The Armed Forces Remembrance and Poppy Day commemoration was held on 16th November 2025 at the Cenotaph War Memorial in Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
The Cenotaph War Memorial, designed by architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, was built to honor Sri Lankan (then Ceylon) soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and World War II. It is one of the oldest and most significant war memorials in the country, and the national ceremony is held annually on Remembrance Day, the Sunday closest to 11th November.
During the ceremony, the Prime Minister laid a wreath of poppies at the memorial and paid floral tributes to all soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the protection of the nation. The event aimed to honor war heroes from the First World War to the present and recognize their noble contributions.
Poppy Day has been observed in Great Britain since 1919 to commemorate members of the armed forces who died in World War I. The poppy became a symbol of remembrance following Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields, which was inspired by the flowers growing on soldiers’ graves in Belgium. The significance of the poppy was further strengthened by Ms. Moina Michael of the American YWCA, who promoted the sale of poppies to support the families of war heroes.
In Sri Lanka, the commemoration was organized in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen’s Association and the Armed Forces. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara, Defence Ministry Secretary Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Sampath Thuyacontha, Tri-Forces Commanders, retired Tri-Forces Commanders, foreign diplomats, and numerous members of the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen’s Association.
