15 Facts About Bevis Bawa

Major Bevis William Frederick Bawa, ADC, CLI was a Ceylonese planter, soldier and a landscaper.

Bevis Bawa was one of the most renowned landscape architects in Sri Lanka and served as the Aide-de-camp to four Governors of Ceylon.

Bevis Bawa was born on 26 April 1909 in Colombo, the eldest son of Captain Benjamin William Bawa, a wealthy and successful lawyer, of Muslim and European parentage, and Bertha Marianne nee Schrader, who was of mixed German, Scottish and Sinhalese descent.

Bevis Bawa had one younger brother, Geoffrey Bawa ten years his junior, who is regarded as being one of the most important and influential Asian architects of the twentieth century.

Bevis Bawa's mother sent him to be trained as a planter at his uncle's estates in order to take up the management of the family estate in Aluthgama known as Brief Estate.

In 1929, Bevis Bawa was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry, a reservist regiment of the Ceylon Defence Force.

In 1934, Lieutenant Bevis Bawa was appointed as Aide-de-camp to the Governor, Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs; a post held by his father years before.

Bevis Bawa served sixteen years at the King's House in the staff of the Governor and thereafter the Governor General as the ADC to Sir Andrew Caldecott, Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore and Lord Soulbury, gaining promotion to the rank of Captain and thereafter Major.

Bevis Bawa was one of the initial officers of the newly formed Ceylon Army and one of only nine Majors in the army at the time.

Bevis Bawa retired from the army in 1950, with Captain Sepala Attygalle succeeding him to the post of ADC to the Governor General.

Bevis Bawa offered sanctuary to a number of Sri Lankan artists including Laki Senanayake, Ena de Silva, the dancers Chitrasena and Vajira Chitrasena and designer Barbara Sansoni.

Bevis Bawa played host to a number of international visitors including Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, the Duke of Windsor, Agatha Christie and Australian artist Donald Friend.

Bevis Bawa continued to develop the property until his death aged 83 on 18 September 1992.

Bevis Bawa left his estate to his workers and Brief Garden went to his manager Dooland de Silva who himself is a leading Landscape Designer in Sri Lanka.

Bevis Bawa was intelligent, well-connected and an acute social observer with a flair for art.