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 ...

Richard Aluwihare, (23 May 1895 – 22 December 1976) was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police and Ceylon's High Commissioner to India.

Early life and education

Richard Aluwihare was born on 23 May 1895, the son of T. B. Aluwihare and Panabokke Tikiri Kumarihamy, daughter of Panabokke Dissawe. His younger brother,

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

(1902 – 1961), was a Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament from Matale. Aluwihare was educated at

Christ Church College, Matale Christ Church College, Matale (CCC) ( Sinhala : ක්‍රිස්තුදේව විද්‍යාලය) is a mixed state school in Matale, Sri Lanka. History The college was established in 1864, as the Christ Church Boy’s English ...

and Trinity College, Kandy. At Trinity College he was a Senior Prefect, won the Ryde Gold Medal and the Trinity Lion for cricket in 1915.

Military service

With the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

serving in the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

at Flanders, 1916 and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Somme. He returned to Ceylon in 1920. He was the Secretary to the Kandyan deputation on constitutional reforms that was sent to England.

Civil service career

In October 1920, he was appointed to the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

as a cadet by 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 ...

under special war service and was attached to the Jaffna

Kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and ac ...

in October 1921. In February 1922 having passed his civil service examinations, he was appointed Office Assistant to the Director of Agriculture and Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies. In October 1923 he was posted as Acting Police Magistrate, Dandagamuwa. Promoted to Officer of Class 4, he was posted as Police Magistrate in Point Pedro in November 1923 and Police Magistrate Panadura in November 1924. Promoted to Officer of Class 3, he was appointed Second Landing Surveyor,

HM Customs HM Customs (His or Her Majesty's Customs) was the national Customs service of England (and then of Great Britain from 1707, the United Kingdom from 1801) until a merger with the Department of Excise in 1909. The phrase 'HM Customs', in use si ...

in 1926, Commissioner of Requests, Additional District Judge, Additional Police Magistrate, Kandy and Additional District Judge, Kegalla in 1928; Assistant Settlement Officer in 1929 and District Judge, Nuwara Eliya in 1931. Promoted to Officer of Class 2 in 1932, he was attached to the General Treasury in 1934 and was appointed Controller of Finance and Supply. In 1937, he was appointed Assistant Government Agent, Kegalla and in 1939 he was attached to the HM Customs as Deputy Collector of Customs, Colombo. In December 1941 he was appointed as acting Government Agent, North Central Province. Promoted to Officer of Class 1, in January 1944, he was appointed Government Agent, Central Province in 1946. On 6 January 1947 he was appointed first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police of the

Ceylon Police Force (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

. In 1948 he established the Police Training School in

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of ...

. He retired from the civil service as Inspector General and was succeeded by his son-in-law

Osmund de Silva Santiago Wilson Osmund De Silva (25 December 1909 - c. 1980) was Ceylonese police officer. He was the thirteenth and the first Ceylonese career police officer to become Inspector-General of Police (1955–1959). Early life and education ...

Later life

After his retirement in 1955 Aluwihare went into politics and contested the parliamentary seat of

Kalawewa Kala Wewa ( Sinhala:කලා වැව) built by the King Datusena in 460 A.D, is a twin reservoir complex (Kala Wewa & Balalu Wewa) which has a capacity of 123 million cubic meters. This reservoir complex has facilitated with a stone made spi ...

from the United National Party in 1956 and was soundly defeated. In June 1957, he was appointed Ceylon's High Commissioner in India a position he retained until 1963. Aluwihare died on 22 December 1976 at the age of eighty one.

Family

He married Lucille née Moonemalle, daughter of

Theodore Barcroft L. Moonemalle Theodore Barcroft L. Moonemalle (born 1868) was a Ceylonese lawyer and legislator. He was the Kandyan Sinhalese member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. Born in Kurunagala to John M. L. Moonemalle a proctor, he educated at Trinity College, Kan ...

, member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of repre ...

, on 18 October 1920. They had two daughters Phyllis Sita, who married Jayampathy Charitha Ratwatte II, later member of 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 rep ...

and Ena (1922 – 2015), who married a career police officer,

. De Silva succeeded his father-in-law as Inspector General of Police.

Honours

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CEB) and was knighted as a Knights Bachelor in the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, a ...

for services in reorganizing the Ceylon Police Force. He was appointed Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the ...

for services to Ceylon. For service in the Great War, he received the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in ...

and the Victory Medal, during his civil service career he received the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal, the

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

and during his service as IGP he received the Ceylon Police Independence Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

UK King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK King George VI Coronation Medal ribbon

Ceylon Police Independence Medal ribbon bar

Legacy

The parade ground at the Police Training College in Kalutura is named the Aluwihare Grounds. The winner of the

Trinity–Antonian Cricket Encounter The Trinity–Antonian Cricket Encounter (known as ''The Hill Country Battle of the Blues'') is the leading annual school cricket match (Big Match) of the hill country which is played between Trinity College, Kandy and St. Anthony's College, Kandy ...

(Battle of the Blues) is awarded the Sir Richard Aluwihare Trophy. Aluwihare also has a street (Richard Aluwihare Mawatha) named after him in Matale.

References

ALUWIHARE - Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aluwihare, Richard High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to India Sri Lankan Inspectors General of Police Sri Lankan diplomats Sinhalese civil servants People of British Ceylon Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Ceylonese Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Ceylonese Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese military personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War I Middlesex Regiment soldiers Ceylonese military personnel 1895 births 1976 deaths