Sri Lanka Rifle Corps

Last updated
Sri Lanka Rifle Corps
CREST.png
Sri Lanka Rifle Corps crest
Active1984.12.10 - Present
CountryFlag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka
BranchFlag of the Sri Lankan Army.png  Sri Lanka Army
Type Infantry
RoleInfantry
Size2 Battalion
Part of Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force
Garrison/HQ 1st Battalion Headquarters, Pallekele 2nd Battalion Headquarters,Buddankotte
Motto"Serve to Others" "පරාර්ථයේ යෙදෙමි"
ColorsBottle Green & Golden Yellow
March Colonel Bogey March
MascotThe Great Horse "Rifle"
Anniversaries1984/12/10 - 1 SLRC & 2006/02/15 - 2 SLRC
Engagements Insurrection 1987-89
Sri Lankan Civil War
Digana RIOTS 2018
Commanders
Commanding Officer 1 SLRCMajor BWGPHK Bandara USP SLAC
Second in CommandMajor HMRPB Herath SLRC
AdjutantCaptain WMDLM Wellakkatu SLRC
Intelligence Officer2/Lt KMPVW Bandara SLRC
Commanding Officer 2 SLRCLt Col TMDD Meegolla RWP RSP psc SLLI
Second in CommandMajor TN Perera SLRC
AdjutantLt Deemantha Jayasinghe SLRC
Coordinating Officer SLRC/SLAPCCol ARD De Silva KSP SLAPC
Notable
commanders		 General Ranjan Wijeratne Lt col Lucky (laxshman) Ratnaweera.
Insignia
AbbreviationSLRC

The Sri Lanka Rifle Corps (SLRC) is a prestigious regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of two volunteer (reserve) battalions. It has been formed with personnel from the central highlands and the many plantations in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. [1] It is the only regiment of the Sri Lanka Army that recruits its personnel from a particular geographical area and protecting the central higlands vital/key points.

Contents

History

The origins of the Rifle Corps can be traced back to the colonial era when the British planters in the central highlands of Ceylon formed a volunteer regiment called the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps in 1887 which was attached to the Ceylon Defence Force. [2] [3] This regiment was disbanded when the Ceylon Army was formed in 1949. [4]

In the 1980s the management of the many plantations called for the recreation of a volunteer Rifle Corps in the highlands. Due to these requests two battalions were raised in Pallekele and Neuchatel Estate Neboda on 15 February 1985 by Brigadier G. R. Jayasinghe, assisted by Lt-Colonel Wettasinghe and Captain P. Abeyratne. The first commanding Officers were Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Ranjan Wijeratne (2nd Battalion) who was the Chairman of the State Plantations Corporation and Lieutenant Colonel P.R Seneviratne (1st Battalion) who was the Chairman of the Janatha Estate Development Board. [1]

These two battalions have deployed in the Northern and Eastern Provinces due to the Civil War. Currently, the regiment is deployed in the Central Province provides security to the vital sectors of dams and hydroelectric projects of the Mahaweli Development programme. A detachment is maintained by the regiment in Kandy for the protection of the Temple of the Tooth.

Units

Notable members

Order of precedence

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Sri Lanka Army - Defender of the Nation". www.army.lk. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  2. ↑ "Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps at Gallipoli". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  3. ↑ "Ministry of Defence - Sri Lanka". www.defence.lk. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  4. ↑ Ratwatte, Suren (2023-05-25). "The Ceylon Planters' Rifle Corps". Medium. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  5. ↑ "Sri Lanka Army - Defender of the Nation". www.army.lk. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
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