- Rajan Kadiragamar
Infobox Military Person
name=Rajan Kadiragamar
lived=1922 - ??
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|Sri LankaSri Lanka
serviceyears= 1941-1970
rank=Rear Admiral
branch=Royal Ceylon Navy (1950-1970),
Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force (1941-1950)
commands= Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy
unit=
battles=World War II
awards=Member of the Royal Victorian Order,
Burma Star
laterwork=Rear Admiral Rajanathan "Rajan" Kadiragamar,MVO , ADC, RCyN (1922-??) was the second native Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy (at present referred to as Commander of the Navy) from 1960 to 1970 and as such the longest serving Captain of the Navy.Early life & education
Kadiragamar came from a Tamil
protestant Vellala family with deep roots inJaffna , his father was Sam J.C.Kadirgamar Sr. He was the brother of Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign AffairsLakshman Kadirgamar , PC , S.J.C.Kadirgamar Jr., QC andColonel Bai Kadirgamar.Educated at the prestigious
Royal College, Colombo where he was the senior sergeant of the cadet contingent.Naval career
With the out break of
World War II Kadiragamar joined the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force as a cadet officer, completed and took the Sword of Honour passing out parade at Trincomalee in 1941. He was commissioned as a probationarySub Lieutenant in the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (CRNVR) on 1 January 1942 and was attached to theRoyal Navy . During the war he served on broad ships of theEastern Fleet and saw action off the cost ofBurma . Following the general demobilization at the end of the war, he remained in the CRNVR and in 1946 led the CRNVR's contingent in the victory parade in London. In 1949 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander.With the formation of the Royal Ceylon Navy in 1950 he became a regular officer in it. In 1951 he was made the commanding officer of
HMCyS Vijaya the first ship of the new navy. He was promoted to Commander in 1955, Captain in 1959 and temporaryCommodore in 1960 (confirmed 1964) that year he was made acting Captain of the Navy after Rear Admiral G.R.M. De Mel was relived of command. In the capacity of Captain of the Navy he severed for ten years retiring in 1970 with the rank ofRear Admiral . During that time he was appointed as working director at Port Cargo Corporation.Rear Admiral Kadiragamar had been awarded the
1939-1945 Star and theBurma Star for war service from 1939 - 1945 and for service for the RCyN theCeylon Armed Services Long Service Medal , theQueen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal and theCeylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal . He had also severed as extraAid-de-Camp to three Governor-Generals.ee also
*
Lakshman Kadirgamar External links
* [http://www.navy.lk Sri Lanka Navy]
* [http://www.navy.lk/index.php?id=34 Rear Admiral R. Kadiragamar, MVO - Royal Ceylon Navy]
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