Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

After serving in Eritrea and the Sudan Percy was transferred to Egypt, where in El Alamein was fought one of World War II s most decisive battles in October 1942. Percy was among the recipients of the Africa Star awarded to soldiers who served there under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery who led the British 8 Th Army to victory against General Erwin Rommel's German 'Afrika Korps.'

The other Commanders under whom Percy's unit served were Generals Claude Auchinleck, Harold Alexander and Dwight D. Eisenhower who led the Anglo-American Armies against the Germans in North Africa (Operation Torch).

Percy recorded on film (still photographs) many of his experiences in the war. He used to recall with sadness the fate a group of Sri Lankan lads who joined a British Army engineering unit and took part in the Allied operations in Italy. The Germans had machine-gunned all of them while constructing a bridge for military convoys.

Among the Sri Lankan officers who served in Percy s unit was Captain (later Colonel) L.A. Perera who three years after the war - hoisted the Lion Flag in Cairo on Sri Lanka s Independence Day 1948, having obtained permission from his British Army superiors.

Percy underwent a terrifying experience when returning home from the Middle East towards the end of the war. He was on board the HMS Orbita bringing 5,000 troops to the Far East. There was much festivity on board following the Allied victory over the Axis powers. Only the Japanese were not yet completely defeated although on the retreat.

After the ship s revelers had gone to bed in a gay mood, the night had been extremely quiet until a thunderous explosion made the ship tremble like a leaf caught in a gale. This was followed by a deafening crash and the men were ordered to their stations with life jackets on. The lights were dimming as they watched the only serviceable boat take the few women on board away from the listing wreck.

The men were ordered to jump overboard and swim as far away from the sinking ship so that they could avoid being sucked by the wash. Each life-belt was equipped with a special torch that on contact with salt water flashed off at regular intervals sending put an SOS signal. The sea was dotted all around with these artificial fireflies. All around Percy there was panic. Percy lost some of his valuable mementoes in this incident.

Then hope dawned as rescue planes lit up areas with fares and shortly afterwards, Percy found himself along with many others on board a vessel loaded with cotton. But this ship too was sabotaged by being set on fire.

After the relief of rescue, the second disaster within a space of an hour was worse than the first. Once again Percy was in the water, now between two ships - one slowly sinking and the other burning fiercely. It was like a diabolical scene from Dante s Inferno. By this time the British RAF and the Royal Navy came to the rescue swiftly and Percy was picked up and taken to Aden. He finally got back home after a voyage that lasted three months.

After returning to Sri Lanka in 1945 on board the RMS Almanzora he served in the Ceylon Army Command Headquarters, under Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Allied Supreme Commander, South-East Asia, in Peradeniya, Kandy. In June of the following year Percy took part in the British Commonwealth troops' World War II victory parade held in London as a member of the Ceylon contingent. By then he was Warrant Officer Class I (Staff Sergeant Major).

Among the medals he earned were the1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Italian Star, Defence Medal and Victory Medal.

A bugler from the Sri Lanka Army Service Corps (SLASC) the Sri Lankan Counter part of the British RASC - played the Last Post at Percy Perera s funeral at the General Cemetery, Borella.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6oKuDxYaNc&feature=related

The amphibious warfare ship (Landing Ship Tank), INS Magar is scheduled to arrive at the Trincomalee harbor for a six-day visit on Saturday (April 10). The vessel based at Visakhapatman is the first Indian vessel visiting Trincomalee since the end of the war last May.

Although the visit is termed as a refueling stop, a group of Sri Lankan naval personnel will get an opportunity to undergo training onboard the Indian ship. Authoritative sources told The Island that one Sri Lankan vessel, too, would be involved in the training programme.

The elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) is likely to display their skills to the visiting Indians.

INS Magar, with a crew of about 140 officers and men is capable of carrying both armoured fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers along with about 500 personnel. Commissioned in July 1987, the vessel had been refitted in 1995 and is capable of carrying one helicopter.

Sources said that relations between Indo-Lanka navies remain strong with Sri Lanka receiving assistance to enhance her defence capabilities.

New Delhi: About 100 trainee officers from the Lankan Navy would go around INS Magar, a Landing Ship Tank (medium) used for amphibious operations and also as a replenishment ship, when they would be given exposure to various on-board activities including seamanship, bridgemanship, damage control and fire fighting exercises.

The ship will sail out of the Trincomalee harbour for two days from April 12 and would return to the harbour on April 14, the Navy said in a press release here today.

'These mutual cooperation exercises are an ongoing process and training experience have been imparted to young Sri Lankan officers on board the First Training Squadron (1TS) ships INS Shardul and Coast Guard ship CGS Varuna in October 2009 and earlier on INS Krishna in October 2007,' the release said.

'The two Navies share a very cordial relationship and have been undertaking such programmes for mutual professional benefit as and when the opportunity arises,' it said.

Lieutenant General V.K. Singh, who assumes office Wednesday as the new Indian Army chief, has many strategic and operational challenges ahead, including the long-delayed artillery modernisation programme that has significantly handicapped the forces' firepower capabilities.

