Osmund de Silva

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Osmund de Silva
OBE
13th Inspector General of Police (Ceylon)
In office
26 July 1955 – 24 April 1959
Preceded byRichard Aluwihare
Succeeded byM. Walter F. Abeykoon
Personal details
Bornc.1901[1]
Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka[2]
Diedc. 1980
Spouse(s)Ena née Aluwihare
ProfessionPolice officer

Santiago Wilson Osmund De Silva OBE (25 December 1909 - c. 1980) was Ceylonese police officer. He was the thirteenth and the first Ceylonese career police officer to become Inspector-General of Police (1955–1959).

Early life and education[]

Santiago Wilson Osmund De Silva was born on 25 December 1909 the son of Mudliyar Thomas de Silva, founding principal of Dharmasoka College.[3] He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and University College, Colombo,[4]

Police career[]

De Silva joined the Ceylon Police Force as an Probationary Assistant Superintendent of Police on appointment by the Governor in December 1931. Following the completion of his service examinations, he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of Police of Avissawella in December 1933 and went on to serve in Sabaragamuwa and again in Avissawella before attending the senior police officers course at the Metropolitan Police in 1936. On his return he served as Assistant Superintendent of Police in Kurunegala, Kegalle, Police Training School. In May 1943, he was promoted to Superintendent of Police and served in the Sourthern Proving, Police Training School, Northern Province, North-Western Province, Central Province. He was promoted Acting Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in 1949 serving as DIG Administration, DIG Range II; during which time he served as the Superintendent of Police, Police Headquarters. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1953 Coronation Honours and Officer (OBE) in the 1954 Birthday Honours. He had been awarded the Ceylon Police Medal for Meritorious Service, Defence Medal 1939-45, Ceylon Police Independence Medal and the Service Medal of the Order of St John.[5][6]

Inspector General of Police[]

In 1955 de Silva succeeded his father-in-law, Sir Richard Aluwihare to be appointed as Inspector General of Police (IGP). He became the first IGP appointed from within the police force and the first Buddhist.[7] De Silva was responsible for introducing community policing to the country,[8] a vision that was not shared by his successors. In 1959 the Prime Minister of Ceylon, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike requested that the police intervene against trade union action occurring at Colombo Harbour.[9] De Silva declined to do the Prime Minister’s bidding on the basis that he believed the request was unlawful.[10][11] On 24 April 1959, de Silva was compulsorily retired from the police force and M. Walter F. Abeykoon, a civil servant, was appointed in his place.[12]

Family[]

In 1941, he married Ena Aluvihare, the nineteen year old daughter of the civil servant Richard Aluwihare, who would become the first Ceylonese Inspector General of Police in 1947.[13][14]

References[]

  1. ^ Jayasena, Ananda (30 December 2010). "Infamous Coup D'état". Daily News. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  2. ^ Jasentuliyana, Nandasiri (2016). Same Sky, Different Nights. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781524600419.
  3. ^ "Dharmasoka PPA felicitates IGP". Daily News. 26 January 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. ^ Sivendran, S. (23 March 2013). "Golden Years of Police Service". The Island. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. ^ Ceylon Civil List 1954. Colombo: Ceylon Government Press. 1954. p. 68.
  6. ^ Seneviratne, H. L. (1999). The Work of Kings. University of Chicago Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780226748665.
  7. ^ Gunawardane, Gamini (28 November 2010). "Salute to an Era". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  8. ^ Wijesinha, Rajiva (30 September 2013). "The Idea Of Community Policing: Then and Now". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Parliamentary Debates". 36. Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1960: 115. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ "Parliamentary Debates". 36. Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1960: 162. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ "Operation Holdfast: Contours of a Coup Conspiracy". Daily Mirror. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  12. ^ Abayasekara, Anne (22 May 2011). "Times of triumph and tribulation written without fear or favour". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  13. ^ Peebles, Patrick (2015). Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 105. ISBN 9781442255852.
  14. ^ Robson, David (30 December 2015). "Ena De Silva - The Museful Fashioner". ATRA. JAZ Publishing. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
Police appointments
Preceded by Inspector General of Police
1955–1959 		Succeeded by
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