The Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve was the volunteer naval reserve of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

from 1938 to 1950. Established as the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) on 1 January 1938 under the Naval Volunteer Ordinance, No, l of 1937. It was made up of volunteers mainly from the mercantile sector of Colombo consisting of 12 officers and 18 sailors, under the command of the newly commissioned

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

W. G. Beauchamp. The first headquarters of the force was set up on 11 January 1939 (formally opened on 14 June 1939), just before 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 opposin ...

, at Kochchikade.

History

Formation

Following the

Great War 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 ...

, calls on colonies to fund their own defence increase and with war looming in the 1930's the

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

enacted the Naval Volunteer Ordinance, No, l of 1937 under the Colonial Defence Act. of 1931, after it was ratified by the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It r ...

. Prime movers of the initiative were Captain F.L. Berthon, Captain-in-charge, Ceylon and the Royal Ceylon Yacht Club, who pushed for a formation of a Volunteer Naval Force. Two executive officers with sea going experience, Merchant mariner Lieutenant F.B. Rigby-Smith of the Ceylon Wharfage Co., a Master Mariner Lieutenant P.J.B. Oakley, the Marine superintendent, P & O Lines, and two Paymaster Lieutenants Noel Gratiaen and Susantha de Fonseka were commissioned on 1 January 1938. This was followed by W.G. Beauchamp, a Director of J.M. Robertson & Co. Ltd who was appointed in command and four more officers were commissioned. Recruitment and training of prospective officers and sailors started soon after. The first headquarters were setup at the old Ceylon Garrison Artillery building in Fort. Sea training was conducted on board harbour tugs, fisheries vessels, HMS Barnet, and ships of the East Indies stations with a training cruise on board HMS Norfolk. Following the end of initial training the force had 16 officers and 28 Signalman/Gunners. A new Headquarters building was built on the east side of the Port Commission Railway lines, in Kochchikade. In April 1939, Governor Caldecott requested the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

to add the officers to the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

, which was accepted.

World War II

With the outbreak of

, the CNVF was mobilized for war service on 31 August 1939. The peace time force of weekend sailors had been trained as a seagoing force, trained for manning ships for

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...

and

anti submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typ ...

. Following mobilization the Board of Ministers of the State Council setout rates of pay and allowances for members of the

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colon ...

and the CNVF, removing their dependence on their substantive jobs. The CNVF formed a flotilla for harbor defense of the

Colombo Harbour The Port of Colombo (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as an i ...

. It also deployed personal for shore duty at manning the signal station at Naval Office, Colombo and the Port War Signal Station (PWSS) at the Chapel Hill,

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

. Personal were also deployed in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

and the headquarters expanded. On 1 October 1943, the CNVF was placed under the command of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

with the Admiralty taking over the financing and renamed the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (CRNVR) becoming part of the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

with a peak strength of 62 officers and 1,357 sailors. Its HQ in Kochchikade was commissioned

HMS Gamunu HMS ''Gamunu'' was a shore establishment of the Royal Navy in Ceylon. With the Admiralty taking over the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force in 1942, its headquarters at Kochchikade was commissioned as HMS ''Gamunu''. The headquarters of the Ceylon Nava ...

. Trincomalee Naval area was under the command of the Naval Officer-in Charge, Trincomalee, NOIC (T) while the Colombo Naval area was under the command of the Captain-in-Charge, Ceylon. New branches and trades were added. Basic and some advance training was carried out in Ceylon, while some officers and sailors were sent to HMIS Machlimar at Versova and the Royal Indian Navy Anti Submarine School for advance training. During the war, the CRNRF operated a flotilla of ships that included: * HM Tugs Samson, Goliath * HMS Overdale Wyke * HMS Okapi, Semla, Sambhur * HMS Hoxa, Balta * HM Trawler Barnet, Tug C-405 * Motor Fishing Vessel (MFV) 17 * Dorothy Gordon * MFV 186,187 These ships were meant to sweep and guard the approaches the harbours but were often used on extended missions outside Ceylon waters. In the course of these operations, the ships came under enemy fire, recovered essential information from

Imperial Japanese The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

aircraft that were shot down, sailed to Akyab (modern

Sittwe Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptyi ...

) after the Burma front was opened in two FMVs for harbour duties, and were called upon to accept the surrender of the Italian

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

'' and escort her to the Colombo port with a prize crew on board. As the war came to an end, command and financing of the CRNVR was returned to the Government of Ceylon on 1 April 1946, reporting to the

Chief Secretary of Ceylon The Chief Secretary of Ceylon, was the Chairman and one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of the State Council of Ceylon from 1932 to 1947. The post succeeded that of ''Colonial Secretary'' which was one of six offices that he ...

. It retain the name Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In 1950, the Navy Act, No. 34 of 1950 was passed by the

Parliament of Ceylon The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon. ...

replacing the Naval Volunteer Ordinance, No, l of 1937. With it CRNVR ceased to exist and the

Royal Ceylon Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

was formed with a regular and volunteer force. Several offices and sailors were transferred to regular naval force forming its nucleus, while 12 officers and 121 men, who were not on active service formed the core of the

Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force (SLVNF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Navy. The SLVNF, which consists of the volunteer force and the volunteer reserve is separate from the Regular Naval Force, which consists of th ...

Awards and decorations

Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, post-nominal letters VD until c. 1947 and VRD thereafter, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time commissioned officers in the United Kingdom's Royal Naval Volunt ...

(1938-1950) *

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, initially designated the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Long Service Medal, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time ratings in the United Kingdom's Royal Nav ...

(1938-1950) *

1939–1945 Star The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Battl ...

(1939–1945) *

Burma Star The Burma Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Burma Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Pacific, was ...

(1939–1945) * Defense Medal (1939–1945) *

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

(1939–1945)

Notable members

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Susantha de Fonseka, KBE - former Deputy Speaker of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

and former Ambassador to Burma and Japan * Justice Noel Gratiaen, CMG, QC - former Attorney General and Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon *

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Royce de Mel Rear Admiral Gerard Royce Maxwell De Mel, OBE (1917-199??) was Ceylonese admiral. He was the Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1955 to 1961, the first Ceylonese to hold the post. He was accused and convicted in the 1962 Ceylonese coup d'ét ...

, OBE,

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

, RCyN - First Ceylonese Commander of the Royal Ceylon Navy (1955–1960) *

Rajan Kadiragamar Rear Admiral Rajanathan "Rajan" Kadiragamar, MVO (born 1922) was a Ceylonese flag officer. He was the second Ceylonese Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1960 to 1970 and as such the longest serving Commander of the Navy. Early life and educ ...

, MVO,

, RCyN - Commander of the Royal Ceylon Navy (1960–1970) *

D. V. Hunter, SLN -

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera. It is a position equivalent to that of First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy or Chief of Naval Operations ...

(1970–1972) *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

W. G. Beauchamp, VRD,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

- first Commanding Officer, CRNVF

References