With the ghost of the Bofors payoff scandal of the 1980s still looming over weapon purchases, the army is now left with just about half of the 410 Bofors guns it had purchased in 1986, with normal wear and tear and cannibalisation accounting for the remaining howitzers.

After a decade-and-a-half, a $647 million deal is imminent for 145 M777 155mm ultralight-weight howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS) manufactured by BAE Systems but a decision has still to be taken on some 300 towed and self-propelled guns of the same calibre.

And therein lies the rub.

The defence ministry has given the go-ahead for field trials of the towed guns but with a caveat: Singapore Technologies Kinetics, the sole contender, has first to be cleared by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) of corruption charges. The company, however, stoutly denies it is charged with corruption and says it is more than willing to open its books to the CBI or anyone else to prove this.

Then, the Indian Army has to take a call on just how many of the indigenous Arjun main battle tanks (MBTs) it wishes to purchase. As of now the army has ordered 124 and various officers have been quoted as saying it would stop at that.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that developed the Arjun has protested and wants the army to buy more to make its decades-old labours worthwhile.

This apart, the army has to achieve closure on ongoing projects like arming the homegrown Dhruv advanced light helicopters, replacing its Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, purchasing intermediate-range helicopters and short- and medium-range air defense systems, as also improving the ability of soldiers to fight at night with night-vision sights and thermal imaging systems for tanks.

Thus, Singh has his hands more than full.

A third generation army officer, Singh was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on June 14, 1970 and during his career spanning nearly 40 years has served in a variety of command, staff and instructional appointments.

He participated in the 1971 war with Pakistan and in the operations of the Indian Peace-Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in the mid-1980s.

An honours graduate of the US Army Infantry School at Georgia in the US, Singh is an alumnus the Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College, the Mhow-based Army War College and the US Army War College, Carlisle.

He is a recipient of the Param Vishist Seva Medal, the Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal. He is also one of the honorary ADCs of the president of India, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

'Apart from being an outstanding soldier and a stern disciplinarian, what singles him out is his mania for fitness. He has a penchant for workouts and is regularly seen in the gym,' an officer who has observed Singh, 59, closely during his just-concluded stint as head of the Kolkata-based Eastern Army Command, said.

'He still takes part in a lot of outdoor games and used to regularly turn out for army-level football tournaments as the Eastern Command chief,' the officer added.

However, there will be much more than fitness on Singh's mind as he takes over from General Deepak Kapoor Wednesday afternoon to begin his two-year stint as army chief in the rank of a four-star general.

The British war veterans of the 160th Squadron Royal Air Force (RAF) have praised the present trouble free atmosphere in Sri Lanka and said that they would encourage their countrymen in the United Kingdom to visit Sri Lanka and enjoy their holidays.

The British war veterans were in Colombo last week, to travel to the places where they served in the RAF during world war-2, in Sri Lanka.

The group comprised of nine war heroes, who served in Sri Lanka during the 2nd World War period as part of the squadron flying Liberator B24 bombers.

The touring party also included family members of the group who were engaged in the island.Having arrived a week ago, the Royal Air Force veterans made it a point to visit the Air Force bases in Sigiriya, Hingurakgoda and Ratmalana where the operations were carried out during their hey days.

Apart from that the group also visited Military cemeteries at Trincomalee, Kandy and Colombo to honour fellow colleagues who sacrificed their lives during the battle period.

The squadron lost 105 air and ground crew and were awarded more than 60 bravery awards.

Members who were part of the last tour to Sri Lanka in 2005, felt more eased this time around. In fact, some of the crew who stayed back in 2005 owing to security reasons used this opportunity to witness the new peaceful conditions in Sri Lanka.

The Ministry of Defence and Sri Lanka Air Force had made all arrangements to make sure of a clear passage for all visits of the heroes from the Royal Air Force.

Speaking at a Press Conference last week at Mount Lavinia Hotel, the veterans shared some of their unforgettable experiences over half a century ago. Barely able to speak, still they showed great enthusiasm in sharing those unforgettable scenes.

They recalled their life in Sri Lanka during the 2nd World War. Without electricity, running water and other basic needs plotting war strategies in scorching heat was a very difficult task. One of the senior members of the team reminded how they had to struggle in Minneriya with the mosquito menace in dense forest.

Group captain, Janaka Nanayakkara said that the RAF heroes had visited the Air Force Headquarters in Colombo and were delighted to share their memories with the Ex Air Force Servicemen's Association.

The veterans were travelling under a scheme called 'Heroes Return' which sponsored many such visits to commemorate the 65th anniversary marking the end of the war in the Far East. The heroes were full of praise for the Sri Lankan people and their kind nature.

They also thanked Aitken Spence Travels Group who arranged all the touring facilities to the group during the stay.

The war heroes said they would canvass for all people in the UK to visit this beautiful island and added 'we are enthusiastic about showing our full support in the efforts you are making to build up the tourist trade'.