D. S. Attygalle

Infobox Military Person
name= Don Sepala Attygalle
lived= 1922— January, 2001
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption= General Deshamanya D.S. Attygalle, MVO, CLI
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
serviceyears= 1942-1977
rank=General
branch= Ceylon Defence Force
Sri Lanka Army
branch
commands=Commander of the Sri Lankan Army ,
Chief of Staff of the Sri Lankan Army ,
unit=Ceylon Light Infantry,
Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
battles= World War II, 1971 Insurrection
awards=Member of the Royal Victorian Order,
War Medal 1939–1945
laterwork= Permanent Secretary Ministry of Defence,
High Commissioner
General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, MVO, SLAC (1922—January 2001) was a former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Education

He was educated at the prestigious Royal College, Colombo where he became the Head prefect, won colours in both athletics and rugby and was the Senior Sergeant of the Cadet Contingent of Royal.

Military career

With the out break of World War II seeking a King's Commission, he joined as a cadet officer taking the Sword of Honour at the Army passing out parade at Diyatalawa in 1941. Soon after he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry.

After the war, he became officer of the newly established Ceylon Army. On October 10, 1955 Attygalle now a Major, formed the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron which soon became the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps with him as its first commanding officer.

On October 1, 1967 Major General D. S. Attygalle took over as the Commander of the Army from Major General B.R. Heyn. Under his leadership the army crushed the 1971 Insurrection within two months and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General on April 4, 1974 thus being the first officer of the Sri Lanka Army to hold this rank. When he retired on October 13, 1977 after having served for ten years as Commander, he was promoted to the rank of General, thus becoming the first Sri Lankan army officer to be promoted to the rank of a four star General.

Later life

After retirement, he held such appointments in the government as Additional Secretary and later Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence during the 1980s then he served as High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in the UK after which he was the Chairman of Air Lanka and Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. His military funeral in January 2001, was well attended by his family members, friends and colleagues who gathered to mourn his loss.

Honors

* Attygalle was promoted to the honorary rank of General upon his retirement in 1977.
* He was awarded the title Deshamanya from the Government of Sri Lanka.
* He was a Member of the Royal Victorian Order.

ee also

*Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Non_Career_Diplomats Sri Lankan Non Career Diplomats]

External links

* [http://www.army.lk/co.php Parade Commander Major B.R. Heyn, CLI]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~lkawgw/comcork.html rootsweb.com]
* [http://lakdiva.org/suntimes/040118/plus/appreciation.html]