AVM Ekanayake Edward (Rohan) Amerasekera DFC & Bar. R.Cy.A.F.
By Charles M. Ameresekere.
Ekanayake Edward Amerasekera was born in Kegalle, Ceylon on May 21, 1916, was one of the seven children of Edward Henry Ekanayake Amerasekera and Joslina Amerasekera (nee de Silva Samarasinghe Siriwardena). Orphaned at the age of four, he was brought up by his uncle and aunt, Victor and Eda de Silva Siriwardena and later lived with his eldest sister, Hyacinth and her husband, Ashley Peiris at 'Ash Court', Kegalle. He received his education at Wesley College in Colombo (1925-29), Kingswood College in Kandy (1929-32), St. Mary's, Kegalle (1933-34) and at the Pembroke Academy (1935-39). Early in his life an astrologer had predicted that one day he will be a great commander, but young Edward could not figure out how that would come about.
At the outbreak of the war Edward joined the Army, but his sister and other family members objected and somehow got him out before he was shipped overseas. He, then, secretly applied to join the RAF on September 19, 1940, was selected and left for England with the first batch of RAF Recruits from Ceylon in June 1941 on the S.S. Exeter.
They reached England on September 28, 1941 and he enlisted at Euston on September 30, 1941 as an Aircraftman 2nd class RAFVR with the service number 1396932. He was reinstated as U/T Observor on November 3, 1941 and posted to 5 ITW on December 13, 1941. On February 20, 1942 he was promoted to Leading Aircraftman and was posted to 1 Empire Air Navigation School on May 2, 1942, followed by a posting to the 1 Advanced Flying Unit on September 26, 1942.
On November 30, 1942 he was remustered as an Air Navigator, promoted to Temporary
Sergeant and posted to the 10 OTU in Abingdon, Berkshire, where he 'crewed up' with Sgt.
Stan Emms' crew. They were sent on April 27, 1943 to the 1652 HCU to convert from Whitleys
to the heavier Halifax bombers and on June 13, 1943 they got their first squadron posting
to No. 158 Squadron based at Lissett, Yorkshire.
This squadron was equipped with Halifax II's and engaged in strategic bombing duties. They flew their mission on June 21, 1943 to Krefield. Whilst with this squadron, on July 29, 1943 he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer, General Duties (Navigator) Branch RAFVR with the Service number 155926.
By September 7, 1943 they had completed 16 Operations and it was at this time that they were posted to No. 35 Squadron of the Pathfinder Force. The PFF had asked for a volunteer crew from No. 158 Squadron and though they had not volunteered they were sent.
They spent the rest of September training with the PFF Navigation Training Unit and when it was known to the PFF that they had not volunteered for Pathfinder duties, they were posted back to No. 158 Squadron in early October, 1943 to continue their tour.
These transfers show up in the RAF Records as follows - No. 158 Squadron microfilm
shows "...13 June 1943 arrived with crew ex-1652 Conversion Unit. September 1943
Posted to No. 35 Squadron." No. 35 Squadron's records show "Amerasekera posted
in W.E.F. 29 July 1943 from No. 158 Squadron. Posted back to 158 Squadron 4 October
1943."
P/O Amerasekera flew a total of 20 missions with Sgt. Stanley W. Emms' and crew from 21 June 1943 to 18 November 1943 before he was screened to do a tour of instruction. These missions were flown just before the end of the Battle of the Ruhr, through the Battle of Hamburg and at the beginning of the Battle of Berlin, and included targets such as Krefeld, Wuppertal, Gelsenkirchen, Koln, Aachen, Hamburg, Peenemunde, Berlin, Essen, Mannheim and Monchen-Gladbach. Twelve of these missions were flown on the aircraft HR755 NP-X (Xpress Delivery).
The crew consisted of F/Sgt. Stanley W. Emms (Pilot), P/O E. E. Amerasekera (Navigator), F/O P. H. Ackling (Bomb Aimer), W/O Geoffrey S. Almond (Wireless Operator), Sgt. D. G. Cree (Mid-Upper Gunner), P/O John McGuire (Rear Gunner) and Sgt. W. S. H. Strong (Flight Engineer). The crew were decorated at the end of their tour, mainly for dedication and bravery shown on November 11, 1943 on their mission to Cannes. This incident is mentioned below in Amerasekera's DFC Citation. Emms, Cree and Strong received the DFM, Almond was awarded the Bar to his DFM (he had won his DFM previously with No. 102 Squadron), which was one of 60 issued for World War II and Amerasekera, McGuire and Ackling were awarded the DFC. McGuire rose to the rank of Wing Commander, receiving the OBE in addition to his DFC. Today, McGuire, Emms and Almond are the only surviving members of that crew.
