The old graveyard up the hill seemed just as forgotten as the British colonials buried there 150 years ago. There was nobody in sight, no shade, no breeze, nothing—just a profound midday heat beating down on the faded, crumbling tombstones, and a barely perceptible buzz coming from the touristy hustle of the nearby Kandy National Museum and Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
And, then, Charles Carmichael, caretaker of the British Garrison Cemetery since 1990, seemed to appear out of thin air, like an apparition, and turned our mildly curious peek at the cemetery into an unexpected highlight of our time in Kandy.
Open for just 50-odd years between 1822 and the mid-1870s, the British Garrison Cemetery holds 195 graves of men, women, and children who succumbed, mostly, to tropical diseases of the time such as malaria, cholera, and heat stroke. Carmichael, barefoot with light mocoa-brown skin, a neatly trimmed mustache with curly handlebars, and a thick, soothing British accent—think a classically trained nightly news radio broadcaster in London, circa 1931—led us through those graves, quickly reciting from memory the stories of many of the deterred.
Here was the grave of a poor chap who died from heat stroke when trying to outrun a charging elephant; there was the final resting place of a woman who lived to be 86. Her last wish was to see her son, a British soldier, one more time before she died; she traveled here to central Sri Lanka to do just that, then died the very next day.
Captain James McGlashan survived a number of bloody battles, including in Waterloo against a fellow named Napoleon Bonaparte, only to later ignore repeated warnings about malaria in Kandy and die from it. The Cargills of Cargill Supermarket fame are buried here. A once-wealthy and powerful coffee plantation barron who lost it all, a soldier deemed a traitor by the British army for abandoning his post after being left to fend off advancing forces all by himself, a tomb holding five soldiers… all here, their memory living on in this one man.
As Charles led us around the cemetery and shared these stories, I couldn’t help but picture the ghosts of these long-dead people sitting on their tombstones, nodding in approval at their caretaker’s capsule accounts of their lives and ultimately deaths. Somebody cared; somebody remembered.
He seemed embarassed, though, that we were so impressed with his extensive knowledge of the cemetery: “I only know because of the man who wrote the book.” He refers, of course, to List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon, of Historical or Local Interest with an obituary of Persons Uncommemorated, by John Penry Lewis, a man lauded for the painstaking research of the book, which was originally published in 1913. Brevity was apparently not one of Mr. Lewis’s stronger suits, however.
Charles mentioned that there were very few visitors to the cemetery these days. “I have not seen an Englishman in over a week now,” he said. Still, he tends to these impossibly well-manicured grounds as if they were visited by hundreds daily—and they deserve to be.
This kind, humble man is a Sri Lankan treasure, a bridge to a forgotten history in a forgotten corner of Kandy. Lewis’s List of Inscriptions might be the skin and bones of the British Garrison Cemetery’s history, but Charles is the one who brings this place to life. I can picture him there now, lovingly, carefully, brushing dirt away from the tombstones, pulling weeds, mowing the grass in that blinding heat, waiting for somebody to share his stories with, that air of nobility hanging on his every word.
The place might be largely overlooked, but I’ll always remember Charles Carmichael, caretaker of the British Garrison Cemetery.
Brian,
do you know the song called Audience of Souls? Scottish singer Emily Smith wrote it. it is a not at all spooky song about having a conversation with the folk buried in a cemetery. your description of Charles made me think he’d appreciate that idea.
Hi Kerry… I actually haven’t, but will definitely try to find it and give it a listen. Charles was such a sweet guy, and I bet he’d love to have a conversation with some of those folks!
Hello, dear friends of Garrison Cemetry,
I´m touched by your presenting the old British Garison cimetry in Kandy. I`d like to give some donation. Please tell me the Bank-connection.
By the way, could I get a detailled description for finding the cemetry? Are there further photos left?
kind regards
Gerhard Pelzel
Dear mr.Brian,
Thank you sooooo much for your article.Charles Carmichael is my father.Today only I read this article.You are correct.My father loves the Garrison Cemetery a lot.During my leasure time I use to go to that calm and wonderful place and speak with my father hours and hours.But now I am away from Sri Lanka so I could not be there for the last three montths.
Good wishes
Gayani.
Dear Gayani and other well wishers,
You know that it was My brother Durand Goonetilleke and I who employed Charles there at our expense. We looked after that place since the independence where Carl Goonetilleke and his mother Lotty kept that place well maintained and after his death we appointed Charles to take over as your brother worked for me at the Primrose. This site was under threat of confiscation where more than 50% of the land now is no more. In 1998 I was there preparing the place for Prince Charles’ visit that was aborted due to the bomb blast.
