A tribute to a war hero: Remembering Commander (VNF) Cedric Martenstyn, the Co-founder of Special Boat Squadron – By Admiral (Rtd.) Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne,

• 30th Anniversary of Sri Lanka Navy Special Boats Squadron 

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 Evinrude Outboard Motors (OBM) and sold them to local fishermen and businessmen.

He was the local agent these OBMs and marketed these 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 would often travel in his double cab to the length and breadth of the country to meet them and solve their problems on OBMs and to impart good knowledge on how to maintain their 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 the affluent Dutch Burgher community of Sri Lanka, a small community which was not directly affected by ethnic clashes in our country, still he was a true patriot of Mother Lanka who volunteered to protect Country and people from terrorists. He was an old boy of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavania and was an excellent sportsman. 

The founding father of Sri Lanka Army Commando Unit, Colonel Sunil Peris was his classmate at S.Thomas’. 

I first met him when I was a very junior officer at Pistol Firing Range at Naval Base, Welisara. I helped him to catch a poisonous snake in the Range. I think he carried that snake home in a bottle! That was the type of person Cedric was!

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 wardroom (officers’ mess), because he had various live snakes kept in bottles and fed them with little frogs!

Even though he was a keen angler, he was a 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. Did 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 honour to his work!

Feeding time of snakes was an amusement to all our stewards at the wardroom at that time! They all gathered and watched carefully what Cedric was doing, keeping a distance to run away if the 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 ordered to “ get rid of all snakes ! No more snakes in the 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 a volunteer Navy officer, but still joined me (he was 47 years 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!

The Arrow boat

Being an excellent speed boat race driver and boat designer, he drew the blueprint of the first “18-foot Arrow Boat” and supervised building it at a private Boat Yard in 1993. This 18- foot Arrow Boat was especially 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 (GPMGs). In no time, we had highly trained and highly motivated four SBS men on board each arrow boat at Jaffna lagoon, and they were very effective. 

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 boatyard at Welisara. Karannagoda, under whom I was fortunate to serve as Director Naval Operations, Director Maritime Surveillance and Director Naval Special Forces during the 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!

The Hero he was

Back to main story – when I was selected for my Naval War Course (Staff Course) at Pakistan Navy Staff College at Karachi, Pakistan (now known as Pakistan Navy War College relocated at Lahore), Cedric took over the command (even though he was an VNF officer) as Commanding Officer of SBS. 

Being one of the co- founders 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 a 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 in 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 Palali (Jaffna) and Rathmalana (Colombo). Sometimes Jayson flew his beloved father on board from Palali to Rathmalana. Cedric was extremely happy and proud of his son. 

Tragically, young Jayson was killed in action by a suspected LTTE Surface-to-Air missile attack on his aircraft. Cedric was sad, but more determined to continue the fight against LTTE terrorists. He would also lead the rescue and salvage operation to identify the aircraft wreckage his son flew in. Then the Navy Commander advised him to demobilise 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”, he had no intention of leaving them alone at this difficult hour of our nation. That was Cedric, he was such a hero, a hero very few knew about!

By age difference, the young officers, and sailors in SBS were of his two sons’ age, and Cedric would not leave them even when he was facing a personal tragedy. He was a dedicated and courageous person.    

Sadly, like many who served our nation and stood against terrorists, Cedric would go on to be considered Missing In Action (MIA) following a helicopter crash off seas of Vettalikani with Lt. Palihena (another brave SBS officer- KDU intake). He was returning to Point Pedro after visiting SBS boys at Elephant Pass, Jaffna. 

Cedric and his son, Jayson go down in our history as one of the few father and son duo who paid the Supreme Sacrifice for the Motherland . MAY THEY REST IN PEACE ! Salute! 

(The writer is former Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of The Navy, and former Chairman of the Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd.)

Commander Martenstyn was considered missing in action (MIA) on 22 January 1996 in the sea off Vettalaikerni, while returning to Palaly Air Force Base in an SLAF helicopter when it was lost to enemy fire. He was returning from visiting an SBS detachment in Elephant Pass near the Jaffna Lagoon. Considering his contribution to the war effort, his gallentry and valour in fighting the enemy,  and his steadfast service to the Sri Lanka Navy in manufacturing Arrow boats, and training the SBS, all SLN Arrow boats were renamed ‘Cedric’ on his 70th Birthday.