Cecil Waidyaratne

Waidyaratne joined the Ceylon Army on 26 June 1959, as a cadet officer and received his officer training at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. On 28 July 1961, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment,Ceylon Armoured Corps. He served with the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment during the 1971 JVP insurrection and in 1973, he attended the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington.[3]

On January 1, 1980, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and took over command of the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers when fraud and robbery was reported in army workshops. In March 1981, he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment and tasked with undertaking disciplinary action following a clash between Sinha Regiment troops and police officers of the Fort Police Station on 20 January that year. He was thereafter appointed commanding officer of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps from July 1982 to June 1983. In May 1983, he was then sent to take control of what the army command thought of a possible a mutiny in the Rajarata Rifles. Taking command of the Rajarata Rifles, Colonel Waidyaratne had it disbanded and merged its remaining officers and men with that of Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment in October 1983 to form the Gajaba Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vijaya Wimalaratne.[3]

In 1985, he became the Commander Northern Area and thereafter Commander Southern Area before becoming the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division. In 1988, he attended the National Defence College, India. In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed Chief of Staff of the Army. In August 1989, he was appointed Commander of Operation Combine in 1989 and was responsible for the security of Colombo Metropolitan area. He led the Operation Combine which ended the second JVP insurrection. [2][3]

On 16 November 1991, he was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. He held the post until 31 December 1993, when he resigned following the Battle of Pooneryn. He was succeeded by G. H. De Silva. He was promoted to General on 1 January 1994 and retired from the army.