Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Alfred William Henry Perera, VSV, ndc, psc, SLN (1930-2009) was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy from 1979 to 1983. He also served as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Naval career

Educated at St. Peter's College, Colombo, Perera joined the

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

on July 1951 as a direct entry

Sub Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

to the executive branch and received his training at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

. Having completed his training at Greenwich in 1953, he specialized in gunnery on board HMS ''Excellent'' in 1954. In 1962, promoted to

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, he served as a member of the United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea. He attended

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 = , presi ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 1964. In 1970, he was promoted to the rank of

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. ...

. During the 1971 JVP Insurrection, the RCyN deployed its officers and sailors for shore duty conducting counter insurgency operations in several districts. Commander Perera was appointed military coordinating officer of the

Polonnaruwa District Polonnaruwa District ( si, පොළොන්නරුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය; ta, பொலன்னறுவை மாவட்டம்) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of ...

. In 1973, he was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

and attended National Defence College,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

in 1976. During his career he held several commands at sea and on shore including Naval Officer in Charge,

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

and Chief of Naval Staff. A passionate rugby player, served as the Chairman of the Naval Sports Board as well as the Chairman Defence Services Sports Board. Promoted to the rank of

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 ...

, he was appointed Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy on 1 June 1979 succeeding

Basil Gunasekara Admiral Deshamanya D. Basil Gunasekara (born 7 May 1929) was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy from 1973 to 1979. Early life and education Born to a planter in Katana, Gunasekara was the youngest child of a family of five members. Educated a ...

. With the on set of the Sri Lankan Civil War, he continued the modernization and expansion of the navy. He initiated the development of the locally built Jayasagara-class

offshore patrol vessels Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * O ...

for the navy. He retired from the navy on 31 May 1983 and was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral. He was succeeded by Asoka de Silva. During his long career in the navy, he received 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 ...

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 Armed Services Long Service 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 ...

President's Inauguration Medal __NOTOC__ The President's Inauguration Medal ( Sinhala: ජනාධිපති ධූරප්‍රාප්ත පදක්කම ''janādhipathi dhūraprāptha padakkama'') was a decoration of the Military of Sri Lanka, granted to all regula ...

and the Sri Lanka Navy 25th Anniversary Medal. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of

along with 9 other former service commanders.Former service chiefs promoted
/ref>

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Navy 25th Anniversary Medal ribbon bar

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

Later life

Following his retirement, he was appointed as the Commissioner General of Essential Services and there after was appointed Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Kenya in which capacity he served for four years. He lived at his home in Pagoda Road, Nugegoda until he died after a brief illness on 14 November 2009. His funeral was held at the Borella General Cemetery with full military honours.

Family

He was married to Daphne and they had a daughter Sharma and a son Arjuna.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Henry Commanders of the Navy (Sri Lanka) Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Sri Lankan admirals Sinhalese military personnel High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Kenya 1930 births 2009 deaths National Defence College, India alumni Defence Services Staff College alumni Alumni of St. Peter's College, Colombo