Muttukumaru, Anthony

Born in the family of Dr. Philip Marian Muttukumaru and Marie Mount Carmel Elles. He and his brothers were raised by their mother after the early death of his father. At first he studied at home (under the guidance of an English governess), and then at St. Joseph's College in Colombo Then he entered Colombo University College and in 1928 he went to Oxford to study philosophy, politics, and economics at Jesus College . After completing and obtaining a degree, he enters the Grace Inn "To become a barrister . After returning to Ceylon, he takes an oath as an attorney for the Supreme Court of Ceylon.

After returning from England in 1934, he joined the Ceylon Defense Forces , a reserve unit created by the British to defend the island. Muttukumaru was promoted to second lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry on September 11, 1934. In 1939, he was mobilized as the rest of the reservists at the beginning of World War II . During this time, he continued to command the Light Infantry Guard from the Kandy Headquarters Command of the Southeast Asian Forces, receiving the rank of captain on November 29, 1940, and major in 1942. On November 1, 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commander of the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion, where he served until the general demobilization that took place after the war.

After the war, Muttukumaru worked as a lawyer representing the Attorney General, in some cases, but he soon abandoned this job as Officer in Charge of Administration of the headquarters of the Ceylon Defense Forces, where he helped develop initial plans for the formation of the Ceylon army. When the army was formed in 1949, he became a lieutenant colonel in the regular forces, becoming the chief of staff of the brigadier Earl of Keichnes , and led the contingent of Ceylon troops at the victory parade in London in 1946, at the funeral of George VI in 1952, and at the coronation of the queen. The soldiers he led were on guard at Buckingham Palace, and in 1954 he was appointed adjutant to the Queen. Later, he completed courses at the Imperial College of Defense and at the senior officer school in Devises, where he lectured Field Marshal Montgomery and made friends with the future Minister of Defense of Israel, Brigadier Moshe Dayan , before returning home in 1955 and became Ceylon's army commander . He was promoted to the rank of Major General in January 1958. While working as a commander, the army grew in size, the troops several times unfolded in some cases during civil unrest and unrest. In 1959, he decided to resign so that young officers could get their chance, although Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike asked him to stay.

For his contribution to the development of Ceylon, he became an officer of the Order of the British Empire (military department). For military service, he received the War Medal 1939-1945 and for serving in the army of Ceylon en: Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal , the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal and the Ceylon Armed Forces Discovery Medal.

After leaving the army, Muttukumaru was appointed High Commissioner of Ceylon in Pakistan (simultaneously representing the country in Afghanistan , Iran and Iraq ) in 1959, later was High Commissioner in Australia and New Zealand from 1963 to 1966. Later, in 1966, Muttukumaru became ambassador to Egypt , while he was ambassador to Jordan , Sudan and Yugoslavia . He resigned in 1969. In 1996, the University of Defense of General Sir John Kotelavel awarded him the title Honorable Doctor of Letters for his contribution to the development of the army and for being the first to publish a brief history of the army. ^[1] Muttukumaru died in Australia in 2001 at the age of 93.

Anthony Muttukumaru married Margaret Vashanti Ratnarajah in 1944. They had three sons: Anthony Vasanta Muttukumaru, Philip Rajkantha Muttukumaru and Christopher Peter Jayanta Muttukumaru (Knight of the Order of the Bath ).

• Official Website of Sri Lanka Army (link not available - history )
• First Ceylonese Commander of the Army
• Maj-Gen Anton Muttukumaru
• Muttukumaru ancestry
• Deserters are cowards, says first Sri Lankan Army Chief