E. Rohan Amarasekara:

He won the DFC

A remarkable person who has faded into relative obscurity is Air Vice Marshal E. Rohan Amarasekara, the first Sri Lankan to command the Sri Lanka Air Force. The death anniversary of this distinguished flier falls on March 28, 2013. There is no doubt that the Sri Lanka Air Force will attempt to remember in a fitting manner, the significant contributions made by him during the formative years of the then Royal Ceylon Air Force.

During the Second World War, the Japanese bombed the Colombo and Trincomalee harbours 59 years ago but the real impact of the war was not felt by us, as Ceylon was out of the war arena of Asia. During WW II a large number of Ceylonese joined the British Forces and some of them had distinguished careers. But there was no such Ceylonese who had such a distinguished record as E. Rohan Amarasekara, the first Sri Lankan to command the Sri Lanka Air Force.

Rohan Amarasekara, a native of Kegalle received his early education at Kingswood College in Kandy and later at Wesley College, Colombo. He joined the Royal Air Force during the most turbulent war years at the age of 24 and distinguished himself as an air gunner, serving 153 and 640 Operational Squadrons.

Rohan Amarasekara was the most decorated Asian in the British Air Force (R.A.F.) and flew over 85 sorties over Hitler's Germany during the war years, while Hermann Goering's Luftwaffe, the Nazi Force, pounded Britain in an effort to demoralize the British and destroy its fighting capability. Rohan became a flier who could be depended on to hit a target from an aircraft, during the era when advanced techniques available to today's airmen were not available.

With an enviable record of operational flights ('sorties') over Nazi Germany and occupied territory during World War II he was decorated for bravery and awarded the most coveted flying award the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. He and Air Commodore Fred Papple who was the Air Vice Marshal's pilot and later Squadron Commander of 640 Squadron flew many missions together. Papple dedicated the book he published on the 640 Squadron titled 'An Anecdotal History of the 640 Squadron' to those who served the squadron. He has in his book devoted one chapter to 'Amere' as he was known in the squadron, whom he admired and respected for devotion to duty, attention to detail and impeccable conduct whether in the air or on the ground.

After a period of distinguished service in the Royal Air Force, anxious to make available to his motherland his service and experience to the Royal Ceylon Air Force which was being formed, Rohan returned to Sri Lanka. On his return, he was closely associated with Air Commodore J.C. Bladen during the formative period of the Royal Ceylon Air Force. Functioning as the Chief of Staff when Air Vice Marshal J.L. Barker relinquished command of the Royal Ceylon Air Force, he assumed duties as the first Sri Lankan Commander on November 1, 1962.

He continued to command the Sri Lanka Air Force till December 31, 1970 and retired from the service at the age of 57. He systematically reorganized the Air Force to meet the exacting demands of a developing country and built it to the status of a Force to be reckoned with virtually inversely proportionate to its size.

He set a high code of ethics to his officers and exemplary standards for others to emulate. His exemplary ethical conduct, integrity and moral values left an indelible impression on those who came in contact with him. He adhered to a strict code of professional rectitude.

A man of principles Rohan Amarasekara never hesitated to speak for what he believed in and what he was against. He never bowed to any outside pressure or interferences. He always stood steadfast to his principles, maintained what was right at all times with his personal example of a life of devotion to the country and the Force.

He brought to bear on his office as Commander a dignity and pride which enabled him to weather the many storms easily and philosophically. Amarasekara by very description was a great man. He resolutely believed in the immortal assertion by Henry Ward Beecher, "Greatness lies not in being strong but in the right use of strength". His strength was his uncompromising strict code of professional rectitude and his uprightness.

The government of the day had to rely heavily, during two abortive Coup D'etats, on the Air Force. Amarasekara with the Air Force played a significant role in quelling successive attempts to overthrow the government. The dependence on the Air Force and non-involvement of any Air Force personnel in successive attempts to overthrow the government, unmistakably demonstrated the firm and sound principles and the high values he had inculcated in the minds of the Air Force Officers and Airmen.

The hall-mark of his make up was his patent simplicity, humility, his modesty and accessibility. There was no vestige of superciliousness and assumption in him. He was never overbearing and self-opinionated but unostentatious, always keeping a low profile. In his disposition, he was calm. He was alert, active, efficient and adaptable. Above all his humanism knew no bounds.

On retirement, he led a quite secluded life. His life revolved around his family and his wife Aloma. Their home was an abode of peace love and tranquility with son Ajith and daughter Roshanthi. He actively pursued the study of contemporary religions. He would discuss religion particularly on the facets of impermanence of life, losing many of his contemporaries in the squadron.

He wrote a few booklets on the various facets of Buddhism. The most impressive and soul searching was his book 'The power within' dedicated to his friend D.C.O.T. Amarasekara. AVM Amarasekara declined many a prestigious appointments offered to him while on retirement. When Amarasekara retired he did not even have a house of his own in Colombo and had to rent out one in the suburbs. His ancestral properties in Kegalle had been encroached on by other people.

Till his death he could not recover these. Amarasekara passed away on March 20, 1974 and was afforded a full service funeral. The funeral service was unique.

