion of sports activities in the Army while helping the Army produce a number of sportsmen of national and international standards.A noble death for a noble cause in our times by Daya Ratnayake, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army.
www.island.lk

Death

Brigadier Hamangoda was killed on 4 July 1996, when a

female suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to her waist as the motorcade he was in stopped at Stanley Road in Jaffna town. The intended target, Housing and Construction Minister

Nimal Siripala de Silva Nilenthi Nimal Siripala de Silva MP (born 6 September 1944) is a Sri Lankan politician currently serving as the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and former Cabinet Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in 15th Parliament of Sri Lank ...

, escaped with minor injuries. However 20 people, including Brigadier Hamangoda and Ranjith Godamuna, chairman, Lanka Cement were killed and approximately 60 others sustained injuries. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of

Family

Hamangoda was married to Indrani Hamangoda, a teacher at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and they had two daughters Buwani, Maheshni and one son Dulshan.Royal College - Colombo 07, Sri Lanka

Awards

He has been honoured with the following gallantry and service medals during his career & following his death. Gallantry decorations & medals * Rana Sura Padakkama bar

Rana Sura Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP, Combat Excellence Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ ශූර පදක්කම ''rana śūra padakkama'') is awarded to servicepersons of all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka for individual ...

Rana Wickrama Padakkama The Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP, Combat Gallantry Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ වික්‍රම පදක්කම) is awarded to Sri Lankan military service personnel serving in both the regular- and volunteer forces as a reward for: Bars ...

Distinguished service decorations & medals * Uttama Seva Padakkama Bar

Uttama Seva Padakkama The Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP, Eminent Service Medal) ( Sinhala: උත්තම සේවා පදක්කම ''uṭṭama sēvā padakkama'') is presented to all ranks of the regular forces of the Sri Lankan military for: Award process Th ...

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') i ...

Campaign medals * Purna Bhumi Padakkama ribbon bar

Purna Bhumi Padakkama The Purna Bhumi Padakkama ( Sinhala: පූර්ණ භූමි පදක්කම ''pūrna bhūmi padakkama'') was a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka (regular and volunteer) and Sri Lanka Police to all ranks of its forces in ...

Vadamarachchi Operation Medal ribbon bar

Vadamarachchi Operation Medal The Vadamarachchi Operation Medal ( Sinhala: වඩමාරච්චි මෙහෙයුම් පදක්කම ''vadamārachchi meheyum padakkama'') was a campaign medal presented to all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Mili ...

Riviresa Campaign Services Medal ribbon bar

Riviresa Campaign Services Medal The Riviresa Campaign Services Medal ( Sinhala: රිවිරැස මෙහෙයුම් පදක්කම ''riviræsa meheyum padakkama'') was a campaign medal presented to all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of ...

Presidential commendation & medals * President's Accession Medal

References

External links

Official Website of Sri Lanka ArmyMinistry of Defence, Sri Lanka

Further sources

Lance Corporal WIM Seneviratne (7th Light Infantry) by Ministry of Defence and Urban Development - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Maj. Gen. Hamangoda remembered

SLAF feared missile attack on plane carrying wounded minister: A tough 30-year-long political journey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamangoda, Ananda 1950 births 1996 deaths Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1996 Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lanka Artillery officers Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action Defence Services Staff College alumni