# General Officer Commanding, Ceylon

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Commander of the British Army in Ceylon until World War II

**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](/source/General_Officer) appointed to command all [British Army](/source/British_Army) units stationed in the island of [Ceylon](/source/British_Ceylon) during the British colonial administration of the island.[1]

## History

The post entitled the holder a seat in the [Executive Council of Ceylon](/source/Executive_Council_of_Ceylon) and the [Legislative Council of Ceylon](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Ceylon), advised the [Governor of Ceylon](/source/British_governors_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](/source/Ceylon_Defence_Force) if mobilized. However mobilization could be carried out only under orders from the [Governor](/source/British_governors_of_Ceylon).

Following independence in 1948, the command was split. With the creation of the [Ceylon Army](/source/Ceylon_Army), it head had was referred to as the [Commander of the Ceylon Army](/source/Commander_of_the_Army_(Sri_Lanka)) 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](/source/Colombo) and had the [General's House, Nuwara Eliya](/source/General's_House%2C_Nuwara_Eliya) as a [country house](/source/Country_house).

## List of General Officers Commanding, Ceylon

Portrait Rank Name Appointment Left office Unit Captain Patrick Alexander Agnew 31 August 1795 1 March 1796 Madras European Regiment Major-General James Stuart 1 March 1796 1 January 1797 78th Regiment of Foot Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle 1 January 1797 2 July 1797 14th Regiment of Foot Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Bonnevaux 2 July 1797 12 July 1797 10th Madras Native Infantry Major-General Pierre Frédéric de Meuron 12 July 1797 12 October 1798 Regiment de Meuron Colonel Josiah Champagné 14 March 1799 22 July 1799 80th Regiment of Foot Colonel Hay MacDowall 22 July 1799 March 1804 78th Regiment of Foot Major-General David Douglas Wemyss March 1804 19 July 1805 18th Regiment of Foot Major-General Thomas Maitland 19 July 1805 19 March 1811 62nd Regiment of Foot Major-General John Wilson 19 March 1811 11 March 1812 5th Garrison Battalion General Sir Robert Brownrigg 11 March 1812 1 February 1820 Major general Edward Barnes 1820 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot Major general James Campbell 22 July 1822 94th Regiment of Foot Major general Hudson Lowe 1826 50th Foot Major general John Wilson 14 October 1831 28th Foot Major general Robert Arbuthnot 1839 76th Regiment of Foot Lieutenant general Colin Campbell 16 April 1841 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot Major general William Smelt 28 January 1847 103rd Regiment of Foot Major general Philip Bainbrigge 23 May 1852 7th Regiment of Foot Major general Thomas Reed 13 September 1854 12th Light Dragoons Major general Henry Frederick Lockyer 1856 1860 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot Major general Terence O'Brien 1860 1865 Major general Studholme John Hodgson 1865 1869 54th Regiment of Foot Major general Henry Renny 1869 1874 81st Regiment of Foot Major general John Alfred Street 1874 1879 68th Regiment of Foot Major general William Wilby 1879 1882 King's Own Royal Regiment Major general John Chetham McLeod 1882 1887 42nd Regiment of Foot Major general Wilbraham Lennox 1887 1888 Royal Engineers Major general William Massy 1888 1893 19th Regiment of Foot Major general W. Clive-Justice 1893 1897 75th Regiment of Foot Major general F. T. Hobson 1897 1902 Major general Hector MacDonald 1902 1903 92nd Gordon Highlanders Brigadier general G. L. C. Money 1903 1905 Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Brigadier general R .C. B. Lawrence 1905 1909 1st King's Dragoon Guards Brigadier general A. J. Whitacre Allen 1909 1913 The Buffs Brigadier general Henry Huntly Leith Malcolm 1913 1915 Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Brigadier general F. Hackett-Thompson 1915 1918 Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Brigadier general F. A. MacFarlane 1918 1920 Colonel commandant Clifford Coffin 1920 1924 Royal Engineers Colonel commandant Harold Higginson 1924 1927 Royal Dublin Fusiliers Brigadier Austin Claude Girdwood 1927 1931 Northumberland Fusiliers Brigadier E. F. Shewell 1931 1934 Royal Artillery Brigadier C. A. Lyon 1934 1937 Royal Artillery Brigadier (local rank) J. O. Thurburn[2] 1937 1941 Royal Artillery Major general Tim Inskip 1941 1942 13th Frontier Force Rifles Lieutenant general Henry Pownall[3] 1942 1943 Royal Artillery Major general Francis Tuker[4] March 1944 September 1944 Royal Sussex Regiment, 2nd Gurkha Rifles

## See also

- [Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force](/source/Commander_of_the_Ceylon_Defence_Force)

- [Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon](/source/Commander-in-Chief%2C_Ceylon)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-British_Commanders_1-0)** ["British Commanders"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140322002146/http://ceylondatabase.net/military.html). Ceylondatabase.net. Archived from [the original](http://ceylondatabase.net/military.html) on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["THE LONDON GAZETTE, 30 JULY, 1937"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34422/page/4881/data.pdf) (PDF). *thegazette.co.uk*. Retrieved 1 September 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : POWNALL, Lt Gen Sir Henry Royds (1887-1961)"](https://kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/p/po90-001). *kingscollections.org*. King's College London. Retrieved 17 March 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Officers of the Indian Army 1939-1945 -- T"](https://www.unithistories.com/officers/IndianArmy_officers_T01.html). *www.unithistories.com*. Retrieved 17 March 2020.