Amerasekera was promoted to Flying Officer on January 29, 1944 and was awarded the DFC (L/G February 15, 1944). The Citation is as follows - "This officer has displayed a high degree of courage and determination in navigating his aircraft to the target and back, often under great difficulties. In November 1943 whilst on a flight to a distant target, the oxygen supply failed early in the sortie. P/O. Amerasekera, though suffering from lack of oxygen and extreme cold continued his duties and the mission was successfully completed. This officer has proved himself to be a navigator of outstanding ability."
While on Instruction duties, Amerasekera had flown on one Operation, of which details are unknown.
Upon completing his time as an Instructor, Amerasekera joined the No. 640 Squadron on August 16, 1944. No. 640 Squadron which had formed in January 1944 at Leconfield from the 'C' Flight of his old squadron (No. 158), and was now equipped with Halifax III's. Initially he flew eight missions with F/O Fred J. Papple (Pilot), F/Sgt S. I. McLean (Bomb Aimer), Sgt. R. G. Gunstone (Wireless Operator), Sgt. T. W. Dakin (Mid-Upper Gunner), Sgt. J. W. Burns (Rear Gunner) and Sgt. D. S. MacDonald (Flight Engineer), replacing their regular navigator 'Ade' Hyde DFC, who had been injured . The targets included Gelsenkirchen, Boulogne, Neuss and Calais.
When Papple's crew completed their tour, Amerasekera flew one mission with P/O F. W. Mills and crew (on November 29, 1944 to Essen) and then 'crewed up' with F/O A. J. "Bert" Jeeves (Pilot), F/O M. J. Cruthers (Bomb Aimer), F/Sgt. J. Sydall (Wireless Operator), Sgt. R. E. Draper (Mid-Upper Gunner), Sgt. F. Smith (Rear Gunner) and P/O W. H. Harding (Flight Engineer), to fly another 22 missions from December 5/6, 1944 to March 19, 1945. This crew flew most of their operations in the aircraft PN182 N-Nuts, and their targets included Essen, Hannover, Saarbrucken, Gelsenkirchen, Dusseldorf and Dortmund.
RAF records show that F/O Amerasekera DFC ended his tour with No. 640 Squadron on October 12, 1944 but actually he continued to fly until March 1945 with the permission of the C.O., in order to complete his second tour. His last Operation was on March 18/19 1945, to Witten. He had flown a total of 52 Operations in these two tours.
Amerasekera was back with the No. 158 Squadron from May 6, 1945 to August 14, 1945. Here on July 29, 1945 he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and was awarded the Bar to the DFC (L/G November 30, 1945), with the following citation - "This officer has completed his second tour of operational duty. In December 1944, whilst on route to Essen, his aircraft was engaged by searchlights and heavy anti-aircraft fire was encountered causing severe damage to the aircraft. Despite the fact that shell splinters penetrated his compartment, F/O Amerasekera took evasive action and completed his allotted task. His other targets have included the Ruhr Valley, Chemnitz and Hanover. On all occasions, F/O Amerasekera has set a fine example by his tenacity and devotion to duty."
The incident mentioned in the Citation occurred on December 12/13, 1944 during the outward journey to attack Essen. Their aircraft was illuminated by a cone of searchlights and almost immediately received severe damage by anti-aircraft fire. While Jeeves took violent evasive action to escape the searchlights, Amerasekera calmly continued with his work.
Alex Syddall recalls another (or perhaps the same) incident and I quote "The only time I ever saw 'Amer' look disconcerted was when on our return from either Essen or Chemnitz, he picked up his parachute which he had stowed under his Navigators' seat, to find pieces of Flak embedded in it! But for that parachute he would have been somewhat uncomfortable or at worst the SLAF would not have had Amer as Chief or Staff!"
In addition to the DFC and Bar, he received the 1939-45 Star, the Air Crew Europe Star
with the France and Germany Bar, the Defence Medal and the War Medal. He was back in
Ceylon in Early 1946 and served at RAF Kandy, Ceylon until August 1946. He was released
from service on July 20, 1946 and his last day of service being November 3, 1946. He
resigned his commission on November 4, 1946 with permission to retain the rank of Flight
Lieutenant.
