Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle (10 September 1912 – 22 June 1999) was a British-born Australian Marxist revolutionary who played a key role in the Sri Lankan independence movement.
Bracegirdle was working among the Tamil plantation labourers ('coolies'), who were treated poorly, receiving very little health care, even less education and living in 'line rooms' which were worse than cattle sheds in England.
He took an active part in organising a public meeting on Galle Face Green in Colombo on 10 January 1937 to celebrate Sir Herbert Dowbiggin's departure from the island.
It was called by the LSSP to protest against the atrocities claimed to have been committed during Dowbiggin's long tenure as Inspector General of Police, particularly during the 1915 riots.
(Lerski, Origins of Trotskyism in Ceylon [1]) On 3 April 1937, at a meeting at Nawalapitiya attended by two thousand estate workers, at which Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya of the Indian Congress Socialist Party spoke, Dr N.M. Perera said: 'Comrades, I have an announcement to make.
'[1] The planters were infuriated by Bracegirdle's speech, and pressured the Governor of British Ceylon, Sir Reginald Stubbs to deport him.
Bracegirdle was served with the order of deportation on 22 April and given 48 hours to leave on the SS Mooltan, on which a passage had been booked for him by the colonial government.
On 5 May, in the State Council, NM Perera and Philip Gunawardena moved a vote of censure on the Governor for having ordered the deportation of Bracegirdle without the advice of the acting Home Minister.
On the same day there was a 50,000-strong rally at Galle Face Green, which was presided over by Colvin R de Silva and addressed by Dr N. M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, Leslie Goonewardena, A.E.Goonesinha, George E. de Silva, D. M. Rajapakse, Siripala Samarakkody, Vernon Gunasekera, Handy Perimbanayagam, Mrs Satyawagiswara Iyer and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike.
A writ of Habeas Corpus was served and the case was called before a bench of three Supreme Court judges presided over by Chief Justice Sir Sidney Abrahams.
His interests included the history of Chinese scripts, the theories of Darwin, Leninism and Marxism, Roman glass, ornithology, farming, art and design.