Fallen British Soldiers and a fitting memory in an Island.

A memorial for British Soldiers, standing in a serene environment near Colombo’s National Library.

War memorial Cenotaph built 102 years ago in memory of the British soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the motherland.

Designed by the architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the place comprises a towering Cenotaph and Memorial Walls.

It stands near the Vihara Maha Devi Park, next to the National Public Library of Colombo.

The writer, when visiting the monument, felt a deep silence and somber presence at the venue.

The calm and serene environment tells a long and deep story, which is certainly not written any where.

Young Britishers, who arrived in Ceylon, then a colony of the Empire, never returned home to their beloved.

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, ‘We gave our tomorrow for your today,”

………………..reads a message left by the fallen British soldiers, and rightly inscribed in the walls to convey to future generations.

The wall comprises a list of fallen soldiers who were killed in action during World War 1 and 2.

It was a time, when Sri Lanka was under British rule, and the English had their military presence in the country.

They fought two world wars during that era.

Designed by the architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the foundation stone was laid by Brigadier General Sir William Henry Manning, the Governor of Ceylon, on December 7, 1921.

The Cenotaph contains the names of those killed in the Great War.

The Memorial Wall behind it has inscribed the names of those killed during the Second World War.

A single woman, Miss L. Midwood, is listed among the dead of the Great War.

The memorial of the British soldiers is a must-visit for any Britisher travelling to Sri Lanka and pay tribute to the fallen heroes.

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