Amidst the center of the city of Colombo, adjoining the National Library, in a serene environment stands the war memorial Cenotaph and wall built 102 years ago in memory of the British soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the future of Britain.
Designed by the architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the place comprises a towering Cenotaph and Memorial Walls and stands tall at Colombo’s Vihara Maha Devi Park, next to the National Public Library.
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 in any book or article.
Young Britishers, who arrived in Ceylon, then a colony of the British Empire, never returned home to their beloved but sacrificed their future for the betterment of the future of their children.
“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 the message to the 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, which had to fight 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, while 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 British tourists arriving in Sri Lanka to pay tribute to their fallen heroes!