Diyatalawa.
Introduction
Diyatalawa is a garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka , in the Badulla District of Uva Province . It is at an altitude of 1,499 m (4,918 ft) and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers. It is home to the Diyatalawa Garrison of the Sri
Lanka Army, which includes the Sri Lanka Military Academy , officer training center of the army; SLAF Diyatalawa, the Sri Lanka Air Force 's ground combat training centre; and facilities of the Sri Lanka Police.
Hirtory
It is not exactly known as to when Diyatalawa became a training station for troops, but
available records show that it was selected around 1885, when the British Army first
established a garrison at Diyatalawa. At that time training was conducted at the
Imperial Camp which is presently occupied by the Gemunu Watch troops. In 1900, the British War Office
constructed a concentration camp in Diyatalawa to house
Boer prisoners captured in the Second Boer War. Initially
constructed to house 2500 prisoners and 1000 guards and staff, the number of
prisoners increased to 5000. During World War I an internment camp for enemy aliens was set up. Early in World War II the camp was reopened and German nationals resident in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well
as many sailors, like those removed from the Asama Maru in violation of international law, were housed here. Also imprisoned were Buddhist monks of
German extraction like Nyanaponika and Govinda Anagarika who had acquired British citizenship. In June
1941 most of the sailors were transferred to Canada. The section for Germans was
sensibly divided in a pro- and anti-Nazi wing. There was also a section set up to house
Italian POWs. After the Japanese started bombing the island, inmates were on 23
February 1942 transferred to camps on the mainland. Males
usually went to Dehradun. Officer training was also
carried out here during the war. The Royal Navy had a
holiday station; HMS Uva was situated at Diyatalawa with
recreational facilities; this was later taken over by the Royal Ceylon Navy in 1956, commissioning it as HMCYS Rangalla and established its training center there. The had
to move out in 1962 and it was taken over by the Gemunu Watch. After Sri Lanka gained its independence in1948, all military facilities were taken
over by the Sri Lanka army and navy. In 1952 the Royal Ceylon Air Force established SLAF Diyatalawa.
Climate
Due to the high altitude garrison town of Diyatalawa located between the hill station retreats of Haputale and Bandarawela of central highlands has a much cooler climate than the lowlands of Sri Lanka, with a mean annual temperature of 16 °C. In the winter months it is quite cold at night, and there can even be frost.
Sporting Events
Fox Hill, Diyatalawa is the venue for the annual Fox Hill Motor Cross organized by the Sri Lanka Military Academy, one of the premier motor racing events in the country. The Fox Hill (Nariya Kanda in Sinhalese) was so 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 quartes that were once lying scattered all over the hill. The Stag Hill (Gona Kanda in Sinhalese) too named following the same
style of rock art on hill similar to Fox Hill.
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