ARMY Archives

TRIBUTE TO A BRAVE SKYDIVER Extracts from book “GRATITUDE” – By Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne (Retired from Sri Lanka Navy) Former Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Navy Chairman Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd. “Once you have tasted the taste of Sky, you will forever look up” Leonardo da Vinci “Daring Sky Divers from Lotus Tower in Colombo carried out parachute jumps with much amusement and happiness to all who watched them from land. This article is to pay my tribute to Brave Sky Diver who is no more with us” When I was Chief of Defence Staff (Tri Forces Commander) on 4th January 2018, one month before our Independence Day celebrations, my Chief of Staff, Major General Nirmal Dharmaratne approached me “Sir, we request your approval for BASE jumps on Independence Day parachute jumping display.”, “What is BASE jump?” I asked. Sir, we have three base jumpers in ...

BURGHER RECREATION CLUB’S GREATEST SON DESHABANDU MAJOR GENERAL BERTRAM RUSSELL HEYN (Born October 1, 1912) – A COLOSSUS AMONG LEGENDS – By Dennis de Rosayro ROYAL COLLEGE, COLOMBO Educated at Royal College, Colombo, and passed the Cambridge Junior Examination in 1927. Represented Royal College at Cricket in the 1929 and 1930 Annual Royal-Thomian big matches, and also in Rugby Football and Athletics. He coached the Cricket Team from 1945 to 1947. GOVERNMENT TRAINING COLLEGE, MAHARAGAMA Successfully completed his studies and training for Teachers. PETER’S COLLEGE, COLOMBO He coached the Cricket team in 1946 who beat St. Joseph’s College in the big match for the 1st time, and again in 1947. He also served as a Teacher for a period of time. BURGHER RECREATION CLUB I first met this legend when I joined the Burgher Recreation Club as a Benedictine schoolboy, 2 days before my 17th birthday on 8th March 1954. ...