Major Aubrey Neil Weinman, OBE CMZS (1897–10 August 1967) was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri L ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, civil servant and naturalist. He was the first Director of the Colombo Zoological Gardens (1947-1962).

Early life

Weinman was born in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, the son of William Algernon Weinman (1869-1922), a stationmaster, and Caroline Maud née Reimers (1872-1961). He attended school at the Royal College, Colombo, where he was a sergeant in the Cadet Corps. Following the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he traveled to England in April 1918 to join the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. In November he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, of the 9th Bhopal Infantry. He saw action on the western front and was wounded in battle. After the war he remained in the reserves.

Career

He joined the government service and was appointed the second Superintendent of the Colombo Zoological Gardens after it was established in 1939, following the liquidation of Zoological Garden Company in 1936. During his service, new programs included introducing more native and foreign species, education and conservation programs, and improving the facilities and infrastructure. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in the far east, Weinman was mobilised for service as a Major with the

under the

Malaya Command The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consiste ...

. He became a POW after the

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

. He spent four years in a prisoner of war camp and was liberated at war's end. On his return he became the inaugural Director of the Colombo Zoological Gardens and remained there until his retirement in 1962. He was awarded an OBE as part of the

1954 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1954 to celebrat ...

.Ceylon list:

Personal life

After retirement, he moved to Australia with his wife Ena née van Cuylenberg and son David. He died in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in 1967.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinman, Aubrey 1897 births 1967 deaths Sri Lankan civil servants Ceylonese military personnel Ceylonese prisoners of war in World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of Royal College, Colombo People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan emigrants to Australia Ceylonese military personnel of World War I Ceylonese military personnel of World War II British Indian Army officers