Rock House Army Camp
Rock House Army Camp is a military base located at Modera, north of Colombo in the Western Province of Sri Lanka.[1] It serves as the regimental headquarters of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps of Sri Lanka Army.
| Rock House Army Camp | |
|---|---|
| Colombo, Western Province | |
  Rock House Army Camp | |
| Coordinates | 6.9642°N 79.8683°E |
| Type | Military Base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Sri Lanka Army |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1940's – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps |
History
The base gains its name from the Rock House, a stately home built in the nineteenth century by Henry Augustus Marshall, an Englishman who accompanied Lord North who was the first British Governor of Ceylon. Marshall was an officer in the Ceylon Civil Service and went on to serve as Auditor General of Ceylon. He built Rock House in addition to his other houses Whist Bungalow and Modera House. Later it became the residence of Sir William Coke, the Chief Justice of Ceylon.
The estate was taken over by the British Army during World War I, with coastal artillery batteries deployed form this location to defend the Colombo harbor. Concert gun emplacements, underground ammunition magazines and a directional tower was constructed during the inter war period. The base was occupied by the Ceylon Artillery of the newly formed Ceylon Army after Ceylon gained independence in 1948. In 1957 the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron moved in and was made a full recce regiment in 1958. There by the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment became the first unit of the Ceylon Armoured Corps. Since the 1960s the unit provided armored units for the defence of the capital in crisis situations and civil unrest.