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Sri Lanka Army - Sri Lanka Light Infantry [SLLI]

The birth of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry dates back to 1st April 1881, when the Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was formed and proclamation was issued by the Governor of Ceylon. Lieutenant Colonel John Scot Armitage was appointed as the first Commanding Officer. Its origin smacks much of colonial ties for the incidental reason that the formative years coincided with the arrival of a Prince of the Royal family in England. Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who agreed to be the first honorary Colonel of the Regiment.

The Corp assumed the title of "The Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers" in August 1881. It is said that the Regimental March "I am Ninety Five" and the Regimental Bugle Call, in use up to now, was adopted soon after raising of the force. In the same year, the Unit had the distinction in that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales accepted the Honorary Colonelcy of The Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers. Not overburdened with the motto he lent, (“I Serve” - the Wikipedia article is wrong it is not Latin but German) nor with his personal insignia lent to adorn the regimental crest, it soon galvanizes into action.

In 1890, Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon was appointed as the honorary Colonel of the Regiment. In 1892, a mounted infantry company was formed and later it became Ceylon mounted rifle. The Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteer force troops were sent to South Africa in 1900, for the Boer war and after the distinguished service in South Africa the force obtained the Banner from his Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall and York. In 1902, CLI, proceeded for the coronation of King Edward VII and he became the Colonel of the regiment. In 1911, a contingent from the force participated in the coronation of King George V.

During the British colonial time the Ceylon Light Infantry had extended services to the World Wars I & II and made its own proud contribution. During WW I from 1914 – 1918 CLI troops also made contribution to war effort along with allied troops. On 28 January 1922, his Royal Highness Edward the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cornwall became the Colonel of the regiment. The Regimental and King’s Colors were awarded to the regiment on 22nd March 1922.

With outbreak of the WW II in 1939, few Volunteer Battalions of the CLI were raised to contribute to the war effort. During the period of deployment in foreign soil they were stationed in the Cocas Keeling Island and provided escort for Prisoners of war who were brought from Egypt and also deployed for defence of the South East Asia under HQ at the supreme, Lord Louis Mountbatten.

1st Battalion	12/05/1950
2nd (Volunteer) Battalion	13/04/1881
4th Battalion	05/05/1987
5th (Volunteer) Battalion	15/08/1987
6th Battalion	08/06/1990
7th Battalion	20/11/1992
8th Battalion	16/01/1993
9th (Volunteer) Battalion	01/11/1993
10th Battalion	23/01/1994
11th Battalion	15/06/1996
12th Battalion	01/07/1997
no 13th Battalion
14th (Volunteer) Battalion	31/12/1996
15th Battalion	04/02/1997
16th (Volunteer) Battalion	01/12/2007
17th (Volunteer) Battalion	30/03/2008
18th (Volunteer) Battalion	01/01/2009
19th Battalion	10/12/2008
20th Battalion	01/12/2008
21st (Volunteer) Battalion	14/03/2009
22nd (Volunteer) Battalion	20/06/2009
23rd Battalion	23/07/2009
24th Battalion	25/09/2009
25th Battalion	01/10/2008
26th Battalion	20/09/2010
27th Battalion	01/04/2009
28th Battalion	20/09/2010
Hq Battalion	23/08/1998

With the termination of the World War II demobilization commenced in 1946, and the island was given Independence in 1948. With the gaining of independence Prime Minister, D.S.Senanayake, foresaw the requirement of independent for Ceylon and decided to function own Armed Services. Therefore, under the Def Act of 1947 the professional Armed Svcs were inaugurated in 1949 under the provisions of the Army Act No 17 of 1949. The Ceylon Army was formed in October 1949, the Navy in 1950 and the Air Force in 1951.

When the Ceylon Army was formed on 10th October 1949, and with its formation, a Regular Infantry Battalion was raised as the Ceylon Infantry Regiment. When the first regular Battalion was formed, HM Queen Elizabeth II presented the new Colors to the battalion in 1949.

The Volunteer Force became a part of the Ceylon Army. An Infantry Battalion titled the Ceylon. Infantry Regiment was raised in to the Regular Force of the Ceylon Army and the pre War "The Ceylon Light Infantry" (Volunteers) became integral with the Volunteer Force of the Ceylon Army. A re-designation of nomenclature took place in 1950 when the Ceylon Infantry Regiment raised in 1949 was re-designated The 1st Battalion The Ceylon Light Infantry, and the Volunteer Battalion which hitherto held the title of "The Ceylon Light Infantry" was re-designated the 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion The Ceylon Light Infantry.

In 1961, an elephant introduced as the mascot in the name of Kandula. In 1972, with the transformation to a Republic of Sri Lanka the name of the Regiment changed as Sri Lanka Light Infantry. Recognition of the Regiment service to the nation was confirmed and proved, after his Excellency, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Hon. Mr. JR Jayawardhana awarded President Colours and Regimental Colours to 1st regular battalion [1st Bn SLLI] and 2nd Volunteer Battalion [2nd Vol Bn SLLI] of SLLI on 10th October 1978.

The Regimental concept was introduced in to the Sri Lanka Army in 1988 and with effect of that, the Regimental Centre of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry was established on 23rd October 1989 in the Army Cantonment at Panagoda Homagama.

The regiment was the first to take part in the United Nations’ Stabilization Mission in Haiti which started in 2003. Many Battalions were added to the SLLI as the Army expanded each garnering plaudits and tangible recognition for their dedicated services and hardwork. At present there are 18 Regular units with 13 in classic role and 5 units in reinforcement (RFT) duties and 09 Volunteer units in the SLLI.

The regimental mascot is an elephant named Kandula which happened to be the very name of the pachyderm that helped King Dutugemunu, our foremost warrior king to demolish the fortifications of the foe trespassing Lanka’s sovereignty. That was way back in pre-Christian times. A spotted deer with beautiful antlers was first mascot of the regiment. This deer was captured from the jungle in Thanamalwila in 1954.The Commanding Officer wanted to train the deer to take part in parade with the troops. But during training with the fife band, in order to accustom the animal to the beat of the drum the band used to play just hear to the place where the deer was kept during one session, the deer through sheer fear and leaped in to the air and dropped down dead due to the sound made by the drums.