Born on 4 August 1907 in Matara to Candauda Arachchige Odiris de Silva and Nonahami Nanayakkara from Dangedara, Galle. His father was a wealthy oil mill owner and a prominent philanthropist having founded Rahula College and Sujatha Vidyalaya. He had four brothers and six sisters. His brothers were C. A. Edvin de Silva, C. A. Ariyathilaka, C. A. Dhanapala and C. A. Harischandra. Harischandra founded Harischandra Mills.[3]
Dharmapala was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry, a volunteer regiment in the Ceylon Defence Force in 1931. In 1940, he was mobilised for World War II, serving as Chief Security Officer of the Ratmalana Airport. In 1949, when the Ceylon Army was formed, Captain Dharmapala transferred to the Ceylon Volunteer Force into the 2 (Volunteer) Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry. In 1950, volunteer detachments were established in Galle and Matara, Captain Dharmapala was put in command of the detachments. In 1954, the Ruhunu Regiment was formed with Captain Dharmapala in command of the B Company based in Galle and Matara. When the Ruhunu Regiment was disbanded by Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, troops of the B Company were transferred to the newly formed Ceylon Sinha Regiment forming the C Company, 2 (V) Battalion, Ceylon Sinha Regiment which later formed the short-lived Gemunu Regiment which was commanded by Major Dharmapala. The Gemunu Regiment was disbanded and in September 1965 the 3 (V) Battalion, Gemunu Watch was raised in the Matara Fort with Lieutenant Colonel Dharmapala as its Commanding Officer and he served until August 1968, when he retired from the army with the honorary rank of Colonel.[5] He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) (Military Division) in the 1956 New Year Honours and for his long service as a volunteer officer he received the Efficiency Decoration.[2]
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