taking over as commander of the Ceylon Army. During his service, he introduced Sinhalese for parade ground commands and formed the Army Hewisi Band of oriental music. He retired from the army in 1963 following the 1962 attempt coup d'état of which he was not a part. Diplomatic career After his retirement, he was appointed as High Commissioner of Ceylon to Pakistan, with concurrent accreditation to Iran. Thereafter he was made Ceylon's ambassador to Italy with concurrent accreditation to Greece. Death During his tenure in Italy, he met with a fatal motor accident. His military funeral was held in Colombo. Family He was married to Olive Wickramasinghe, they had two sons and a daughter. Honors For his military service he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (Military Division) in the 1950 King's new years honours list and received the Efficiency Decoration and the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 for volunteer service. For wartime service, he had earned the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939–1945, and for service in the Ceylon Army, he received the Ceylon Armed Services Inauguration Medal. See also Sri Lankan Non Career Diplomats References External links Past Commanders Biography of H.W.G. Wijeyekoon 1911 births 1969 deaths Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese military personnel of World War II Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Italy Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Greece Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Iran High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Oxford Sri Lankan barristers Ceylonese advocates Ceylon Light Infantry officers