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Diyatalawa | |
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  Diyatalawa | |
| Coordinates:6°48′41″N80°57′25″E / 6.81139°N 80.95694°E /6.81139; 80.95694 | |
| Province | Uva Province |
| Elevation | 1,281 m (4,203 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) |
Diyatalawa (දියතලාව), (தியதலாவ), meaning'the watered plain') is a formergarrison town in the central highlands ofSri Lanka, in theBadulla District ofUva Province. It is situated at an altitude of 1,281 m (4,203 ft) and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers. It is home to theDiyatalawa Garrison of theSri Lanka Army, which includes theSri Lanka Military Academy, officer training centre of the army;SLAF Diyatalawa, theSri Lanka Air Force's ground combat training centre; and facilities of theSri Lanka Police.
It is not known when Diyatalawa became a training station for troops, but available records show that it was selected around 1885, when theBritish Army first established agarrison at Diyatalawa. At that time training was conducted at the Imperial Camp which is now occupied by theGemunu Watch troops. On 8 August 1900, theBritishWar Office established a concentration camp in Diyatalawa to houseBoer prisoners captured in theSecond Boer War. Constructed to house 2,500 prisoners and 1,000 guards and staff, the number of prisoners increased to 5,000.[1] DuringWorld War I an internment camp for enemy aliens was set up.[2][3]
Early in World War II the camp was reopened and German nationals resident in Hong Kong and Singapore were imprisoned there, together with a number of Buddhist monks of German extraction, such asNyanaponika andGovinda Anagarika, who had acquired British citizenship. In June 1941 most of the sailors were transferred to Canada. The section for Germans were divided into pro and anti-Nazi sections. There was also a section set up to houseItalian POWs. After the Japanese started bombing the island, inmates were transferred to camps in India for safety. Males usually went toDehradun.[4] Officer training was also carried out here during the war.
After World War II theRoyal Navy maintained a rest station namedHMS Uva, which were also sometimes used by RAF personnel, such as fromRAF Negombo/Katunayake, and their families; the facilities were later taken over by theRoyal Ceylon Navy in 1956, commissioning it as HMCYSRangalla and established its training centre there. They had to move out in 1962 following theattempted coup d'état and it was taken over by theGemunu Watch.
Sri Lanka gained its independence, as Ceylon, in 1948. In the mid-1950s, all British military facilities were transferred to the Sri Lankan services. In 1952 theRoyal Ceylon Air Force establishedSLAF Diyatalawa.
The town's military past is commemorated by several memorials and burial sites.
The Boer Prisoners of War Memorial commemorates Boer prisoners held at Diyatalawa during the Second Boer War; the memorial is located in the town and can be viewed on Google Maps.[5]
A World War I cenotaph within the Army Volunteer Forces Training School honours soldiers who served during that conflict; the memorial and its history are documented by local historical sites and guides.[6]
Near the current rifle range is theBoer Cemetery, marking the graves of Boer prisoners who died between 1900 and 1902; a monument erected in 1918 marks the burial site.[7]
Fox Hill, Diyatalawa is the venue for the annual Fox Hill Supercross, organised by the Sri Lanka Military Academy, one of the premier motor racing events in the country.
Fox Hill (Nariya Kanda in Sinhalese) was named after the engraving of the whole slope facing the railway station of Diyatalawa, by the British soldiers at the canteen town, with an image of a fox carved in with hundreds of rough rocks of quartz that were once lying scattered all over the hill. Stag Hill (Gona Kanda in Sinhalese) also named following the same style of rock art on hill similar to Fox Hill.
Due to the high altitude, the garrison town of Diyatalawa located between the hill station retreats of Haputale[8] and Bandarawela[9] of central highlands[10] has a much cooler climate than the lowlands of Sri Lanka, with a mean annual temperature of 19 °C. In the winter months it is quite cold at night, and there can even be frost.
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