In deference to his wishes Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Islamic religious services were held at his graveside. Apart from his remarkable and enviable professional record, throughout his life he epitomized humanism gentlemanliness and other good traits which are now fast disappearing. Sri Lanka indeed lost a great man who should be remembered in a very fitting manner by his service, his successors and his country alike.

Sqd. Ldr. (Retd) J.T. Rex Fernando

Dr. A.R.B. Amerasinghe:

An outstanding legal scholar

I was so fortunate that Justice Dr. A.R.B. Amerasinghe was my uncle. He was my mother's elder brother. Uncle Ronnie to the family was an obvious role model to be looked up to by us and we attempted to follow everything he did in the many multifaceted career of his, for purposes of emulation. As kids my grandmother would often talk of his achievements and the need to use him as a beacon. As a young man reading his many achievements often in the media in many ways, inspired me to remain on track and his occasional letter which I could hardly read - his handwriting was not easy to decipher and showed some impatience to get the script done - had just one message always, to focus on my studies. Later on as a young writer he would offer advice, provide material and often guide me to stay out of trouble. A tribute to uncle Ronnie would never be complete without reference to his many accomplishments as an eminent scholar, jurist and administrator. He was easily one of the most outstanding legal scholars Sri Lanka has produced so far. His contribution to the Sri Lankan legal system has been vast and varied and he has contributed greatly to our understanding of the law.

He was born in 1937 to an outstanding legal family. He was educated at the University of Ceylon, The Ceylon Law College and The Queens College, Oxford. He was a Visiting Research Fellow of the University of London. He was a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ceylon. He was member of the Council of Legal Education, Deputy Secretary General of The Asian African Legal Consultative Committee, New Delhi and General Manager (Administration) of the Insurance Corporation and Secretary, Ministry of Justice for over five years. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka for 13 years and Acting Chief Justice and a member of the first Constitutional Council. He was the Senior Economic Affairs Officer UNCTAD Geneva. He was the Chairman of the Law Commission for 10 years. He was the Regional Adviser for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (South Pacific Region) and Commissioner of Insurance, Fiji.

He was the author of seventeen books including the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Public Corporations in Sri Lanka, Professional Ethics, Judicial Ethics, Crop Risk Insurance and had published several papers on law-related matters in many learned journals in Sri Lanka and abroad.

Many people did not know that uncle Ronnie was an accomplished pianist. He could play many popular songs by ear and could accompany anyone at the piano without having heard a tune before. So it was not just law in which he was well versed but in arts, literature and culture and his ability to converse on any subject was unparalleled. Of all the things I admired about uncle Ronnie was his honor and integrity.

To him, living in accordance with his conscience was the most important thing of all. That last conversation with uncle Ronnie on X'mas eve which reinforced my perception of him as a very astute and honorable and a caring and concerned man, the likes of which I am sure will never meet again in our lifetime. I am so proud to have had an uncle like Dr. A.R.B. Amerasinghe an eminent jurist and an outstanding legal scholar.

Sri Lanka has lost a brilliant jurist, an outstanding legal scholar, an honorable judge, to my mother an Aiyya and his close associates and friends a role model. It is to be wished that his judgements, his books and his legacy will help to inspire the legal profession and those young men and women in the literary and judicial sectors of Sri Lanka to be research oriented like he was, strong and uncompromising in the cause of justice and independent as he was in his decision making.

May he Rest in Peace!

Dinesh Weerakkody

Harris C. Manickam:

Pioneer in athletic coaching camps

Harris Manickam was born during Christmastide on 23rd December 1931 and was named Christmas. His parents were simple, devout Christians and their Christian upbringing helped Harris in all his endeavours. Harris had his secondary education at Christian College, Kotte. He was five years senior to me. He was a good student who excelled in sports, captained the college athletics and table tennis teams and was a member of the college cricket and soccer teams. He was appointed the Assistant Sports Secretary. He was made a College Prefect and functioned as the Secretary of the Prefects Guild and the Christian Union. He performed his duties honestly and sincerely. His disciplined personality commanded great respect and admiration from his fellow students and his teachers.

His commitment to the development of sports helped him to get admission to the Y.M.C.A. College of Physical Education in Madras. On successful completion of the course of Training, he joined his Alma mater as the teacher in charge of physical education and games and was appointed Prefect of Games in June 1959. With the ready support of the Ceylon Observer sports section and the Deputy Director of Physical Education, he pioneered the holding of the first all island athletic coaching camp for boys and girls where great sports personalities of the time viz. Joe Yancey, Nagalingam Ethiriweerasingham and a host of others gave their experienced knowledge. He was able to produce the first school boy decathlon champion of Ceylon in B. L. C. Dareeju at the Ceylon Amateur Athletic Association Meet.

In order to gain more experience, he attended two courses of training for coaches in Madras and Coimbatore and was awarded the Diploma in Coaching of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India. When the schools were taken over by the government, he found it difficult to continue with the coaching camp programme and joined the Colombo Y. M. C. A. as its Secretary.

While continuing his athletic coaching programme he started new programmes like the Family Camp, where he organized meaningful programmes to suit members of different age groups. When he was offered the post of Secretary of the Bangalore Y. M. C. A. he readily accepted it and decided to leave Sri Lanka for good.

May he Rest in Peace!

George Gamalatge