Sri Lanka Sinhalese Family Ganealogy

Wickremesooriya

Wickremesooriya Family #3876

Mudaliyar Arasakularatne Jandoris de Silva Wickremesooriya of Poramba, Ambalangoda and Talawakelle (c. 1860 - 7th July 1948)



"Arasa" means king in Tamil and "Arasa-kula" means "Royal caste", denoting the Kshatriya warrior royalty that ruled this country before the European invasions. All that had changed by the British period which came after three centuries of clashes with European forces and internal kingdoms. The Karavas had lost their traditional military and naval occupations and ventured into ordinary livelihoods for survival.

 

Jandoris had gone from Ambalangoda to Talawakelle in the late 1800s as a Carpentry and Building Contractor, constructed several Plantation Bungalows a consequently developed a good rapport with the Expatriate Plantation Community.

 

Then there were no motor vehicles in Sri Lanka and therefore bullock carts were used to transport the tea chests from the estates to the railway stations. Similarly, the supplies that came from Colombo were transported from the stations to the plantations by bullock carts.

 

As such one of Jandoris' expatriate planter friends had encountered him to start a transport service and even advanced the money to buy two Bullock Carts. From two the fleet had quickly grown to 200 bullock carts and made Jandoris the pioneer Transport Agent in the Dimbula District.

 

By 1898 he incorporated J D S Wickremesooriya & Co. with Head office at Talawakelle and branches in Kotagala, and Nawalapitiya. After the arrival of motor vehicles, the business expanded further and the company owned a fleet of over 30 lorries.

 

The Mudaliyar’ and his 1st wife Celestina de Vaas Gunawardena had Six Children: Laura, Francis, Albert, Celia, Ellen and Gymaara. Maternal mortality rates were very high then, and widowers + their sister-in-law, mostly in the interest of the children.

 

The Mudaliyar had six more children from his marriage to Missy de Vaas Gunawardena. They were: Lional, Letticia, Walter, Hubert, Winnie and Gerald. In addition, they had fostered two Wickremesooriya nephews: Tudor (Cheedy) and Edwin. While in the UK, Edwin had changed his surname to Wickram, for the convenience of his associates there.

 

The Mudaliyar was a benevolent philanthropist by nature, and the people of Talawakelle and Ambalangoda, benefited. The Wickremesooriya Road in Ambalangoda connects the Galle Road and the Main Road. It has been so named by the grateful public to honour him.

 

The Mudaliyar had built the Sri Sadhdharmaramaya Temple in Talawakelle and the Sugatha Bimbarama Temple in Ambalangoda. After his death, his son Lionel served as the Chief Trustee of Sri Sadhdharmaramaya until he too passed away in 1968.

 

Information: Ceylon Encyclopedia, Hemannath Wickremesooriya, Wimalanath Wickremesooriya and Open Source Media.

 

The descendants of Mudaliyar Wickremesooriya and the family network

 

Mudaliyar Arasakularatne Jandoris de Silva Wickremesooriya of Poramba, Ambalangoda (c. 1860 - 7th July 1948)


Mudaliyar Arasakularatne Jandoris de Silva Wickremesooriya and family at the Poramba Walauwwa circa 1925.



Seated L to R: Leticia Fernando, Gymara (Lady Fernando later), Ellen Perera, Mrs. Missy de Vaas Gunawardena, Mudaliyar JDS Wickremesooriya, Laura de Silva & Celia Mettananda
Standing L to R: Lionel Wickremesooriya, Martinus Perera, Francis Wickremesooriya, Albert Wickremesooriya, David de Silva, Tudor (Cheedy) Wickremesooriya & Edwin Wickram.
Seated on Ground L to R: Hubert Wickremesooriya, Gerald Wickremesooriya, Arnold Wickremesooriya, Walter Wickremesooriya, Mangala de Silva, Anula Kulatillaka & Mali
Wimalasuriya

 

The Mudaliyar and his 1st wife Celestina de Vaas Gunawardena had Six Children:

 

1. Laura Wickremesooriya + Proctor David de Silva

1.1 Mali de Silva + Vincent Wimalasuriya

1.2 Das (GPB) de Silva + Rita Seneviratna

1.3 Anula de Silva + Dr. Freddie Kulatillaka

1.4 Chitra de Silva + Sudana Rodrigo

1.5 Mangala de Silva + Wilson de Silva

1.6 Padma de Silva + Tom de Silva

1.7 Narada de Silva + Lalitha de Silva

1.8 Siri (GPSU) de Silva + Swarna Guneratne

1.9 Amara de Silva + Leslie Wijetunge

1.11 Laxman de Silva + Laxmi Saddhasena

1.12 Ranji de Silva + Douglas Kulatillaka

 

2. Francis Wickremesooriya + Sophia

2.1 Sujatha Wickremesooriya + Upali Dias

2.2 Indrani Wickremesooriya + Kithsiri Fonseka

2.3 Francis (Kumar) Wickremesooriya + Indrani Meedin

 

3. Albert Wickremesooriya + Madeline de Silva

3.1 Stanley Wickremesooriya + Janet Perera

 

4. Celia Wickremesooriya + L H Mettananda

4.1 Chandra Mettananda + Somalakshmi Weerasekera

4.2 Raja Mettananda + Elizabeta

4.3 Asoka Mettananda + Mallika Wijetunga

4.4 Kamala Mettananda + Tilak Ediriwira

4.5 Dr. Indranie Mettananda + Sirimal Gunasekera

 

5. Ellen Wickremesooriya + Martinus Perera

5.1 Hema Perera + Bernard Dias

5.2 Aeneas Wickramasuriya + Mirani Salgado / Heneri Hauiti

 

