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Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe salutes the little-recognised contribution of the Ceylon volunteers in the First World War (1914-1918)
In defence of Empire
Commemorating the ninetieth anniversary of the end of First World War, also known as the 'Great War', the so-called 'War to End All Wars', is Sri Lanka's voluntary contribution to the overseas 'war effort'. The service of Ceylon volunteers, both British colonists resident in Ceylon and Ceylonese, who served in all major frontline theatres, has not previously received adequate public recognition. This article illustrates some aspects of Ceylon's military involvement in preserving the integrity of the British Empire during the First World War.

1915 riots
To people familiar with the period encompassing Ceylon during the First World War the unprecedented growth of Ceylonese nationalism unleashed as a result of the 1915 riots is well known. Evidently, to the Ceylonese, notably the Sinhalese, the watershed 1915 riots eclipsed the significance of the First World War, which Armand de Souza illustrated: "When a Sinhalese meets a Sinhalese today, it is not of the war, not of the death of Kitchener, of the battle of Verdun... that he talks, but simply of the events of last June..."

Even as the memories of the most decorated Ceylonese volunteers faded in the post-First World War years, the memory of Captain E.H. Pedris of the local Colombo Town Guard (CTG) who was executed by the British on July 8, 1915 was vividly remembered, as exemplified by Sir Oliver Goonetileke: "I told Senators that every time I passed Echelon Square in the heart of Colombo I thought of the sad fate that befell young E.H. Pedris, son of a wealthy businessman. He enrolled in the Town Guard of which I was myself a member. When a mob gathered and became unruly near his business concern, he fired two shots in the air.

“The Governor, Sir Robert Chalmers, panicked and handed over full authority to the military, who disapproved of Pedris’s conduct. He was taken to Echelon Square where his helmet was knocked off his head and his shirt and epaulettes were stripped. He was unceremoniously drummed out and taken into custody. His father sent a great lawyer of the time, H.J.C Pereira, to plead with the Governor. Mr. Pedris was willing to pay his son's weight in gold, but the Governor's reply was: 'I shall kill, I shall kill, I shall kill.' Young Pedris was shot and his grief-stricken parents were not even allowed to have the dead body of their child." In the post-independence era a statue of E.H. Pedris was erected to honour his death.

Young blood
In the upper and middle class circles of Ceylonese society, western cultural traditions, Christianity and Empire were respected, and conviction for the war effort was largely steadfast. Institutions such as the Dutch Burgher Union (DBU), Colombo Club and the socially exclusive English-medium schools, avidly supported the war effort throughout its duration.

In the light of this when war was declared, apart from British colonists, it was the Ceylonese upper and middle class stratum, especially the Burgher community, which held a mixed sense of adventurism and loyalty to the British Empire. These were often the central motivational factors for enlistment for Ceylon volunteers, which a former student of St. Thomas' College, Colombo recalled: "I well remember the outbreak of the War. ...100 boys in the Fifth Form and above, wanted to enlist at once, and two boys, ran away to India in order to enlist. Several Old Boys went.

The general feeling was that there was a great and glorious adventure going on, and it was a pity we were too young to share in it. No idea of the tremendous issues involved entered our minds." In addition, a former pupil of Royal College, Company Sergeant Major R.R. Anderson who enlisted in the Inland Water Transport, Royal Engineers and was deployed in France, confirmed: "This is a great experience, one I wouldn't have missed for anything. Things are a bit hard at times, and I don't think I should be particularly sorry to see the end of war; but whilst the war is on I'd rather be here than anywhere else." While in Greece, K.A Chunchie of Kingswood College, Kandy affirmed: "I am happy to let you know that I'm 'up the line' at last, though it is only Salonika! I'm the first Ceylonese, and dear old Kingswood to the fore again. I visited every one of the graves, and spent a few minutes with the brave and noble lads who have gone under in maintaining the honour, glory and splendour of the Empire."

Island nation
Although the strain of war caused economic hardship as portrayed in Kumari Jayawardena's article, Economic and Political Factors in the 1915 Riots, the island escaped the wider wrath of conflict by its geographic isolation from the nearest frontline. The closest known enemy military activity was an unconfirmed sighting of the infamous German raider 'Emden' near Hambantota. Although the Emden was sunk on November 9, 1914, it was responsible, along with another German raider 'Wolf', for seriously harassing allied shipping activity in the Indian Ocean.

Unlike India, which mobilised over 1.5 million troops in the First World War, Ceylon's military impact was not of great consequence in the broader scheme. Ostensibly, the islands geo-strategic location for shipping and its highly regarded tea and rubber resources were of greater value in supporting Britain's war effort.

Indeed, the beginning of hostilities revived Ceylon's geo-strategic position when convoys and transports of Australian, British, Indian, New Zealand and even Russian troops transited through the ports of Colombo, Galle and Trincomalee en route to Africa, Asia Minor, Europe and the Middle East. Ceylon also served as a place of leave, especially in 1917 and 1918 when numerous British officers took respite from the Mesopotamian theatre.

Mobilisation
In Ceylon measures were taken by Governor Robert Chalmers (c.1913-1916) to mobilise the Ceylon Defence Force (CDF), the island's local militia, and position the colony on a war footing. In December 1916 eligible European males resident in Ceylon, between 18 and 41 years, were conscripted in to the CDF. Although the CDF was primarily designed as an auxiliary force for the colony's internal security, there were several efforts made by some of its units to form contingents for overseas service, most of which were unsuccessful. For instance, the Ceylon Mounted Rifles (CMR), a unit that held considerable prestige in the CDF and consisted of the island's British mercantile and planting elite, offered a Squadron at the outset of war but was not deemed cost effective and hence rejected. Furthermore, in November 1914 the Ceylon Light Infantry (CLI) also made an ill-fated attempt at offering to assemble a contingent of 100 volunteers.

