The Corp of Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) is a combat support arm of the Sri Lanka Army which provides

military engineering Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics be ...

. It is made up of ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. Headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, it is headed by the Centre Commandant. The corps provides combat engineering, construction and other technical support to the

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

and civil authorities. The corps' key roles are mobility and counter mobility. That is providing mobility to friendly forces while denying movement to enemy forces. Engineers are able to conduct tasks including penetrating minefields, locating and disarming booby traps, purifying water and building roads and bridges to maintain lines of communications.

History

Formation and World Wars

The Ceylon Engineers was formed in 1911 as part of the Ceylon Defence Force, following the transfer of

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

units from Ceylon. Duties of this unit were to the coastal searchlight and signal works. The unit was made up only of Europeans at its inception, mostly volunteers who had transferred from the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps. Its first commanding officer was Captain T. H. Chapman who held the post of Director of Public Works in government service. The Ceylon Engineers were mobilized during World War I and demobilized at its conclusion. After the war, the Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force, in consultation with the GOC Ceylon, recommended that the members of the Burgher community who were enlisted to the

Colombo Town Guard Colombo Town Guard was a regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer (Military reserve force, reserve) regiment was based in Colo ...

be invited to replace the Ceylon Engineers which was to be disbanded by 31 December 1926. This proposal was accepted and the reconstituted Ceylon Engineer Corps was raised on 1 January 1927. Personnel for the reconstituted unit were individually re-enlisted and a strength of 11 officers and 144 Other Ranks was recorded. This attracted the attention of two prominent members of the Legislative Council,

D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...

and

E. W. Perera Edward Walter Perera (11 December 1875 – 15 February 1953) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) barrister, politician and freedom fighter. He was known as the "Lion of Kotte" and was a prominent figure in the Sri Lankan independence movement, served ...

, who raised the question as to why there should be racial military units in the Island. In 1928 the Committee set up 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 ...

to inquire into this question, proposed in their report that the ''Ceylon Engineer Corps'' shall comprise British subjects of good character and respectability. From then onwards, the Ceylon Engineer Corps was open to all Ceylonese. The Corps was to comprise two Companies of Field Engineers (for combat engineering), two Companies of Fortress Engineers (to man defence lights and engines) and one Company of Signalers. In 1939 the Corps was mobilized for World War II and in 1943 a second signal company was raised. These formed

Ceylon Signals Corps The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) ( Sinhalese: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංඥා බලකාය ''Shri Lanka Sana Balakaya'') is a combat support corps of the Sri Lanka Army, responsible for providing military communications, informat ...

Post Independence

With the establishment of 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 ...

after independence, the 1st Field Squadron was formed in 1951 under the command of Major (later Brigadier) Douglas Ramanayake. This became the core of a new Ceylon Engineers which was formed in 1957, with the regimental headquarters permanently located at the Panagoda Cantonment. A

unit was set up in May 1958 at Konduwattuan Camp in Ampara, this school was moved several times before been located at Thunkama in Embilipitiya where it is today. In 1959, the 1st Field Engineer Squadron became the 1st Field Engineer Regiment. The Volunteer counterpart of the ‘ Sappers', the 4th Development and Construction Engineers Regiment was raised in 1964, replacing 2nd (V) Field/Plant Regiment, which was disbanded in 1962 after the attempted military coup that year which involved some of its officers. In the recent years, the Corps of Sri Lanka Engineers have been deployed in many parts of the country in support of military operations against terrorists. Since its conception in 1951 the corps has taken part in many development projects carried out in Sri Lanka by the government and has assisted during several natural disasters.