Two months ago I was there to lobby the most powerful politicians to show some consideration and stop the threat removal of these graves. It was the plan that My eldest brother Durand to receive His Royal Highness. For some reason we were not allowed send in a photographer as I wanted to document my brother receiving Prince Charles.I pleaded with the British High Commission to take a picture but the woman who is supposed to be arranging his visit put the phone down on me.
Mr Cameron’s visit to the North and his verbal threat to the country’s President would jeopardize our efforts in maintaining that place very dear to us, though many actors have cashed in for various reasons and will disappear when it comes to the crunch.
There is a similar place of interest, very much in the interest to the British history in Ceylon and it will be kept a secret from all, place where my dad was born.
Therefore I advise the well wishers to go over there see it ASAP before it will be sadly removed and contribute what ever you can to the unreachable British High commission in Colombo. Thanks to the defence secretary a tight security was imposed where the military took over all the arrangements to make sure that the Prince would have a safe visit in the island that was disrupted in 1998.
Dear Nihal,
I read your article with interest. I visited the cemetery and St Paul’s Church recently trying to find the graves of my Great Great Grandparents Alfred Moses & Anne-Henrietta Goonetilleke without success. I read with interest you are a trustee of St Paul’s, I would be grateful if you can advise who I should contact to find where the graves are located and how I can access records of births and deaths at St Paul’s?
[email protected]
Dear Mr Durand Goonetilleke,
The proximity of the British Garrison Cemetery (BGC), Kandy to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is undeniable. However, the need to find a pragmatic and innovative compromise beween the continued presence of the BGC in the vicinity of the Scared Temple and the effects of the shadow the BGC may cast on the sanctity of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relicis eqaully undeniable.
A practical although not a perfect solution would be to build a wall planted with ivy in order to camouflage the higher elevation of the BGC with respect to the elevation of the Sacred Temple.
I remember having visited the BGC with my father W.A. Goonetilleke who was the Municipal Commissioner of Kandy in the fifties. He sought to bring forward the historical value of the BGC in the Municipal Council meetings.
Of course the most appreciated compromise would be is to create a foundation : “The foundation of compassion of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic ” This foundation could be bestowed with funds originating from the Group called The Friends of the British Garrison Cemetery Kandy. I would readily donate to this foundation.
It is cristal clear that the BGC is a symbol of the inception of British influence in Sri Lanka. Sir John D’Oyly who drafted the Kandyan Convention in 1815,albeit an Englishman was very much a Singhala gentleman who mastered the Singhala language and deeply appreciated the tenets of Buddhism. His remains rest in peace in this cemetery.
The cause of the BGC has to be nurtured with affection and deep mutual respect. The BGC represents a point in time of human history that never will repeat !
Dear RS Goonetilleke,
I read you comment and notice you mention your father was WA Goonetilleke, coincidently my Grandfather was William Alfred Goonetilleke, but born in the UK (b 1910). I am trying to trace my ancestry, my Great Grandfather Albert Reginald Goonetillke was the brother of William Alfred Goonetilleke, Kings Counsel, Siam. If you can help please get in touch.
Hi, I am the partner of a descendant of the William Alfred Goonetilleke that established himself in Bangkok. This facebook account is tracing out his descendants: https://www.facebook.com/gunatilaka.goonetilleke. Not sure exactly who runs it, but maybe they have information about ancestors further back. Perhaps the Sri Lankan embassy would be a good place to check with, too.
WA.Goonetilleke and his wife Henriatta are buried at Mahiyawa cemetry, only 30 from our parents’ grave(Vincent Fredrick.Goonetilleke and Florance.Bridgett.Adalade Goonetilleke.You can contact me on [email protected]
Dear Mr Nihal Goonetilleke
On coming across this website – on 7th November 2019, I emailed some family information to you direct. You may find this info in your junk mail box, as I am not on your email address list. You may check the detailed contents regarding a Goonetilleke family from Galle Sri Lanka, and let me know if this information is of any relevance to you. I was happy to see some response from my brother RS Goonetilleke too, posted on November 25th 2014. You may contact me on [email protected] Thank you
My family visited the British Army Garrison cemetery last month. Charles Carmichael is still there, giving his talks about the lives of the people who are buried there and he touched us all deeply, including our Sri Lankan guide who had never been there before. It is tucked away up a hill away from the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. You would not notice it unless you were looking for it. We have no connection at all to the people buried there, they are all from a different class to my ancestors who would have been lucky, had they gone to Ceylon, to be buried in a grave at all. However, we see it as a little bit of history that cannot be erased. Out of respect for those buried there – and for the loving care that Charles and the workers put into looking after it – the cemetery should be preserved. We can move on from the past and make amends but we should not forget history and the people who made it. According to the leaflet we were given you can donate via Hatton National Bank account number 018-059505-8SA