A significant World War II mutiny took place on the night of 8 May 1942 in a lonely atoll in the Indian Ocean. It occurred in a setting of intrigue, rebellion and the blood and tears of war. Japanese naval forces were at the peak of their southward thrust, and the Ceylonese contingent on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands was restless.
– Noel Crusz in The Cocos Islands Mutiny
On 5 August 1942, bombardier Gratien Hubert Fernando, a member of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery (CGA) and just 23 years old, remained quiet as he was led to the gallows at Welikade Prison in Colombo. His courage baffled the onlookers. The first of three Ceylonese soldiers to be hanged for their role in the mutiny on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands – a remote atoll in the Indian Ocean – Fernando and his compatriots were the only Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
With the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, many Ceylonese had enthusiastically volunteered for service with the Allied Forces. Seeking adventure and the chance to travel abroad, most were from the Anglicised middle classes and had been educated in the island's leading colleges. However, this period also coincided with growing pressure within the island for independence from Britain. Although most Ceylonese wholeheartedly supported the war effort, the left movement, spearheaded by the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), opposed what they termed an 'imperialist' war – a stance that resonated with the sentiments of many youths.