All his surviving crew mates and Bomber Command colleagues remember him with great affection. Ian Roberts of the No. 640 Squadron remembers him in his article "Leconfield's League of Nations" as "Handsome and dapper, with hair swept back and parted precisely down the middle, Amerasekera hailed from Ceylon. He completed 52 Operations, requesting permission from the C.O. to stay with Jeeves' crew in order to do so. He flew 22 operations with the New Zealander Jeeves and 8 with Fred Papple. I remember him most vividly with red nose and red cheeks as he was rolled in the snow during on of the inevitable snowball fights between the sergeants' and the officers' meses. After the war he completed a pilots' course and eventually rose to be Chief of Air Staff of the Sri Lankan Air Force. He was an unforgettable man."
In a later interview, speaking of his RAF days, Amerasekera recalled "It was a wonderful experience; we simply lived in them forgetting everything else."
Amerasekera returned to Ceylon in late 1945 and served at the RAF Station in Kandy as an Interpreter, with F/Lt. Peter Chadwick, who was in charge of the Civilian employees at RAF Kandy. Here he worked until August 1946.
Amerasekera changed his middle name from Edward to Rohan. His service record in the Department of Civil Aviation and the Royal Ceylon Air Force reflects this change. Though he was a Christian, he was very much interested in Buddhist Philosophy, even during the war, and became an ardent student of Spiritualism, Mysticism and mooted for a 'Universal Religion'. He also wrote six booklets about these subjects.
He joined the Department of Civil Aviation on August 20, 1946 as the Assistant Aerodrome Officer (Flying Control) at the Colombo Airport in Ratmalana, while on leave from the RAF, and on October 1, 1950, he was promoted to Acting Airport Controller. He followed some training in England, where he met up with some of his former crew members. He left this Department on May 15, 1951 to join the newly formed Royal Ceylon Air Force under the Commandership of G/Cpt. Graham Clerke Bladon OBE, an officer seconded from the RAF.
On May 15, 1951 he was commissioned as Pilot Officer (Service number 01002) and promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader with effect from the same date.
While in R.Cy.A.F. he attended the following Courses - No. 67 Officers Advanced Training School Course at RAF School of Administration, Bircham Newton (January 5 to February 27, 1953), No. 24 (A) Long Photographic Intelligence Course (Strategical Wing) at RAF Wyton (March 2 to April 2, 1953), No. 11 Staff College Course at RAF Staff College, Andover (April 1953 to March 1954) and the Senior Officers Course at the Imperial Defence College, London (January 4 to December 15, 1961).
On October 1, 1955 he was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander, followed by promotions to the ranks of Group Captain (July 1, 1959), Temporary Air Commodore (November 13, 1962), Air Commodore (January 1, 1964) and Air Vice-Marshal (October 1, 1967).
Rohan Amerasekera held the following appointments in the RCyAF - Senior Air Staff Officer, Air Force HQ, Colombo from May 14 1955 to May 21, 1955; Chief of Staff, Air Force HQ, Colombo from May 21, 1955 to December 17, 1960; Senior Air Staff Officer, HQ Unit, Colombo from April 22, 1962 to November 13, 1962.
While with the RCyAF, Ameresekera trained as a Pilot, first in Chipmunks and later in the Jet Provost under the guidance of 'Paddy' Mendis, who would later succeed him as Commander of the RCyAF. Mendis recalls that though Amerasekera wore his full Wings as a Pilot, he had a soft corner for the Half Wing he wore as a Navigator on his many missions over Germany.
On November 13, 1962 the astrologer's prediction came true when he became the first Ceylonese Commander of the R.Cy.A.F., succeeding AVM John Lindsay Barker CB, CBE, DFC. He retired from that post on December 31, 1970 after nineteen years and seven months service in the Royal Ceylon Air Force, handing over command to A/Cdr. Padman "Paddy" Hariprasadha Mendis.
Whilst in the service of the RCyAF, Amerasekera received the Coronation Medal of Queen Elizabeth II, the Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal (Cey/Gaz November 4, 1955) and the Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal.
Rohan Amerasekera died on March 20, 1974 at the age of 57, and is survived by his widow Aloma (nee Dender) whom he had married on November 12, 1958, his son and daughter. He was accorded a funeral with full military honours by the Government of Ceylon and in deference to his wishes Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic religious services were held at his graveside. His ceremonial sword and the miniature medals are on display at the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum.
This is the life story of Rohan Amerasekera. As you can see it has been updated
with more accurate information. It is an interesting read and below you can view a picture
of the man. Thank you for reading.
Recently I have had a picture of Rohan Amerasekera sent me by Charles and Simon. If you
would like to view this picture of Rohan Amerasekera please click
here.
To view another picture of him, please click here.
If anyone has additional details or related photographs, etc to add to
the above please contact Charles Ameresekere at: charles@halifaxbomber.com
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