Navy House was the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

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 ...

, located in

SLN Dockyard Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Dockyard is the largest naval base of the Sri Lanka Navy and a major shipyard located in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Established by the British as the Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee, it was home to the East Indies Station of th ...

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

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 ...

. It was formerly the official residence of the naval officer commanding, HM Dockyard, Trincomalee and later the Commander-in-Chief,

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

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 ...

History

The building was acquired for the Commander in Chief of the East Indies Station at a cost of £1,750 in 1810. A large bell, which was rung to summon sailors for duty, was donated by Rear-Admiral

Charles Austen Rear Admiral Charles John Austen CB (23 June 1779 – 7 October 1852) was an officer in the Royal Navy and the youngest brother of novelist Jane Austen. He served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and beyond, eventually ri ...

in 1850. The last British occupant of the building was Vice-Admiral

Hilary Biggs Vice Admiral Sir Hilary Worthington Biggs, (15 January 1905 – 2 January 1976) was a senior Royal Navy officer. Naval career Hilary Worthington Biggs was born on 15 January 1905, the son of Lieutenant Colonel C. W. Biggs. After attending the ...

. Security was provided by the

Ceylon Rifle Regiment The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795. The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In 1795 there were ...

. On 15 October 1957, the Trincomalee Naval Dockyard was officially handed over by the Royal Navy to the Sri Lankan government and since then the property been a possession of the Sri Lanka Navy.English translation by Capt Akram Alavi SLN, of the Sinhala article titled "Nawika Medura" written by Lieutenant Commander (Retd) HCL Caldera SLN for "The Quartermaster" magazine in the year 2000 coinciding with the Sri Lanka Navy's Golden Jubilee.

References

Buildings and structures in Trincomalee Official residences in Sri Lanka SLN Dockyard {{SriLanka-struct-stub

History

See also

References