## External links

- [British Commanders](http://ceylondatabase.net/military.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140322002146/http://ceylondatabase.net/military.html) 22 March 2014 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

v t e General Officer Commanding, Ceylon Stuart Doyle Bonnevaux de Meuron Champagné MacDowall Wemyss Maitland Wilson Brownrigg Jackson Barnes Campbell Lowe Wilson Arbuthnot Campbell Smelt Bainbrigge Reed Lockyer O'Brien Hodson Renny Street Wilby McLeod Lennox Massy Clive-Justice Hobson MacDonald Money Lawrence Allen Malcolm Hackett-Thompson MacFarlane Coffin Higginson Girdwood Shewell Lyon Thurburn Inskip Pownall Tuker

v t e ← British Ceylon period topics → British Ceylon 1815–1948 Background Outline Bibliography Timeline Years Kandyan period Kingdom of Kandy History Late Kandyan period (1795–1815) Invasion of Ceylon (1795) Kandyan–British wars (1803–1818) First Kandyan war (1803–1805) Second Kandyan war (1815) Post-Kandyan period (1815–1833) Kandyan Convention (1815) Sri Lankan independence movement (1815–1948) Great Rebellion of 1817–1818 (Third Kandyan war) Colebrooke–Cameron Reforms era (1833–1927) Colebrooke–Cameron Commission (1833) Buddhist revival (1840s) Parama Dhamma Chethiya Maha Pirivena (1841) Vidyodaya Pirivena (1873) The Great Debate of Panadura (1873) Vidyalankara Pirivena (1875) Maha Bodhi Society (1891) Crown Lands Ordinance (1840) Matale rebellion (1848) Temperance movement (1895) Waste Lands Ordinance (1897) Women's suffrage movement (1900s) Ceylon Women's Union (1904) Women's Franchise Union (1927) 1906 malaria outbreak 1915 Ceylonese riots 1918–1919 Ceylonese food riots Donoughmore Reforms era (1927–1948) Donoughmore Commission (1927) Land Settlement Ordinance (1931) Suriya-Mal Movement (1933–1939) Dry Zone Settlements (1930s–) 1934-35 malaria outbreak Land Development Ordinance (1935) Ceylon in World War II (1939–1945) Cocos Islands mutiny (1942) South East Asia Command (1943–1946) Hela Havula (1941) Kannangara education reforms (1939–1947) Soulbury Commission (1943) State Lands Ordinance (1947) Government Law Donoughmore Constitution (1931) Soulbury Constitution (1947) Executive Governor-General Ceylon Civil Service Executive Council List Governor Colonial Secretary Attorney General Colonial Auditor Treasurer General Officer Commanding, Ceylon Board of Ministers List Governor Chief Secretary Legal Secretary Financial Secretary Legislature Legislative Council of Ceylon (1833–1931) State Council of Ceylon (1931–1947) Parliament of Ceylon (1947–1972) Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice Justices Attorney General Solicitor General Military Ceylon Defence Force Commanders British Military in Ceylon Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon (Unified) General Officer Commanding, Ceylon (Army) Administrative divisions Capital city Provinces Kandyan Provinces Maritime Provinces Districts Government Agent Politics Treaty of Amiens Kandyan Convention Ceylon National Congress Native headmen system Sri Lankan nationalism Women's suffrage Youth Leagues Jaffna Youth Congress Economy Currency Board of Commissioners of Currency of Ceylon Rupee British pound Indian rupee Plantation industry Cinnamon Cocoa Coconut Coffee Rubber Tea production Labour Indian Ocean slave trade Indian indenture system Kangani system Society Culture Destruction of cultural heritage Architecture British buildings Place names English Scottish Music Sinhalese porcupine quill boxes Social class Related peoples British Indian Moors Indian Tamils Malays Languages Sri Lankan English Sri Lankan Creole Malay Sinhala words of English origin Religion Protestantism Church of Ceylon Bishop of Colombo Methodist Church in Sri Lanka American Ceylon Mission Batticotta Seminary Wesleyan Methodist Mission, North Ceylon Lanka Lutheran Church The Pentecostal Mission Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sri Lanka Bible translations into Sinhala Other Kandyan peasantry Schools Maldivian Annual Tribute Ceylonese recipients of British titles Military awards and decorations Monarchy of Ceylon (1948–1972) Statue of Queen Victoria, Teldeniya Category Portal WikiProject

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