Tomb of Thomas William Rogers
A view from Nuwara Eliya Old Cemetery (Photo credit: DaRcAssan Zirekile, Google street view) Thomas William Rogers Tomb (Sinhala: තෝමස් විලියම් රොජර්ස් ස්මාරකය) is located in the burial ground behind the Prime Minister's residence close to the Golf Club building in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. Major Thomas William Rogers (1804–1845) was a British colonial administrator, soldier and sportsman. He joined the Ceylon Rifle Regiment on 7 January 1824 as a 2nd Lieutenant and was appointed as the Assistant Government Agent at Badulla in 1834 (Lewis, 1913). During his tenure of office as Assistant Government Agent, he had rendered yeoman service for the development of the area (Abeyawardana, 2004). As found in records, he had killed as many as 1,500 wild elephants, which made him unpopular among people although he had earned a reputation for his services (Abeyawardana, 2004; Lewis, 1913). On 7 June 1845, he died struck by lightning at the Haputale Pass bungalow (Lewis, 1913). His body was b…
