[1] Born 27 November 1929, as the only son of a family of five girls, his father was a booking clerk in the Railways Department and became an Assistant Transportation Superintendent at the time of retirement.

Harry Goonetileke joined the Royal Ceylon Air Force as a Flight Cadet in 1951 in the first batch of locally trained pilots.

He received his flight training in the Chipmunk and Boulton Paul Balliol aircraft and earning his Wings in 1954.

He was a member of the team that flew to UK and back ferrying the RCyAF's new de Havilland Heron aircraft to Ceylon.

[3] His funeral was held at the General Cemetery Borella, Colombo on 12 April with military honors.