D. R. Wijewardena

D. R. Wijewardena was born as the third male child of seven sons and two daughters of Muhandiram Tudugalage Don Philip Wijewardene, a timber merchant of Sedavatta, Colombo and Helena Weerasinghe. He lost his father at a very young age and was raised by his mother. His brothers were Don Philip Alexander, Don Lewis, Don Charles, Don Edmund, Don Albert and Don Walter and his sisters were Harriot who married Dr Arthur Seneviratne and Agnes Helen who married Justice Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene.

Wijewardena received his primary education at the Sedavatta School after which like all his brothers, completed his secondary education at St. Thomas College Mutwal.

He then went on to study at Peterhouse, Cambridge. There he developed his interest in politics and met famous personalities such as future leaders of India like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bepin Chandra Pal, Surendranath Banerji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He was a contemporary of A. E. de Silva After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, he became a barrister at the Inner Temple.

Returning to Ceylon in 1912, he took oaths as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and started his legal practice at Hulftsdorp in the Unofficial Bar. As a young advocate, Wijewardena to an active role in the local movements for constitutional change. In 1913 he was elected secretary of the Ceylon National Association, marking his formal entry into politics and together with its President Sir James Peiris he agitated for constitutional reform and self-rule. He became the joint-secretary of the Ceylon Reform League along with W. A. de Silva, when it was formed in 1917 by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam.

In 1915, he took part in the notable Basnayaka Nilame Vs Attorney General case that led to the 1915 riots. Wijewardena gained a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry a volunteer unit in 1913. Mobilized for war service during World War I, he served as a Lieutenant until resigning in 1917 on principle after he was reprimanded by his commanding officer for inviting the outspoken legislative council member O. C. Tillekeratne for dinner at the officer's mess at the Echelon Barracks.

He married Alice Gertrude Ruby Meedeniya on 26 January 1916 at the Meedeniya Walauwa, she was the daughter of Meedeniya Adigar and Corneliya Magdeline Senanayake who was the niece of Lambertus Obeyesekere, Maha Mudaliyar. They had two sons, Ranjith and Seewali; three daughters, Nalini, Rani and Kusuma. The family lived first at Rickman House before moving to a house at De Saram Place, Maradane and finally settling at Warrington at Braybrook Place. He purchased and developed Arcadia, Diyatalawa as the family retreat. His daughters Nalini married Esmond Wickremesinghe, while Rani married George Gomes and Kusuma married Lal Gooneratne. One of his grandsons Ranil Wickremasinghe, served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on several occasions and eventually the President of Sri Lanka and His brother-in-law was Sir Francis Molamure, the first speaker of the State Council and his nephew (Helen's son) was J. R. Jayewardene, President of Sri Lanka.