Orders, Decorations and Medals relating to Ceylon / Sri Lanka from 1795 to the Present

PROJECT ONE was originally conceived nearly 30 years ago as a single-volume work documenting all Orders, Decorations, and Medals of Ceylon/Sri Lanka from 1795 to the present. Over the years, however, the amount of material I have collected has grown far beyond the scope of one book, now exceeding 3,000 pages of text alone and easily doubling that when photographs are included.

To make the project more practical to publish and easier for readers to use, I have decided to combine the material in Projects One and Two, and divide the entire work into six separate volumes, as outlined below:

This series will cover all the Orders, Decorations and Medals relating to Ceylon during the British Colonial (1795-1948) and Dominion (1948-1972) periods.

Book One - ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD AND THEIR MEDALS

The Order of St Patrick – The Order of the Bath - The Royal Guelphic Order - The Order of the Star of India - The Order of St. Michael and St. George - The Order of the Indian Empire - The Royal Victorian Order - The Order of the British Empire - The Order of the Companion of Honour - The Baronet’s Badge - The Knight Bachelor’s Badge - The Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Book Two - DECORATIONS AND MEDALS FOR GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT

Victoria Cross - Distinguished Service Order - Imperial Service Order /The Imperial Service Medal- Royal Red Cross -  Distinguished Service Cross - Military Cross - Distinguished Flying Cross - Air Force Cross - Albert Medal 1866 - Distinguished Conduct Medal - Conspicuous Gallantry Medal - George Medal - Military Medal - Distinguished Flying Medal – Air Force Medal – King’s Police Medal - Queen’s Police Medal - Colonial Police Medal 1938 - Ceylon Police Medal 1950-1972 - Certificates (With Badges) of Civil Commendations for Brave Conduct - Mention in Despatches.

MEDALS FOR LIFE SAVING - Sea Gallantry Medal - Royal Humane Society’s Medal for Life Saving - Order of St. John of Jerusalem Life Saving Medal - Royal Life Saving Society Medal - Lifesaving Award for the Great Flood in Ceylon 1834

Book Three - CAMPAIGN MEDALS

Capture of Ceylon Medal 1795-96 - Naval General Service Medal 1793-1840 - Ceylon Medal 1818 - 73rd Foot Medal 1818 - THE BOER WAR 1899 -  1902 - Queen’s South Africa Medal 1899-1902 - King’s South Africa Medal - THE  FIRST WORLD WAR  1914–1919 - 1914 Star - 1914-15 Star - British War Medal 1914-20 - Victory Medal 1914-19 - Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914-18 - Ceylon Overseas Volunteer Service Oval Medallion - Silver War Badge 1916 - WW1 Ceylon Commemorative Medal      - Memorial Plaque 1919 - THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945 - 1939-45 Star - Atlantic Star - Aircrew Europe Star - Africa Star - Pacific Star - Burma Star - Italy Star - France and Germany Star - Defence Medal 1939-45 - War Medal 1939-45 - Naval General Service Medal 1915-62 - General Service Medal 1918-62 ( with bars “Iraq” and “Kurdistan”, “Palestine 1945-48” and “Malaya”) - United Nations Medals for Peacekeeping Operations.

Book Four - COMMEMORATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS MEDALS

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Visit to India Medal 1875-76 - Jubilee Medal 1887 - Jubilee Medal 1897 - Ceylon Diamond Jubilee Medal 1897 - Coronation Medal 1902 - Ceylon Coronation Medal 1902 - Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India 1905-06 - Coronation Medal 1911 - Delhi Durbar Medal 1911 - Edward, Prince of Wales’ Visit to India Medal 1921-22 - Jubilee Medal 1935 - Coronation Medal 1937 - Coronation Medal 1953 - Ceylon Police Independence Medal 1948 - Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal - Army Best Shot Medal (The Queen’s Medal).

Book Five - DECORATIONS AND MEDALS FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT

Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1830 - Meritorious Service Medal - Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration - Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal - Efficiency Decoration [Ceylon] - Efficiency Medal [Ceylon] - Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1831 - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration 1908 - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1908 - Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal 1968 - Ceylon Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1925-34 - Colonial Police Long Service Medal 1934 - Colonial Fire Brigades Long Service Medal 1934 - Ceylon Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1950-1972 - Ceylon Fire Services Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 1950-1972 - Service Medal of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem - St. John’s Ambulance Association Re-Examination Medallion - Ceylon Chiefs’ Long and Faithful Service Medal - Ceylon Native Headmen Long and Faithful Service Medal 1905.

Book Six (a companion volume) - National Honours, Decorations and Medals of Sri Lanka, 1972 to the Present.

National Honours of the Republic of Sri Lanka, Decorations and Medals for Gallantry, Decorations and Medals for Distinguished and Meritorious Service, Campaign Medals, Commemorative Medals, Decorations and Medals for Long Service and Good Conduct.

The originally proposed cover for the single volume shows the Decorations and Medals belonging to Deshamanya General Don Sepala Attygalle LVO. This photo was chosen because it represents medals from both Dominion and Republic periods. I have kept the same medals in the new cover for "Medals of Ceylon 1795 - 1972 - Book One. Orders of Knighthood and Their Medals"

Click on the following links to view:

- The Introduction to "Medals of Ceylon 1795-1972 - Book One - Orders of Knighthood and Their Medals"

- A sample from the section on Orders

        - The Imperial Service Order (ISO) and the Imperial Service Medal

- Sample biographies

        - John Archibald Mulhall CMG, OBE

        - Major Ceada Felix Fernando MBE

        - General Don Sepala Attygalle LVO, ADC idc psc

        - General The Rt.Hon. Sir John Lionel Kotelawala PC, CH, KBE, KStJ, LLD

- A sample from the section on Long Service Decorations

        - The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration 1908 (VRD)

- A sample from the section on Police Medals

        - Ceylon Police Medal 1950-1972

- A sample from the section on Campaign Medals

        - The Ceylon Medal 1818

- A sample biography from the Miscellaneous Medals section

        - John Fraser, 24th Foot and the 1st Ceylon Regt.

- Samples of Gallantry Decorations from Part Two of this project

        - Parama Weera Vibushanaya (PWV)

        - Weera Wickrema Vibushanaya (WWV)

- Acknowledgements for Projects One and Two.