Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Henry Vijaya Athukorale, VSV, psc, FBIM (30 November 1930 – 21 December 2019) was a Sri Lankan senior army officer. He served as Commandant, Volunteer Force and Commander, Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration.

Military career

Having joined the Ceylon Army in September 1950 as a

Cadet Officer St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI), previously known as the St John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland, is a charitable Volunteering, voluntary organisation in Ireland. For constitutional reasons it is not a full member association of the Venerable Ord ...

, he proceeded to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for officer training. On his return he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry. He attended the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

. From 1967 to 1970, Major Athukorale served as an Extra ADC to

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first and only non-executive and ceremonial President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic in ...

Governor-General of Ceylon The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. History There were four governors-general. ...

. Athukorale went on command the 1st battalion,

Sri Lanka Light Infantry The Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of ten regular battalions and five volunteer battalions, and is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment ...

as a Lieutenant Colonel from July 1970 to February 1976. He led the battalion during its deployment in

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionari ...

operations during the 1971 Insurrection. He translated the history of Light Infantry, and was instrumental in composing the Light Infantry Regimental Song. He drafted the Part I order generally issued by the

Colonel of the Regiment Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalio ...

or the Commander of the Army.Services of Two Light Infantry Veterans Feted in Two Military Ceremonies
/ref> Promoted to Colonel, he was appointed Commander, Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration serving from 1976 to 1977. He then served as Commandant, Army Training Centre; Acting Director of Personnel Administration, Director Army Sports Boards and Inspector General Field Forces. He was appointed Commandant, Volunteer Force in 1982 with the rank of

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 ...

. He retired from the army on 30 November 1985. After retiring he had served as Honorary Chairman of the SLLI Association and Additional Consultant to the Additional Welfare Council at Ministry of Defence. He was promoted to the rank of

in 2017. He was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

British Institute of Management The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. The major membership classes are ''Member'', ''Fellow'' - for those with significant expertise - and ''Companion'' - the most sen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athukorale 1930 births 2019 deaths Sri Lankan lieutenant generals Sinhalese military personnel Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Sri Lanka Light Infantry officers

Military career

See also

References