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 o ...

Theodore Godfrey Wijesinghe Jayewardene, VD, JP, CLI (June 17, 1872 – 1945; also known as T. G. Jayewardene) was a Ceylonese ( Sri Lankan) engineer, politician and military officer. A member of the State Council of Ceylon, he was the first Ceylonese commanding officer of the Ceylon Light Infantry.

Early life and education

Born to James Alfred Jayewardene, a Proctor who was the Deputy Coroner of Colombo. His brothers were Hector Alfred Jayewardene,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene, KC and

John Adrian St. Valentine Jayewardene Justice John Adrian St. Valentine W. Jayewardene (1877–1927) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) judge and lawyer. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. Born to James Alfred Jayewardene, a Proctor who was the Deputy Coroner of Colombo. His b ...

. Jayewardene was educated at the Royal College, Colombo.J.R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka, By K. M. De Silva, William Howard Wriggins
/ref>

Career

After becoming an engineer, he joined the Public Works Department in 1895 as an assistant engineer and in 1900 became a fully qualified Civil Engineer. He was elected to the State Council of Ceylon in 1933 from the

Balangoda Balangoda is a large town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located away from Colombo and from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuw ...

seat and held it till 1936.

Military service

He joined the Ceylon Light Infantry, a reservist regiment of the

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony ...

, in 1889 as a private. However he was later commissioned and quickly climbed though the ranks becoming a major in 1908. In 1921 he was appointed as the

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way ...

of the Ceylon Defence Force. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he served as the first Ceylonese commanding officer of the Ceylon Light Infantry from August 1919 to August 1923. He reached the rank of

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 o ...

, the highest rank a Ceylonese could achieve in the colonial era and was awarded the

Volunteer Officers' Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

Family

In 1905, he married Lena Attygalle, daughter of

Mudaliyar Thuluva Vellalar (Thondamandala Tuluva Vellalar), also known as Agamudaya Mudaliars and Arcot Mudaliars, is a caste found in northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh and southern Karnataka, India. They were originally significant lando ...

Don Charles Gemoris Attygalle Mudaliyar Don Charles Gemoris Attygalle (8 September 1836 - 12 December 1901) was a Ceylonese, an entrepreneur and mine owner. He was a successful graphite mine owner and was given the titular title of Mudaliyar for social service by the British G ...

When the 'nobodies'made their mark
/ref> with whom he had a son Major Theodore Frederick, who was elected to the Parliament in 1948. His daughter Margie Jayewardene married A. F. Wijemanne, who was a senator and Minister of Justice (1965-1970). His brother-in-laws were Fredrick Richard Senanayake and John Kotelawala Sr. One of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

primary roads ''Colonel T. G. Jayewardene Mawatha'' has been named in his honor.

References

External links