A right-handed batsman, de Saram made 128 playing for Oxford University against the Australians in 1934. The Australian side included Stan McCabe, Chuck Fleetwood-Smith and Clarrie Grimmett.[7] In his 40 first-class games for Ceylon and Oxford University, de Saram made 2789 runs at an average of 39.84 with six centuries and a highest score of 208. He captained the Ceylon cricket team from 1949 to 1954. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) (Civil Division) in the 1949 King's Birthday honours for his service to sport.[8] In later years he coached his alma mater, Royal College Colombo in Cricket. He was also actively involved with S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, and was conferred the status of being an honorary Thomian. He was cricket coach for Royal College Colombo, when his son, D. A. de Saram, played for St Thomas' as a coloursman at the Royal Thomian Cricket encounter.
With Ceylon gaining independence in 1948 as the Dominion of Ceylon, the Ceylon Army was formed on 1 October 1949. Having attended the Long Gunnery Staff Course at the Royal School of Artillery and qualified as an instructor in Gunnery (IG), Lieutenant Colonel de Saram transferred to the regular force and took command of one of the first two combat units formed in the new Ceylon Army as the first commanding officer, 1st Heavy Anti-Aircraft/Coast Artillery Regiment which became the first regular regiment of the Ceylon Artillery. The other regular combat regiment of the Ceylon Army was the Ceylon Infantry Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Winston Wijeyekoon. With much of the personal from the CGA transferred to the 2nd (Volunteer) Coastal Artillery / Anti-Aircraft Regiment, he was tasked with establishing the a regular artillery regiment to take over the air defense and coastal artillery role from the Royal Artillery. He was deployed with his regiment during the 1953 Ceylonese Hartal to control civil unrest. On 1 May 1954, de Saram retired from the regular force, transferred to the volunteer force and became the commanding officer, 2nd (Volunteer) Coast Artillery Regiment. In May 1958, the Ceylon Volunteer Force was mobilized to assist the police to suppress rioting during the 1958 Ceylonese riots. Lt. Colonel de Saram lead a detachment opening fire on an armed mod near the Ceylon Transport Board depot at Ratmalana.[14] Promoted to colonel, he was appointed as the deputy commandant of the Ceylon Volunteer Force in 1960.[15]
Coup
De Saram was a member of the Christianelite that saw a gradual erosion of their influence and position in the country following the Sinhalaisation process started by de Saram's cousin, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, and carried on by Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Thus, de Saram, along with several other disgruntled Christian officers of the army, navy and police, began to plot a coup along the lines of that waged by General Ayub Khan in Pakistan.
The coup d'état was planned for midnight on 27 January 1962 under the leadership of de Saram with the support of troops from the Ceylon Artillery and Ceylon Armoured Corps as well as several other volunteer units. The plan was the detain the Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike at Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister, and round up government ministers, the Permanent Secretary for Defence and External affairs, the Inspector General of Police, DIG (CID), SP (CID), the Acting Navy Commander, and the Army Commander. Colombo would be placed under curfew and cut off from regular army units from the Panagoda Cantonment. After the coup members gained control, de Saram as General Officer Commanding Ceylon would command all military establishments and have Governor-General of Ceylon, SirOliver Goonetillekedissolve parliament.
However, an officer, who had been brought in on the plot the morning of the set date, warned the government and several of the plotters were arrested. de Saram drove to Temple Trees alone, but there he was arrested. Since no actual coup had taken place, the government had no real evidence to use to punish the accused and thus confined them to solitary confinement in hope of getting a confession. de Saram confessed taking sole responsibility of the coup. This would go on to become the prosecution's main article of evidence. On 3 June 1963, de Saram was convicted along with 11 of the other 24 accused to 10 years in jail as well confiscation of property after laws had been specially modified by the government in order to convict the plotters. The conviction was eventually overruled on appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which ruled that the new Act had denied the right to a fair trial.[16]
Later life
De Saram spent much of the 1970s as a partner of DL and F de Saram and coaching the Royal College, Colombo cricket and rugby teams. He died on 11 April 1983 at age 70.
Family
De Saram married Nedra Obeysekera, daughter of Stanley Obeysekere. They had three daughters, Tara, Rhunie and Oosha and a son, Dijen. Tara and Oosha both excelled in sports at a national level, Tara in swimming and Oosha in both swimming and tennis. Julian Bolling and Dipika Chanmugam are de Saram's grandchildren.
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