# 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.

## History

The post entitled the holder a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon and the Legislative Council of Ceylon, 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

| Rank | Name | Appointment | Left office | Unit | Decorations |
| 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 | GCH |
| 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 | GCB, GCMG, GCH, PC |
| Major-General | John Wilson | 19 March 1811 | 11 March 1812 | 5th Garrison Battalion | |
| General | Sir Robert Brownrigg | 11 March 1812 | 1 February 1820 | Coldstream Guards | GCB |
| Major general | Edward Barnes | 1820 | | 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot | GCB |
| Major general | James Campbell | 22 July 1822 | | 94th Regiment of Foot | |
| Major general | Hudson Lowe | 1826 | | 50th Foot | GCMG, KCB |
| Major general | John Wilson | 14 October 1831 | | 28th Foot | |
| Major general | Robert Arbuthnot | 1839 | | 76th Regiment of Foot | KCB |
| Lieutenant general | Colin Campbell | 16 April 1841 | | 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot | KCB |
| Major general | William Smelt | 28 January 1847 | | 103rd Regiment of Foot | CB |
| Major general | Philip Bainbrigge | 23 May 1852 | | 7th Regiment of Foot | CB |
| Major general | Thomas Reed | 13 September 1854 | | 12th Light Dragoons | CB |
| Major general | Henry Frederick Lockyer | 1856 | 1860 | 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot | CB, KH |
| 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 | CSI |
| Major general | John Alfred Street | 1874 | 1879 | 68th Regiment of Foot | CB |
| Major general | William Wilby | 1879 | 1882 | King's Own Royal Regiment | CB |
| Major general | John Chetham McLeod | 1882 | 1887 | 42nd Regiment of Foot | KCB |
| Major general | Wilbraham Lennox | 1887 | 1888 | Royal Engineers | VC, CB |
| Major general | William Massy | 1888 | 1893 | 19th Regiment of Foot | CB |
| Major general | W. Clive-Justice | 1893 | 1897 | 75th Regiment of Foot | CMG |
| Major general | F. T. Hobson | 1897 | 1902 | | |
| Major general | Hector MacDonald | 1902 | 1903 | 92nd Gordon Highlanders | KCB, DSO |
| Brigadier general | G. L. C. Money | 1903 | 1905 | Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders | CB, DSO |
| Brigadier general | R .C. B. Lawrence | 1905 | 1909 | 1st King's Dragoon Guards | |
| Brigadier general | A. J. Whitacre Allen | 1909 | 1913 | The Buffs | CB |
| Brigadier general | Henry Huntly Leith Malcolm | 1913 | 1915 | Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders | CB, DSO |
| Brigadier general | F. Hackett-Thompson | 1915 | 1918 | Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders | CB |
| Brigadier general | F. A. MacFarlane | 1918 | 1920 | | CB |
| Colonel commandant | Clifford Coffin | 1920 | 1924 | Royal Engineers | VC, CB, DSO & Bar |
| Colonel commandant | Harold Higginson | 1924 | 1927 | Royal Dublin Fusiliers | CB, DSO & Bar |
| Brigadier | Austin Claude Girdwood | 1927 | 1931 | Northumberland Fusiliers | CB, CMG, DSO & Bar |
| Brigadier | E. F. Shewell | 1931 | 1934 | Royal Artillery | CMG, DSO |
| Brigadier | C. A. Lyon | 1934 | 1937 | Royal Artillery | DSO |
| Brigadier (local rank) | J. O. Thurburn | 1937 | 1941 | Royal Artillery | MC |
| Major general | Tim Inskip | 1941 | 1942 | 13th Frontier Force Rifles | CB, CIE, DSO, MC |
| Lieutenant general | Henry Pownall | 1942 | 1943 | Royal Artillery | KBE, DSO & Bar, MC |
| Major general | Francis Tuker | March 1944 | September 1944 | Royal Sussex Regiment, 2nd Gurkha Rifles | KCIE, CB, DSO, OBE |