General Officer Commanding, Ceylon
General Officer Commanding, Ceylon (also known as Commander of Troops or Officer Commanding His/Her Majesties Troops, Ceylon) was the designation of the General Officer appointed to command all British Army units stationed in the island of Ceylon during the British colonial administration of the island.[1] The post was succeeded by the Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force.
History[]
The post entitled the holder a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon and advised the Governor of Ceylon on military matters.
Apart from British Army units that were deployed for garrison duty in the island, the officer held command over the Ceylon Defence Force if mobilized. However mobilization could be carried out only under orders from the Governor.
Following independence in 1948, the command was split. With the creation of the Ceylon Army, it head had was referred to as the Commander of the Ceylon Army and the British troops in Ceylon came under the command of the Commander, Ceylon Garrison and UK troops in Ceylon until the withdrawal of British troops from the island.
Official Residence[]
The GOC Ceylon was entitled to a Class A Quarters issued to government officers for the use of his official residence in Colombo and had the General's House, Nuwara Eliya as a country house.
List of General Officers Commanding, Ceylon[]
No. | Portrait | Rank | Name | Appointment | Left office | Unit | Decorations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Colonel | James Stuart | 1796 | ||||
2 | Major general | Welbore Ellis Doyle | 1 January 1797 | ||||
3 | Colonel | Peter Bonnevaux | 30 June 1797 | ||||
4 | Brigadier general | Pierre Frédéric de Meuron | 12 July 1797 | ||||
5 | Colonel | Josiah Champagné | February 1799 | ||||
6 | Major general | Hay MacDowall | 19 July 1799 | ||||
7 | Major general | David Douglas Wemyss | 1804 | ||||
8 | Major general | Sir Thomas Maitland | 1805 | 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot | GCB, GCH | ||
9 | Major general | John Wilson | 1811 | ||||
10 | Lieutenant general | Sir Robert Brownrigg | 1812 | 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot | GCB | ||
11 | Major general | Alexander Cosby Jackson | 1812 | 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot | |||
12 | Major general | Sir Edward Barnes | 1820 | 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot | GCB | ||
13 | Major general | Sir James Campbell | 22 July 1822 | ||||
14 | Major general | Sir Hudson Lowe | 1826 | GCMG, KCB | |||
15 | Major general | Sir John Wilson | 14 October 1831 | ||||
16 | Major general | Sir Robert Arbuthnot | 1839 | 76th Regiment of Foot | KCB | ||
17 | Lieutenant general | Sir Colin Campbell | 16 April 1841 | 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot | KCB | ||
18 | Major general | William Smelt | 28 January 1847 | CB | |||
19 | Major general | Philip Bainbrigge | 23 May 1852 | CB | |||
20 | Major general | Thomas Reed | 13 September 1854 | CB | |||
21 | Major general | Henry Frederick Lockyer | 1856 | 1860 | CB, KH | ||
22 | Major general | Terence O'Brien | 1860 | 1865 | |||
23 | Major general | Studholme John Hodson | 1865 | 1869 | 54th Regiment of Foot | ||
24 | Major general | Henry Renny | 1869 | 1874 | 81st Regiment of Foot | CSI | |
25 | Major general | John Alfred Street | 1874 | 1879 | 68th Regiment of Foot | CB | |
26 | Major general | William Wilby | 1879 | 1882 | King's Own Royal Regiment | CB | |
27 | Major general | Sir John Chetham McLeod | 1882 | 1887 | 42nd Regiment of Foot | KCB | |
28 | Major general | W. O. Lennox | 1887 | 1888 | Royal Engineers | VC, CB | |
29 | Major general | W. G. Dunham | 1888 | 1893 | CB | ||
30 | Major general | W. Clive-Justice | 1893 | 1897 | CMG | ||
31 | Major general | F. T. Hobson | 1897 | 1902 | |||
32 | Major general | Sir Hector MacDonald | 1902 | 1903 | 92nd Gordon Highlanders | KCB, DSO | |
33 | Brigadier general | G. L. C. Money | 1903 | 1905 | CB | ||
34 | Brigadier general | R .C. B. Lawrence | 1905 | 1909 | |||
35 | Brigadier general | A. J. Whitacre Allen | 1909 | 1913 | CB | ||
36 | Brigadier general | H. H. L. Malcolm | 1913 | 1915 | Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders | CB, DSO | |
37 | Brigadier general | F. Hackett-Thompson | 1915 | 1918 | CB | ||
38 | Brigadier general | F. A. MacFarlane | 1918 | 1920 | CB | ||
39 | Colonel commandant | Clifford Coffin | 1920 | 1924 | Royal Engineers | VC, CB, DSO & Bar | |
40 | Colonel commandant | Harold Higginson | 1924 | 1927 | Royal Dublin Fusiliers | CB, DSO & Bar | |
41 | Brigadier | A. C. Girdwood | 1927 | 1931 | CB, DSO | ||
42 | Brigadier | E. F. Shewell | 1931 | 1934 | DSO | ||
43 | Brigadier | C. A. Lyon | 1934 | 1937 | DSO | ||
44 | Brigadier (local rank) | J. O. Thurburn[2] | 1937 | 1941 | Royal Artillery | MC | |
45 | Major general | Tim Inskip | 1941 | 1942 | 13th Frontier Force Rifles | CB, CIE, DSO, MC | |
46 | Lieutenant general | Sir Henry Royds Pownall[3] | 1942 | 1943 | Royal Artillery | KBE, DSO & Bar, MC | |
47 | Major general | Sir Francis Ivan Simms Tucker[4] | March 1944 | September 1944 | Royal Sussex Regiment, 2nd Gurkha Rifles | KCIE, CB, DSO, OBE |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "British Commanders". Ceylondatabase.net. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ "THE LONDON GAZETTE, 30 JULY, 1937" (PDF). thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : POWNALL, Lt Gen Sir Henry Royds (1887-1961)". kingscollections.org. Kings College London. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Officers of the Indian Army 1939-1945 -- T". www.unithistories.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
External links[]
- General Officer Commanding, Ceylon
- Military personnel of the British Empire
- Senior appointments of the British Army