Remembering War Heroes on 30th Anniversary of Sri Lanka Navy Special Boats Squadron Commander (VNF) Cedric Martenstyn- Co- Founder of SBS – By Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne
Former Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of The Navy Chairman Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd
Commander (VNF) Cedric Martenstyn
Cedric Martenstyn was a very rich and affluent man. He owned a house in Colombo 7 , valuable properties throughout the country, vehicles/ speed boats and ran the lucrative business of importing Johnson and Evanrude Out board Motors (OBM) and sold to local fishermen and fish businessmen. He was the local agent these OBMs and very popular product among humble fishermen of our country for their reliability and after sales service. He was fondly known as “Sudu Mahattaya “(white Gentleman) by humble fishermen and he will travel in his double cab to length and breadth of country to meet them and solve their problems on OBMs and to impart good knowledge on how to maintain their of OBMs well.
He had a loving wife and children. He was an excellent SCUBA diver, member of Sri Lanka Navy Practical Pistol Firing team and his knowledge on wildlife and snakes was amazing. Even though he was a member from affluent Dutch Burger community, of Sri Lanka, a small community which was not directly affected by ethnic clashes in our country, still he was true patriot of Mother Lanka who volunteered to protect Country and people from terrorists. He was an old boy of St Thomas College, Mr Lavania and was an excellent sportsman. Founding father of Sri Lanka Army Commando Unit, Colonel Sunil Peris was his classmate at St Thomas.
I first met him when I was a very junior officer at Pistol Firing Range at Naval Base Walisara. I helped him to catch poisonous snake in the Range. I think he carried that snake home in a bottle! That was Cedric!
We became very close friends as we both loved “Guns and fishing rods”. His experience and tactics in angling helped me to catch much bigger Paraw (Trevallies) at Elephant rock area at Trincomalee harbour. He was a dangerous man to live with at Trincomalee Naval Base Ward Room (Officers Mess), because he had various live snakes kept in bottles and fed them with little frogs!
Scientific name: Systomus Martenstyni
English name : Martenstyn’s Barb
Local name: Dumbara Pethiya
Even though he was a keen angler, he was very keen conservationist on preserving endangered species both on land and water. He spends days in Horton plains and Knuckles Mountain Range streams to identify freshwater species in Sri Lanka. Do you know there is an endangered freshwater fish species he found in Horton Plains and Knuckles Mountain Range named after him after he was considered MIA, as an honor to his work!
Feeding time of snakes was an amusement to all our stewards at Wardroom at that time! They all gathered and watched carefully what Cedric was doing, keeping a distance to run away if snake escaped. Our Navy stewards dare to enter Cedric’s cabin (Room) at Trincomalee Wardroom (Officers Mess), even keeping his tea on a stool outside his Cabin door. One day pandemonium erupted at Officers Mess when Cedric announced that one snake escaped from captivity! We both never found this snake, but that was the end of his hobby as Commander Eastern Naval Area at that time orders to “ get rid of all snakes ! No more snakes in Wardroom! “. Sadly Cedric released all snakes to Sober Island that afternoon. Our Stewards were the happiest that day ! THOSE WERE THE DAYS WITH DEAR CEDRIC!
He was an volunteer Navy officer, but still joined me (he was 47 yers old then) to help SBS trainees (first and second batch) on Boat handling and OBM maintenance in 1993 when I raised SBS.
It was exactly 30 years ago!
Being an excellent Speed Boat race driver and boat designer, he drew the blueprint of first “18- foot Arrow Boat” and supervised building it at a private Boat Yard in 1993. This 18- foot Arrow boat was specially designed to use in shallow waters of Jaffna lagoon, fitted 115 HP OBMs and with two weapons he recommended; 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) and 7.62×51 mm General Purpose Machine Guns (MPMGs). Highly trained and highly motivated four SBS men were on board each arrow boat at Jaffna lagoon.
Same hull (deep V hull) developed during the tenure of Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda as Commander of the Navy by Naval Architects with knowledge gained through captured LTTE Sea Tiger boats, designed 23- foot Arrow boats and implemented the “Lanchester Theory” (theory of battle of attrition at sea in littoral sea battles) to completely nullify LTTE’s superiority with small boats and deadly suicide boats. Thanks Admiral of the Fleet for understanding the importance of Arrow boat design and your mass production at our own boat yard at Walisara . Admiral of the Fleet, under whom I was fortunate to serve as Director Naval Operations, Director Maritime Surveillance and Director Naval Special Forces during last stages (2006/7) of the Humanitarian Operations, always used to tell us “You cannot buy a Navy- you have to build one”!! Thank you, Sir!
Back to main story, …When I was selected for my Naval War Course (Staff Course) at Pakistan Navy Staff College at Karachi, (now known as Pakistan Navy War College relocated at Lahore), Pakistan, Cedric took over the command (even though he was an VNF officer) as Commanding Officer of SBS. Being one of the Co- founder of this elite unit, he was the most suitable person to take over as CO SBS.
He was loved by SBS officers and sailors. They were extremely happy to see him at Kilali or Elephant Pass, where SBS was deployed during very difficult time of our recent history- fighting against terrorists in 1996/7 time.
Motivated by father’s Patriotism, his younger son, Jayson, who was an pilot working at UK at that time, came to Sri Lanka and joined SLAF as an volunteer pilot to fly transport aircraft to keep an uninterrupted air link between Palaly (Jaffna) and Rathmalana (Colombo). Sometimes Jayson flew his beloved father on board from Palaly to Rathmalana. Cedric was extremely happy and proud of his son. Young Jayson died of a possible LTTE Surface-to-Air missile attack on his aircraft. Cedric was sad, but more determined in fight against LTTE terrorists.
Then the Navy Commander advised him to demobilize from VNF and look after his grieving family or join Naval Operations Directorate and work from Colombo which he vehemently refused. When I called him from Pakistan to convey my deepest condolences, said, he will look after the SBS boys and no idea to leave them on this difficult hour of our Nation. Such a HREO VERY FEW KNEW ABOUT!
By age difference, young officers, and sailors in SBS were of his two sons’ age.
Sadly, Cedric also considered Missing In Action (MIA) in an helicopter crash off seas of Vettalikani with Lt Palihena (another brave SBS officer- KDU intake). He was returning to Pont Pedro after visiting SBS boys at Elephant Pass, Jaffna.
Cedric and Jayson goes down in our history as few father and son duo whom paid Supreme Sacrifice for the Motherland . MAY THEY REST IN PEACE !
Defence State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene presided over the ceremony in which the Sri Lanka Navy’s ‘Cedric’ boat was officially unveiled at the Naval Museum in Trincomalee on Monday. On the 70th birth anniversary of the co-founder of the Sri Lanka Navy Special Boat Squadron, Commander Cedric Martenstyn, the Navy renamed their Arrow Boats as ‘Cedric’ in honour of him. The SBS was raised by Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne and Commander Cedric Martenstyn in October 1993 keeping in line with the Royal Marines Special Boat Squadron and the US Navy SEALs Special Boat Unit. Martenstyn with his expert knowledge on speed boats and outboard motors designed these boats to be used against Sea Tigers.