British allegiance
The one-time principal of Trinity College, Reverend A.G. Fraser, known for his fervent support of British imperialism, organised 72 Ceylonese volunteers made up of former students (old boys) to participate in a route march. The aim of the enterprise was to demonstrate to the British authorities the martial value of Trinity College and its loyalty to the Empire. The objective was to march 68 miles from Kandy to Victoria Bridge, Colombo.

The route march took place on November 26, 1914 and was completed in 38 hours and 30 minutes. C.P. Jayawardene, who later became a Colonel in the CDF, wrote about his experience in his article Reminiscences of a Route March from Kandy to Colombo: "The rain had made the road slimy and our feet kept slipping at every step; but we kept going each helping the other along. We reached Victoria Bridge at 6.30 a.m. This was our last halt. The CLI Guard at the bridge presented arms as we marched past. This made us square our shoulders even more! We tried to give the impression that we had just started on a march and we fairly succeeded in doing so."

Although the contingent was rejected by Governor Chalmers, many of the participants later managed to enlist in British Army formations through individual funding arrangements such as the 'Times Fund', 'Passage Fund' and the 'One Day's Pay Fund'. Some of these participants later fought in the most internecine battles on the Western Front, such as Richard Aluvihare, D.B. Seneviratne, T. Halangoda, P.D. Pelpola, James Loos, son of Hermann Loos and Roy Ondatjie to name but a few. The ardent Reverend Fraser himself left for England in 1916 and joined the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). He subsequently became Chaplain of the Forces and was present at the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) and the Battle of Cambrai. He was twice gassed and invalided out of the Army in 1918.

Overseas service
Paradoxically, not all proposals to offer troops were declined. As a compromise the colony authorised the raising of at least three specially selected troop contingents for overseas service; two in 1914 and one in 1917. The first contingent to head overseas was the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps (CPRC), the CDF's second most prominent unit. The unit, composed chiefly of British planters, formed an overseas contingent on September 3, 1914 of eight officers and 221 other ranks led by Major John Hall-Brown. On October 27, 1914 the force was shipped from Ceylon on the SS 'Worcestershire' to Port Said, Egypt. While in Egypt, the unit was soon attached to the 1st Battalion Wellington Regiment as a part of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and deployed at Khubri and Port Tewfik as garrison troops in defence of the Suez Canal area until March 1915.

In April 1915, while ANZAC troops were re-organised in Egypt for the amphibious invasion of mainland Turkey, over 100 members of the CPRC overseas contingent were given officer commissions in the British and British-Indian Army. Subsequently, the remaining segment of the CPRC, somewhere between 80-129 troops, was attached to the 1st ANZAC Corps as a bodyguard and escort to staff at Corps Headquarters including Lieutenant General William Birdwood, later Sir William Birdwood, its General Officer Commanding.

From this point on they were referred to as the 'bodyguard'. Birdwood fondly described the CPRC: "I have an excellent guard of Ceylon Planters who are such a nice lot of fellows." The CPRC contingent landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula between April 25 and May 1, 1915 at the Ari Burnu beach-head, later known as Anzac Cove. The CPRC stayed for the duration of the campaign until the beachhead was evacuated in November 1915. To date, records indicate that three CPRC bodyguards were killed at Anzac Cove.

Following the Gallipoli campaign the CPRC overseas contingent was disbanded and nearly all the CPRC bodyguards were again given officer commissions and absorbed into the British Army and its auxiliary formations. The CPRC overseas contingent sustained heavy losses throughout the First World War with five out of the eight officers and 69 out of the 221 other ranks killed.

Also in 1914, following the departure of the CPRC contingent, Captain P.H. Milward led another small force of Ceylon volunteers - between 76-100 troops for overseas service - composed of British mercantile and planting elite affiliated with the CMR and CPRC. The 'Milward Contingent' embarked from Ceylon on the SS 'Derbyshire' on November 18, 1914.

Ceylon volunteers
The next contingent to follow was the mainly Ceylonese composed Ceylon Sanitary Company (Cey. San. Coy.), led by Major F.N. Holden. The company-sized unit was attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in Mesopotamia from about July 1917 until 1919. After the war some of the Ceylonese soldiers deployed permanently settled in Iraq.

Accordingly, by 1917 the Times of Ceylon estimated that 1,250 Ceylon volunteers had enlisted for overseas service. At least 351 Ceylon volunteers signed up while in England and another 438 enlisted on their own account. In addition, the 'Times Fund' facilitated the expenses for 156 Ceylon volunteers to enlist overseas. From the various available nominal rolls of honour consulted it appears there were minor concentrations of Ceylon volunteers in the RAMC (apart from the Cey. San. Coy.), Kings Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC), Middlesex Regiment, Coldstream Guards, Royal Fusiliers, Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and the Royal Engineers, Inland Water Transport.

It also appears that the Passage Fund facilitated the overseas transfer of a significant percentage of Ceylonese volunteers. Clearly, the vast bulk of Ceylonese volunteers who enlisted were from Christian backgrounds. Furthermore, according to statistics of the selected colleges analysed in Table 1: 'Ethnic Composition of Ceylon Volunteers', Ceylonese volunteers amounted to 71% or 235. Although, they were less than 1% of Ceylon's population at the time, Burghers accounted for 56% or 186 of Ceylonese volunteers. The majority ethnic group in Ceylon, the Sinhalese, amounted to about 12% or 41; while the minority Ceylon Tamils, alongside Malays and Colombo Chetties, equalled around 3% or 8. Many of these volunteers served and fought in the most gruesome battles and campaigns of the First World War, and recorded their extraordinary experiences in letters and memoirs.

(Continued next week)

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