Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Christopher Allan Hector Perera Jayawardena (1898-1986) was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri L ...

forest conservator, military officer and socialite. He was a Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests, Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II, Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General and Chief Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Scout Association

Public service

Educated at

Trinity College, Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

, he joined the joined the Forest Department as an Assistant Conservator of Forests. Attending Impriral Forestry Institute at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, he gained a gained a Diploma in Forestry. He became the Senior Assistant Conservator of Forests before his retirement in 1949. He was a Justice of the peace for the western province. He served as the District Commissioner of the Colombo District Scout Association and was later the Chief Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Scout Association and Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance. He was also a senior freemason in Irish, English, and the Scottish masonic lodge in Sri Lanka.

Military service

Jayawardena was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry, as a volunteer officer in the Ceylon Defense Force in 1925. With the on set of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Ceylon Light Infantry was expanded for war time service and Major Jayawardena was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion with Captain

Anton Muttukumaru Major General Anton Muttukumaru, OBE, ED, ADC (6 July 1908 – 2001) was the first native Ceylonese to serve as the Commander of the Ceylon Army (now Sri Lankan Army), a post he held from 1955 to 1959. He also served as Ceylon's High Commi ...

serving as his adjutant. He was soon promoted to rank of lieutenant colonel. With the formation 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 ...

in 1949, he transferred to the Ceylon Volunteer Force Reserve with 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 ...

and was appointed extra aide-de-camp to the governor-general in 1950, holding the appointment till 1959. In 1954, he served as equerry to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her Royal visit to Ceylon. He served as the commanding officer of the Home Guard Regiment when it was formed in 1955. On his retirement from the army in 1959, he was promoted to the

honorary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

of Brigadier, the first volunteer officer to be promoted to the rank. He remained an honorary extra aide-de-camp to the governor-general till the late 1960s.

Honors

He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Military division) (MBE), an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military division) (OBE) in the

1944 New Year Honours The 1944 New Year Honours were appointments by 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. They were announced on 1 January 1944 for the Britis ...

, an

Commander of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(CStJ), a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) in 1954 by the Queen during her visit to Ceylon and Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1956 New Year Honours for public service. His medals include the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

, Defence Medal (1946), the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

(1946) for wartime service in World War II with the Ceylon Defense Force; and for service in the Ceylon Army, he received the

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 ...

, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal and the

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal The Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal was awarded to members of the Ceylon armed services who served within their specific service branch during periods in 1949-1951 when their service branch was established: *Ceylon Army (10 October 1949 ...

Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services ribbon bar

Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

Ribbon - Efficiency Decoration (South Africa)

Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal ribbon bar

Family

He married Sylvia Dorothy Samarasinghe. His sister Esther Jayawardena married

Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ඔලිවර් ගුණතිලක) (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Cey ...

, who later became the third

Governor-General of Ceylon The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. History There were four governors-general. ...

. She died before her husband joined public service. Jayawardena had two children, Sita Helen Evelyn Parakrama (1925 - 1978) and Christopher Jayawardena. Both children predeceased him.

References

External links

Lieutenant Colonel Jayawardene of Ceylon, who has been awarded the MBE (Military) in 1944. Imperial War Museums
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayawardena, Christopher Allan Hector Perera Sinhalese civil servants Ceylonese military personnel British Army personnel of World War II People from British Ceylon Ceylonese military personnel of World War II Ceylon Light Infantry officers Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force officers Equerries Ceylonese Members of the Royal Victorian Order Ceylonese Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of St John Sri Lankan brigadiers Ceylonese lieutenant colonels Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Alumni of the University of Oxford Sri Lankan justices of the peace