Units

Formations

* Engineering Division ** Field Engineer Brigade ** Plant Engineer Brigade ** General Engineering Brigade

Regular Army

*1st Field Engineer Regiment *5th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *6th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *7th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *8th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *9th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *10th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *11th Field Engineer Regiment SLE *12th Field Engineer Regiment SLE * 14 CBRN Regiment SLE *16 Workshop Regiment * Sri Lanka School of Military Engineering *Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron

Volunteer Regiments

*4th( Volunteer) Field Engineer Regiment SLE (Formed on 1 September 1964) *15th(Volunteer) Field Engineer Regiment SLE (Converted from 33 Sri Lanka National Guard on 3 March 2009)

Recipients of the Weerodara Vibhushanaya

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 ...

C. D. Wickramanayake

Notable members

*Lieutenant

Basil Arthur Horsfall Second Lieutenant Basil Arthur Horsfall, Victoria Cross, VC (4 October 1887 – 27 March 1918) was a United Kingdom, British-Ceylonese recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the ene ...

VC – Only Ceylonese recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

*Brigadier Douglas Ramanayake – founder of the Sri Lanka Engineers Brigadier Percy Douglas Ramanayake
/ref> *General

Denis Perera General Deshamanya Joseph Everard Denis Perera, VSV, FCMI (10 October 1930 – 11 August 2013) was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer who served as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1977 to 1981. He was also the Sri Lankan High Commissioner ...

VSV, ndc, psc, SLE – Former Commander of the Army (1977–1981). *General

Nalin Seneviratne General Ganegoda Appuhamelage Don Granville Nalin Seneviratne, VSV (August 25, 1931 – August 12, 2009) was a Sri Lankan Army officer. He was the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1985 to 1988 and first Governor of the North East Provi ...

, VSV, ndc, SLE – Former Commander of the Army (1985–1988) *General

Crishantha de Silva General Akurathiya Withanage Jagath Crishanthe de Silva, RWP, USP is a former senior Sri Lanka Army officer and military engineer. He had served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 22 February 2015 to 4 July 2017, as the Chief of D ...

, RWP, USP, ndc, psc, SLE – Chief of the Defence Staff and Commander of the Army (2015–2017) *General Mahesh Senanayake, RWP, RSP, USP, psc – Commander of the Army *Lieutenant General

Nalin Angammana Lieutenant General Nalin K. B. Angammana ( si, ලුතිනන් ජෙනරාල් නලින් අංගම්මන) (1945 – 1995) was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who was the former General Officer Commanding, 3 Divisi ...

– Former GOC, 3rd Division. *Major General

Mendaka Samarasinghe Major General M.C. Mendaka. P. Samarasinghe, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc, psc, SLE (April 1, 1958) was a Sri Lankan general and former Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army and also the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna; he was also the ...

, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc, psc, SLE – former Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army (2009–2010) *Major General J. R. S. de Silva, RSP, VSV, USP, SLE –

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the Sri Lanka Army (1991–1992) *Major General K. J. C. Perera, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, rcds, psc, SLE – Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army (2000–2001) *Major General E. H. Samaratunga USP, SLE *Major General A. E. D. Wijendra RSP, USP, ndc, psc, SLE *Major General M. D. S. Chandrapala RWP, RSP, USP, psc, SLE *Major General D. S. K. Wijesooriya RWP, RSP, USP, psc, SLE *Major General J. K. N. Jayakody USP, ndc, SLE *Major Genera V N Wijegunawardena *Major General Janaka Walgama RSP VSV USP ndu psc *Lieutenant Colonel J.H.V. de Alwis – former Commanding Officer, 2nd Volunteer Engineers, Ceylon Engineers & accused conspirator in the 1962 coup d'état attempt *Brigadier S.A.R. Samarasinghe RSP USP – Centre Commandant (2008–2010), Brigade Commander 592 Brigade (2011–2013)

Alliances

* – Corps of Royal Engineers * –

Indian Engineers The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civil ...

Order of precedence

References

External links and sources

Sri Lanka Army

Sri Lanka Engineers

{{Sri Lanka Army Regiments * Administrative corps of the Sri Lankan Army Military units and formations of Ceylon in World War II Military units and formations established in 1911