Gemunu Watch
ActiveDecember 7, 1962 - present
Country Sri Lanka
Branch Sri Lanka Army
TypeInfantry
RoleConventional warfare
Assault
Reconnaissance
Size23 battalions
Regimental Centre The Gemunu WatchKuruwita Army Camp, Ratnapura.
Nickname(s)Highlanders
Motto(s)Terry Not Forward
MarchHighland Laddie
AnniversariesDecember 7 (Regimental day)
Engagements1971 JVP Insurrection,
Sri Lankan Civil War
Commanders
Centre CommandantBrigadier HCL Galappathti RSP USP
Colonel of
the Regiment
Major General S W B Welagedara
Notable
commanders
Brig. John Halangode
Lt Gen Parami Kulatunga

The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Ceylon Light Infantry and the Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has been deployed in many major operations against the LTTE. It is made up of 14 regular units and 9 volunteer units. Headquartered at Kuruwita Army Camp, Ratnapura. It is named after one of the most famous Lankan Kings, King Dutugemunu.

History

The roots of the Gemunu Watch can be traced to the volunteer formations of the British Empire and the formation of the Ceylon Infantry Regiment by a Gazette notification on 1 April 1881. Later, in order to encourage the concept of Volunteering, the Volunteer Force was expanded to include Units at the District level. Accordingly, two Volunteer Detachments were set up in Galle and Matara in the old Dutch Forts. Thereafter, the Ceylon Defence Force was established under Army Order No: 08 of 1910, to cater to the administration and discipline of these regiments, and came under the direct purview of the Commandant, Ceylon Defence Force. During World War I (1914 to 1918), the Ceylon Defence Force was engaged in active service and the troops deployed in Galle and Matara too were mobilized. After the War, the CDF was systematically "Ceylonised" by the appointment of Ceylonese Officers as commanding officers of Battalions.[1]

Following Ceylon gaining self-rule in 1948, and the establishment of the Ceylon Army under the Army Act, the Ceylon Defence Force became the Ceylon Volunteer Force and the detachments in Galle and Matara were renamed as "B" Company of the 2nd Battalion (Volunteer), Ceylon Light Infantry. The "B" Company in Galle and Matara was renamed the Ruhuna Volunteer Regiment in 1950 with Colonel C. A. Dharmapala, its first commanding officer. In 1956, with the change in the national political leadership to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the Ruhuna Regiment did not find favour with the political hierarchy and was disbanded. Subsequently, in October 1956, the second Regular Infantry Battalion, the 1st Battalion of the Sinha Regiment was established in the Imperial Camp in Diyatalawa. Thereafter, the 2nd [Volunteer] Battalion of the Sinha Regiment was raised in Kandy. When the Ruhuna Regiment was disbanded, the troops located in Galle and Matara were attached to various units. Subsequently, the troops that were deployed in Galle formed the "C" Company of the 2nd [Vol] Battalion of the Sinha Regiment. In the latter half of 1959, 110 soldiers deployed as "C" Company of the 2nd [Vol] Battalion, Sinha Regiment under the command of Capt. D.S. Amarasuriya were brought together to form a new Volunteer Unit called the Gemunu Regiment, which was raised in Galle on 23 November 1959. Capt. D.S. Amarasuriya was appointed the commanding officer. The new Unit did not have a flag or cap badge, therefore, it was originally proposed to have the image of a Leopard associated with the Yala Sanctuary with cross rifles designed for the cap badge. However, it was not adopted. As the Permanent Staff of the Unit was drawn from the Sinha Regiment, they followed the traditions associated with the Sinha Regiment.

The third Regular Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the Gemunu Watch, was raised at the Ceylon Volunteer Force [CVF] Camp in Diyatalawa on 7 December 1962, and subsequently occupied the Rangala Camp of the Royal Ceylon Navy and the Imperial Camp vacated by the Sinha Regiment (which had been moved to Colombo). As Gemunu originated in Ruhuna, the Volunteer Gemunu Regiment was established in Galle and the detachment located in Matara was renamed Gemunu Battalions and formed the Volunteer counterparts of the 1st Battalion of the Gemunu Watch.

The Founding Father and first commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the Gemunu Watch, Lieut. Colonel John Halangode was from the 1st Battalion of the Ceylon Light Infantry. He was inspired by the traditions of the British Regiment, the Black Watch, and inculcated those norms and customs into the 1st Battalion of the Gemunu Watch. The nucleus of 1GW consisted of Officers and Other Rank Cadres drawn from the Regular Units already established.

