I found these infos in online archives: Sylvester Douglas Wilson.Ceylon Civil Service.....1802.—September 16, 1817—He began his career as an extra Assistant in the Secretariat,from which he was promoted to be Third Assistant to the Resident and Judicial, Secretary to the Residency and Sitting Magistrate of Kandy on October 1,1816;and finally First Assistant to the Resident and Magistrate in Badulla.He was on the Grand Jury in May,1813."On the 10th of September,1817, Mr Wilson, who was Assistant Resident at Badulla,hearing of the arrival in Welassa of a suspicious stranger, sent Haji Mohandiram,the chief of the Moors in Welassa,to apprehend him,but Mohandiram was himself taken prisoner by Butawe Raterala and taken before the stranger,who,it was rumored,had himself declared king, and was subsequently murdered. When the intelligence reached Badulla, Mr.Wilson set out with a small detachment of troops to ascertain the real circumstances. At Etanawatta he met with an armed party, who demanded a conference.As Wilson advanced to meet them, he was treacherously shot dead with a volley of arrows in cold blood." "Manual of Uva" Gazette November 4 and 11, 1817." "Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon" by J.Penry Lewis:"Such a cenotaph might at least have been dedicated by the Ceylon Government to the memory of Sylvester Douglas Wilson of the Civil Service, a victim to duty, whose murder marked the outbreak of rebellion in Uva. His young wife's tomb at Badulla has been bodily lifted skywards by a grasping but discriminating bo-tree." Wilsons wife had already died the same fatal year,on the 24th of May 1817, only 24 years young of malaria:Her tombstone was recorded to exist in Badulla beside the Badulla Oya. More infos"Journal of the Dutch Burger Union": "Sacred to the Memory of Sophia Wilson, wife of Sylvester Douglas Wilson, Assistant Resident and Agent of the British Government in the Province of Ouvah. She departed this life at Badulla, after a few days' illness, on the morning of the 24th. May, 1817. Aged 24 years'. " A wild Bo-tree, has caught up this tombstone in its giant roots and raised the stone slab from its resting place as the tree grew. Bricks from the monument were discovered embedded in the branches and trunk, many feet up. Sophia Wilson died just four months prior to the murder of her husband, who was killed on the Badulla—Batticaloa road at the outbreak of the 1818 Uva Rebellion. The events of the time record how mysterious whispering s of treason, were being stirred up, in October, of the year 1817, shortly after the British Government had taken over the administration of the Sinhalese Highland kingdom. Mr. Sylvester Wilson, the Agent of Government at Badulla, received information of a forgathering of priests in the area of Wellassa. These were, it was reported, actively engaged in exciting insurrection and rebellion against foreign dominion. Mr. Wilson set out to ascertain the truth of these rumours and investigate what were the real circumstances of these proceedings. After an unsuccessful conference, on his return, we gather from the many conflicting versions of this story, that Wilson went to a river, with his Lascorins, to wash himself. An armed party of Kandyans suddenly made their appearance on the opposite bank, and demanded another conference with the British Agent. Mr, Wilson advanced to them, but when within a few yards of the armed party, a shower of arrows were treacherously discharged. There was little protection and slender hope of escape. Attempting to take cover, the British Agent, fell, an arrow had penetrated his brain. The traveler who wanders over the main road from Lunugalla to Bibile is reminded of this terrible tragedy, by a stone slab. " In memory of Sylvester Douglas Wilson Assistant Resident and Agent of the British Government Province of Uva Who was killed near this spot at the outbreak of the Uva Rebellion 16th. September, 1817." This monument was erected by the Ceylon Government in 1913

• published: 09 Dec 2012
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