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, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Ariyaratne "Ariya" Ariyapperuma, psc, GW was a Sri Lankan Army

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, who was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Northern Command. Ariyapperuma joined the army in the first batch of cadet officers to undergo training at the newly established Army Training Centre and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the

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

in 1958. In 1962, now Captain Ariyapperuma was transferred to the 1st

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

. Having attended Staff College, Camberley, he served as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Gemunu Watch from December 1977 to January 1980 with rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1983, as 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 o ...

he was serving as Commander (Operations), Colombo when the Black July riots broke out in the city and surroundings. In September 1983, he took over as Commander, Northern Command in the Jaffna Peninsula. There he was killed on 19 November 1984, when his jeep hit a landmine on the Vallai-Tellipalai-Araly road in

Tellippalai Tellippalai or Thellippalai ( ta, தெல்லிப்பழை Tellippaḻai

, Jaffna. At the time he was the most senior officer of the Army to be killed in the line of duty and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier posthumously and the Brigadier Ariyapperuma Memorial Hall at the Kuruwita Army Camp was named in his honor at the Regimental Headquarters of the Gemunu Watch.The Tamil Separatist War in Sri Lanka, By Channa Wickremesekera, Samp Ur N Ananda Sa Msk Rta VI Svavidy Alaya

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariyapperuma, Ariyaratne 1935 births 1984 deaths Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action Landmine victims Assassinated military personnel People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War Sinhalese military personnel Gemunu Watch officers Sinha Regiment officers Sri Lankan brigadiers