Retired Squadron Leader Joe Wickremasinghe:

A contented life ..

Jatila KARAWITA

Retired Squadron Leader Joe Wickremasinghe, JP of the Sri Lanka Air Force (then Ceylon Air Force) is a man of many facets.

A one-time gallant soldier turned well-known philanthropist, he considers it, the `very rare and golden opportunity' to have been entertained at afternoon tea by the then British Prime Minister, Sir Wisnton Churchill and Lady Churchill, at their official holiday resort, "Checkers" as one of his greatest and most memorable experiences in life, during the time he spent in England.

"I also had the pleasure to meet Sir Clement Atlee, the then Opposition and Labour Party Leader", he told the Sunday Observer.

Retired Squadron Leader Joe Wickremasinghe and his wife Regina

Going down the memory lane and talking of his numerous visits abroad, the retired Squadron Leader, noted that he has had the blessing to get a private audience with his Holiness - The Pope Paul the 6th at the Vatican, following which he had been invited for a social evening with Cardinal Griffen - the then Cardinal of England.

Joe Wickremasinghe, an old boy of St. Joseph's College, Colombo 10, St. Mary's College, Negombo and St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa hails from a family of three sisters and four brothers.

His parents were highly skilled orthopaedic physicians, while an additional feather in his father's cap was that he had been a well-known Notary Public and a dedicated philanthropist.

The latter aspect and virtue Joe inherited from his beloved father helped him continue with the good work and be a do-gooder.

Of his numerous magnanimous deeds says Joe Wickremasinghe "I feel that God has bestowed on me the gift of caring for the needy".

"The stretching of my hand and opening my heart to those in need and the furtherance in future for those struggling to get on in life has provided me with profound happiness which cannot be put into words".

As far back as early 1950s, young Wickrmasinghe has had the privilege of sponsoring quite a few people for higher studies, work and training in Australia.

"Parakrama Fernando, Anton Peries, M.P. Perera, Bertie Fernando and G. Wyman are only a few whose names come to my mind off-hand", he reminisced.

Besides, I was also instrumental in sponsoring a few families.

"Two such cases I can recall are B. Kulatunga's and G. Jayawardene's". Wickremasinghe also revealed that among his philanthropic work he's had the pleasure to assist in achieving matrimonial bliss from Sri Lanka to Australian nationals who are currently leading very successful professional careers.

"Such cases count well over half a dozen", he says ever so modestly.

Joe Wickremasinghe, a native of Seeduwa, looking back on his colourful career at the then Ceylon Air Force, observed that having a latent force and undying flair for flying and especially to embark on a journey in aeronautical engineering, most of his weekends and holidays had been sacrificed in learning flying under Senior Flying Instructor, the late Duncunson.

Following his initial training young Wickremasinghe had worked for a few years with the Australian National Airways during which he had been offered the 2nd Flight Engineers position with two other Australian engineers based at Ratmalana.

He emphasised that during his service at the Ceylon Air Force in varied capacities, he had been responsible for ensuring the correct and disciplined functioning of a large group of Airmen, some trained in UK and others locally.

"In addition to a wide-range of duties and responsibilities I was also the sole `Entertainment Officer' for the entire R.Cy.A.F. Katunayake Base", he continued.

"The Airmen population at the Katunayake Base was close to 800.

"They were thrilled, happy and overjoyed at the many presentations staged by me - like the variety shows and the massive dances I organised single-handedly.

"At the dances, the turn-up ran into something like 800 to 900 participants". To further underscore his countless social work, Joe Wickremasinghe, divulged how he responded to several requests from the Catholic population of the Air Force to build a Church for the worship of the religious people of all denominations.

"A Church was thus, constructed on a block of land donated to me by late Vernon Rajapakse - a landed proprietor who I should say was also an extraordinarily generous personality". Among his numerous other achievements in life, the now retired Squadron Leader says that he has been the first to screen a Sinhala film in Australia. The first had been Lester James Peries' Ganga Addara while the second too had been one of the doyen's cinematic masterpieces Gahanu Lamai.

Joe Wickremaisnghe and his wife Regina (nee Perera) who are proud parents of a daughter (Maryann Greta) and a son (Shrian James) are also contented grandparents of four grandchildren.

"I must state humbly, that there are well over 500 people who are earning their daily bread and butter in both Australia and Sri Lanka, due to my long social work in both countries", he recalled fondly.

"In recognition of my services in Sri Lanka I was appointed a Justice of the Peace".