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The death of another most-admired and illustrious senior officer, Brigadier S Benadict Gabriel De Silva (Retd) of Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI), occurred on Tuesday (27) after a brief illness. Famed for his affable personality and multifaceted social service projects while in service and particularly after retirement, Brigadier De Silva remained a very popular figure in his home town, attracting the goodwill of everyone who knew him. His was a service unparalleled in the SLLI of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF), specially during the crucial stages of the country in 1980s due to political upheavals where he was the District Coordinating Officer for Polonnaruwa, Ampara, and Puttalam in separate time periods.