Ceylon Defence Force

Ceylon Defence Force
Ceylon Defence Force
Active	1881 – 11 April 1949
Disbanded	11 April 1949
Country	British Ceylon (1881–1948); Dominion of Ceylon (1948–1949)
Type	Army
Engagements	Second Boer War; First World War; Second World War;

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

Governor

.

History

The origins of the Ceylon Defence Force can be traced back to the formation of the Ceylon Volunteers in 1881, whereby the Citizens' Rifle Society rifle section was designated the 1st Battalion Ceylon Light Infantry with Lieutenant Colonel John Scott Armtage appointed as the first Commanding Officer. The Ceylon Volunteers subsequently were renamed the Ceylon Volunteer Force and finally was renamed the Ceylon Defence Force in 1910. Units of the Ceylon Volunteer Force in 1910.

Ceylon Artillery Volunteers
(CAV)
Ceylon Light Infantry
(CLI)
Ceylon Mounted Infantry
(CMI)
Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps
(CPRC)
Ceylon Volunteer Medical Corps
(CVMC)
Ceylon Engineers
(CE)
Cadet Battalion Ceylon Light Infantry^[1]

Second Boer War

In 1900 Ceylon Mounted Infantry saw action and in 1902 a contingent of Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps, took part in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Their services were recognised by presentation, in 1902, of a colour to the Ceylon Mounted Infantry, and a presentation in 1904, of a Banner to the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps.

Although there were Ceylonese officers much of the officer corps was made up of British officers and the other ranks were mostly Ceylonese with the exception of the

Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps

which was completely made up of Europeans.

First World War

In 1914, with the outbreak of the

Gallipoli Peninsula. The CPRC performed operational duties as guards to ANZAC headquarter staff, including the General Officer Commanding ANZAC, Lieutenant General William Birdwood, who remarked, “I have an excellent guard of Ceylon Planters who are such a nice lot of fellows.” According to its onetime Commanding Officer (CO), Colonel T.Y. Wright (1904–1912), the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps had sustained overall losses of 80 killed and 99 wounded in the Great War. Soon after the war the 80th Carnatics, who were the last regular military unit stationed in Ceylon on garrison duties, left. This resulted in the Ceylon Defence Force becoming a regular military unit with some units, such as the Mobilized Detachment of Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers

having troops mobilised on a permanent basis.

Second World War

In 1939, when the

Lord Louis Mountbatten had its headquarters located at Kandy

, Ceylon.

Troops from the Ceylon Defence Force, mainly the

POWs from Ceylon to India

.

In 1945 reached its wartime peak at 645 officers and 14,247 other ranks. At the centre of the expansion was the Ceylon Light Infantry which grew by 1946 from one to five battalions.

Post war

In 1947 the CDF was again mobilised in its last major internal security operation to suppress a left wing hartal, or mass stoppage of work. The Ceylon Defence Force was given additional support by an armed detachment of British Royal Marines from HMS Glasgow, who were utilised to deter strikers in Colombo.

The Ceylon Defence Force was officially disbanded on 11 April 1949 and reconstituted by Army Act No. 17 of 1949 which revoked the Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance of 1910 as the

Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF), itself becoming the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force

(SLAVF) in 1972.

Impact on the Ceylon Army

Soldiers who had experience in the CDF were actively recruited into the newly constructed regular force, and reconstituted volunteer force of the new

D. S. Attygalle (1967–1977) finished his term as Commander. The last Ceylon Defence Force veteran to leave the Army was Brigadier T. S. B. Sally

, who ended his service tenure in 1979.

Units of the Ceylon Defence Force

Ceylon Light Infantry

(CLI) (1881–Present)

Mobilised Detachment of
Ceylon Light Infantry
(Mob. Det., CLI) (1917–1939)

Ceylon Garrison Artillery

(CGA) (1889–Present)

Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps

(CPRC) (1887–1949)

Ceylon Cadet Battalion

(CCB) (1902–Present)

Ceylon Mounted Rifles (CMR) (1906–1938)
Ceylon Engineers
(CE) (1911–Present)
Ceylon Medical Corps
(CMC) (1911–Present)
Colombo Town Guard (CTG) (1914–1918, 1939–1945)
Town Guard Artillery
(TGA) (1914–1939)
Ceylon Motor Cyclist Corps (CMCC) (1915–N/A)
Ceylon Supply & Transport Corps
(CSTC) (1918–1949)
Ceylon Signal Corps
(CSC) (1943–Present)
Auxiliary Territorial Service (Ceylon) (ATS (Ceylon)) (1943–1946)
Royal Military Police (Ceylon) (1944–1949)

Personnel

Its

Moor communities. A few Europeans had served with the British Army, vast majority were planters, landowners and professionals such as lawyers, doctors engineers and civil servants. Oxbridge graduates could easily gain a commission. Officer training was limited with, much of the training and activity were planned on weekends and at the annual training camp and exercise that took place in Diyatalawa

. Infantry companies were formed in cities and towns with local volunteers.

Recruitment

Recruitment took place at regiment and unit level, with the commanding officer of the regiment deciding on both the officer and other ranks recruited into their respective units, following an application and an interview by a recruitment board. This meant that regiments retained exclusiveness such as the Ceylon Mounted Rifles and the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps which was limited to Europeans and not opened to native Ceylonese.

Training

As volunteer units, the CDF personal served in a part-time basis. They would carryout drills and practice during a weekend per month and would undertake a training camp of two week duration once a year at Imperial Camp in the Diyatalawa Garrison.