6. Gymaara Wickremesooriya + Sir Ernest (EPA) Fernando (3875)

6.1 Sriya Wickremesooriya + Gamini Perera

 

Husband of Mangala (1.6 above), Wilson de Silva's family:

https://www.facebook.com/108823527119698/posts/397810558220992/

Husband of Celia (4 above), L H Mettananda:

http://www.lhmettananda.com/

 

Husband of Gymaara (6 above), Sir Ernest (EPA) Fernando (1909 - 1957) :

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=310113320324050&id=108823527119698


The Mudaliyar had six more children from his 2nd wife Missy de Vaas Gunawardena:

 

1. Lionel Wickremesooriya + Cissy Wijesekera

1.1 Jagath Wickremesooriya + Padmini Gunasekera

1.2 Rathna Wickremesooriya + Dr. K.H.T.D de Silva

1.3 Hemannath Wickremesooriya + Dayanthi Fernando

1.4 Sunethra Wickremesooriya + Anil Goonewardena

1.5 Wimalanath Wickremesooriya + Dayani de Fonseka


2. Letticia Wickremesooriya + Advocate A. M. P. Fernando

2.1 Sarath Fernado + Manel Jayasuriya

2.2 Shani Fernando + Duncan Wijesekera

2.3 Priya Fernado

2.4 Dayan Fernando + Anoma Abeysekera


3. Walter Wickremesooriya un+


4. Hubert Wickremesooriya + Mano Muthu Krishna

4.1 Ramola Wickremesooriya + Somasundaram Sivasundaram

4.2 Shardha Wickremesooriya + Skanda de Saram


5. Winnie Arnold Wickremesooriya + Vitlin Wickremesooriya

5.1 Chandrika Wickremesooriya + Nihalsena Egodage

5.2 Nilmini Wickremesooriya + Ranjith Abeydeera

5.3 Geethanjali Wickremesooriya + Laxman Jayawardena


6. Gerald Wickremesooriya + Dulcie Gardihewa

6.1 Nethaji Wickremesooriya + Sandra Kroon

6.2 Udena Wickremesooriya + Shalini Gomez



Jandoris de Silva Wickremesooriya Lamathani and family at the Poramba Walauwwa. Circa 1950.
Leticia Fernando, Shani Wijesekera, Dulcie (nee Gardihewa) and husband Gerald Wickremesooriya, Dayan Fernando & Sarath Fernando
Front Row L to R: Nilmini Abeydeera, Mrs. Missy de Vaas Gunawardena, Chandrika Egodage, & Nethaji Wickremesooriya

 

Read about Lionel Wickremesooriya (1 above) from here:

https://www.facebook.com/108823527119698/posts/543418690326844/

Lionel Wickremesooriya (18 March 1909 - 30 March 1968), who owned half of the Talawakelle town. Lionel's full name was Sippkaduve Anthony Peter Lionel Arasakularatne Kauravatilaka de Silva Wickremesooriya. His parents were Mudaliyar Arasakularatne Jandoris de Silva Wickremesooriya of Poramba, Ambalangoda and Missy de Vaas Gunawardena.


Lionel Wickremesooriya (18 March 1909 - 30 March 1968), who owned half of the Talawakelle



A recent photo of the old Logie Estate Bungalow of Lionel and Cissy Wickremesooriya in Talawakelle





Grave Memorial of Lionel and Cissy Wickremesooriya, in Talawakelle.
This is located between the Bank of Ceylon building (which was previously the J D S Wickremesooriya Building) and the Hindu Kovil



Read about Gerald Wickremesooriya (6 above) from here:

https://www.facebook.com/108823527119698/posts/359596028709112/

Gerald Wickremesooriya (1920 – 2006),
Born in Porambe, Ambalangoda, he studied at Dharmashoka and St. Thomas' Mount Lavinia, and is the founder of the Sooriya Record label which produced the popular local hits from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
He resigned from his Managing Director position at the EPA Bogala Estate, and encouraged by his cousin KVG de Silva, he opened the "Children’s Bookshop” in 1959 for the sale and distribution of Children's books, and went on to sell vinyl records which led him to his next venture: The Sooriya Record label.
Gerald was responsible.for popularizing Sinhala pop music amongs the westernized English speaking audiences of Sri Lanka. He was also able to recognize talent and transform them into stars.Golden Chimes, the Mendis Foursome with Maxwell Mendis, Stanley Peiris and The Fortunes etc. produced countless hit songs under the Sooriya label.
in 1952 the Minister of information and broadcasting of India banned Indian Film songs on 'All India Radio' calling them "degenerate and far too Westernized". The Sri Lankan state radio station which was then called 'Radio Ceylon' had seized the opportunity and aired a Hindi film song countdown every Wednesday, 'Binaca Geetmala' which had become very popular in India.
However a pseudo "cultural purity" government that came later, banned Sinhala pop on Radio Ceylon, calling it “Thuppahi music, unsuitable for the intellect" and it was Gerald who actively lobbied againt that ban.
He was also bold enough to produce Tamil pop music. He synthesized traditional instruments and Drum rhythms with electronic music, produced Nurthi Gee and gave a new life to Tower Hall music when that music was forgotten and unheard of.
In the 1980s Gerald pioneered the payment of royalties to Sri Lankan musicians
The weekly Sooriya radio show and live concerts featuring the stars of the Sooriya label were extremely popular in the 1970s.
Gerald married Dulcie Gardihewa and they had two sons: Netaji married to Sandra. and Udena married to Shalini.
Gerald was the youngest child of Mudaliyar Arasakularatne Jandoris de Silva Wickremesooriya of Poramba, Ambalangoda and Missy de Vaas Gunawardena.


https://www.facebook.com/sooriyarecords/videos/1506625682830691/

Information: Wimalanath Wickremesooriya