John Kotelawala - Military Career

Military Career

Kotelawala briefly served with the mounted section of the Colombo Town Guard without enlisting, since he was under age at the time. However after returning from Europe he was commissioned in to the Ceylon Light Infantry as a Second Lieutenant in 1922 being promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant in 1924, Captain in 1929 and Major in 1933. He went on to serve 23 years mostly as a reservist since the Ceylon Defence Force was a volunteer unit of the British Army. In 1939 he became the commanding officer of the Ceylon Light Infantry and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1940. With the start of World War II he became a member of the Ceylon's War Cabinet and was made a Colonel in 1942, the highest rank that a Ceylonese could achieve.

A strong supporter of the military, he was the first Chairman of the Ceylon Light Infantry Association in 1974. He was promoted to the rank of general on his deathbed, the night before he died by President J. R. Jayawardene in recognition for his long service to the country.

He bequeathed his home and estate Kandawala to the government to establish a national defence academy.