Both military and civilians were entitled to be granted
British military decorations on the recommendation of the
British Governor of Ceylon. In 1946, Botalage Edmund Perera was awarded the
George Medal for rescuing four crewmen from a burning aircraft crash in Negombo. This practice was continued after Ceylon gained independence in 1948 and the formation of the
Ceylon Army in 1949, the
Royal Ceylon Navy in 1950, and the
Royal Ceylon Air Force in 1951. Following up on his election promise,
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike suspended
imperial honours. This meant only service medals such as the
Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal, the
Efficiency Decoration (Ceylon) and the
Efficiency Medal (Ceylon) were awarded after 1956. No gallantry medals were awarded even during the
1971 JVP Insurrection. In 1972, Ceylon became a republic as the Republic of Sri Lanka. On 1 September 1981, President
J. R. Jayewardene instituted new Sri Lankan awards for gallantry the
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya(PWV), Weerodara Vibhushanaya(WV),
Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya(WWV),
Rana Wickrama Padakkama(RWV), and the
Rana Sura Padakkama(RSP) by the Gazette Extraordinary No. 156/5 of 1982. In 1989, Lance Corporal P. L. S. L. Cooray of the
Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment became the first recipients of the Weerodara Vibhushanaya. Having sustained burn injuries himself, he saved the life of his wounded officer from drowning after the helicopter they had been carrying out an air reconnaissance patrol crashed landed Nawanthurai Lagoon,
Jaffna following mechanical failure and started burning on 30 November 1989. In 2022, the 2016 award of the Weerodara Vibhushanaya to Group Captain L. C. Dissanayake was canceled following an internal inquiry which had been described as "an administrative lapse". ==Award process and privileges==