Units

No Unit Formed Disbanded Notes
11st Battalion, Gemunu Watch7 December 1962
22nd (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 October 1964
33rd (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 September 1965
44th Battalion, Gemunu Watch27 December 1985
55th Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 June 1987First unit to be formed in the battle field, Vasavilan Jaffna. First commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel G.W.W. Perera.
66th Battalion, Gemunu Watch22 May 1990First commanding officer was Major M.M. Sumanasena
77th Battalion, Gemunu Watch17 September 1992On 13 June 2000, this unit was amalgamated with 5 Gemunu Watch and on 17 May 2005 the Battalion was re-designated as the 7th Battalion
88th Battalion, Gemunu Watch28 January 19938 Gemunu Watch was amalgamated with the 6 Gemunu Watch on 9 June 2000 and on 17 May 2005, 8 Gemunu Watch re-commenced working as an independent Unit once again.
99th Battalion, Gemunu Watch24 January 1994On 18 June 2000, 9 Gemunu Watch was amalgamated with 1 Gemunu Watch and on 24 January 2002 it re-commenced functioning independently
1010th (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 June 1994
1111th Battalion, Gemunu Watch4 September 1996On 17 May 2005, 11 Gemunu Watch was re-named as 7 Gemunu Watch. Later this Unit once more became 11 Gemunu Watch on 4 October 2007.
1212th Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 January 199712 Gemunu Watch was amalgamated with 4 Gemunu Watch on 12 June 2000, but became an independent Unit on 11 November 2002.
1414th (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch7 January 1997
1515th (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 December 2007
1616th (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch9 May 2008
1717th Battalion, Gemunu Watch16 October 2008
1818th Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 December 2008
1919th Battalion, Gemunu Watch12 January 2009
2020th (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch7 March 200921 November 2018
2121st (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch1 May 200915 November 2018
2222nd (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch29 July 200913 March 2012
2323rd Battalion, Gemunu Watch15 October 2009
2424th Battalion, Gemunu Watch9 November 2009
2525th Battalion, Gemunu Watch25 September 20101st Reinforcement [RFT] Battalion formed on 25 September 2008 was re-named as 25 Battalion, Gemunu Watch on 25 September 2010
2626th Battalion, Gemunu Watch20 September 201025 April 20122nd RFT Battalion of the Gemunu Watch formed on 31 January 2009 was re-named as 26 Gemunu Watch on 20 September 2010.
2727th Battalion, Gemunu Watch20 September 201025 February 20123rd RFT Battalion of the Gemunu Watch formed on 16 April 2009 was re-designated as 27 Gemunu Watch on 20 September 2010.
28HQ BN Battalion, Gemunu WatchInitially formed as RFT Battalion of the Gemunu Watch on 17 January 1998. On 8 October 1999, the RFT Battalion was re-named the Headquarter Battalion.

Major Operations

A Gemunu Watch soldier on patrol during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection.
  • Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII)
  • Anti-Smuggling
  • 1st JVP Insurrection
  • Operation Liberation (Vadamarachchi Operation)
  • Sath Bala
  • Balavegaya
  • Thrivida Balaya
  • Akunupahara
  • Sun Island
  • Green Belt I and II
  • Rivirasa
  • Edibalaya I and II
  • Dasa Bala
  • Jayasikuru
  • Randunna I and II
  • Ranajaya
  • Ranabala
  • Operation Jayashakthi
  • Ranagosa I, II, III, IV and V
  • Kinihira VII
  • Holding and securing the Kiran Camp in Batticaloa
  • Eastern Theater of Eelam War IV
  • Sri Lankan Army Northern offensive

Colonels of the Regiment

No Colonel of the Regiment Took office Left office
1Brigadier G. H. de Silva19.03.198801.01.1989
2Brigadier NPALDS De Wijesekara01.01.198915.01.1990
3Major General Lakshman Algama15.01.199027.01.1990
4Brigadier WR Wijerathne27.01.199024.09.1991
5Major General Lakshman Algama24.09.199126.12.1992
6Brigadier WR Wijerathne26.12.199215.02.1994
7Major General Lakshman Algama15.02.199415.12.1994
8Major General WMP Fernando15.12.199424.08.1995
9Major General GWW Perera26.08.199520.01.1997
10Major General WMP Fernando20.01.199701.01.1999
11Major General Parami Kulatunga01.01.199924.01.1999
12Major General GWW Perera24.01.199924.03.2000
13Major General Parami Kulatunga25.03.200017.06.2002
14Major General KB Egodawele17.06.200217.07.2003
15Major General Parami Kulatunga17.07.200326.06.2006
16Major General S Udumalagala05.07.200605.02.2008
17Major General LBR Mark05.02.200818.09.2008
18Major General MK Jayawardana18.09.200817.08.2009
19Major General LBR Mark17.08.200905.05.2010
20Major General S Udumalagala06.05.201024.02.2013
21Major General LBR Mark24.02.201310.05.2014
22Major General PUS Vithanage10.05.201406.06.2017
23Major General W B D P FERNANDO2017.06.06
24Major General KPA Jayasekera
25Major General TS Bangsajayah2019.10.192020.08.02
26Major General BVDP Abeynayake03.08.202010.12.2020
27Major General HPNK Jayapathirane11.12.202026.02.2021
28Major General WGHAS Bandara26.02.202116.07.2021
29Major General SS Waduge17.07.202105.10.2021
30Major General WLPW Perera06.10.202106.12.2021
31Major General PML Chandrasiri07.12.202108.05.2022
32Major General AC Lamahewa09.05.2022

Alliances

Notable members

Order of precedence

Specific
  1. "The Highlanders". army.lk. Sri Lanka Army.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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