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 ...

Hikkaduwage Gratian Silva, VSV, FBIM (27 January 1933 – 8 November 2015) was a

Sri Lanka 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 ...

military leader Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

, he served as the Military Secretary.

Early life and education

Gratian Silva was born in Ginthota,

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

. He received his education at St Thomas College, Mount Lavinia and Ananda College, Colombo, where he excelled in academics and sports, playing for the college cricket team.

Military career

After completing his schooling, he joined the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

as an officer cadet on 27 February 1953. He was 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 ...

in the 1st Anti Aircraft Regiment, Ceylon Artillery following his training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst on 3 February 1955 and was stationed in Trincomalie where he served as a troop and battery commander and attended the young officers course at the

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Schoo ...

. He was transferred to the 4th Field Regiment in 1962 following the amalgamation of the 1st Anti Aircraft Regiment and the 3rd Field Regiment as a result of the 1962 coup d'état attempt. Having attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

as a

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 ...

and gained a Diploma in Management from the British Institute of Management, Silva served in several staff positions at Army Headquarters which included GSO 11 (Training), GSO 11 (Military Intelligence) and GSO 1 (Operations). He was serving as general staff officer I (Operations) at Army Headquarters when the 1971 JVP Insurrection started on 5 April 1971, with a premature insurgent attack on the police station in Wellawaya at dawn. That morning Major Silva accompanied by DIG Rudra Rajasingham flew by helicopter to Wellawaya to inspect the ground situation. Promoted to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, he served as Commandant, Army Training Centre and then was appointed

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 4th Field Regiment in March 1975 and served till November 1978. Promoted to

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 of ...

he served as Commander,

Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII) is a task force deployed by the Sri Lanka Army from 1963 from 1981 to counter illegal immigration from South India. It was the first field formation deployed by the Ceylon Army and had its headquarter ...

; Commander, Northern Command; Coordinating Authority - Rathnapura; Commander, Western Command; Colonel General Staff, Army Headquarters; Commander, Central Command; Director, Budget and Finance Management; Director, Personnel Administration and Military Secretary. His awards include the

Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Decoration) ( Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය ''viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in reco ...

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 The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democ ...

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal The Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal was awarded to members of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka who were in service on 22 May 1972, subject to recommendation by the commanders of the respective service com ...

, Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal,

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') was a service medal of Ceylon from 1968 to 1972. It was g ...

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 ...

and President's Inauguration Medal.

Family

His brother was Vice Admiral Hikkaduwage Ananda Silva, became the 11th Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy. His son married Brigadier S.B. Miyanadeniya's daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Gratian Sri Lanka Artillery officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Alumni of Ananda College Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel