Charles Edward Ducat Pennycuick CMG (15 October 1844 - 23 January 1902) was the

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the Mayor (and head) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Mayor is assisted by the Deputy Mayor and a ...

(1893-1895), the Postmaster General of Ceylon and Director of Telegraphs (1896-1899) and the

Treasurer of Ceylon The Financial Secretary of Ceylon was an officer of the Ceylonese Government and member of the Board of Ministers. The Treasurer of Ceylon was one of six offices that held a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon from 1809 to 1932. The post wa ...

(1899-1901). Charles Edward Ducat Pennycuick was born in Poona, India on 15 January 1844, the youngest son of Brigadier John Pennycuick, who died during the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...

at the Battle of Chillianwala in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

and Sarah Farrell (1805-1878). He joined the Ceylon Civil Service and in 1878 was appointed acting District Judge, Police Magistrate and Coroner in

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

. The following year as the District Judge and Police Magistrate at

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

. He was elected as Mayor of Colombo in October 1893, serving until April 1895. He was subsequently appointed Postmaster General of Ceylon in 1896 and he finished his career as Treasurer of Ceylon. In the 1901 King's Birthday Honours he was awarded a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his services as Treasurer. Pennycruick married Clementina Woodhead (1852-1925) on 22 February 1881 at St. Nicholas' Church, Brighton, Sussex. They had two children, Agnes Helen (1887-1948) and James Alexander Charles (1890-1966). Their son, James, gained the rank of Colonel in the Royal Engineers, fought in Malay during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

. His elder brother, Colonel John Pennycuick, was a British Army engineer and civil servant, who also served as a member of the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was init ...

. As an engineer in the Public Works Department, he was responsible for the construction of the

Mullaperiyar Dam Mullaperiyar Dam , is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala It is located above the sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, India. It was constructed b ...

across the

Periyar River Periyar, , (meaning: ''big river'') is the longest river and the river with the largest discharge potential in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns. ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Pennecuick’s main claim to fame appears to be that, as Mayor, he considered objectionable the killing of stray dogs by drowning them in

Beira Lake Beira Lake (/bˈɐjɾɐ/; Sinhalese: බේරේ වැව, translit. ''Bērē væva''; Tami: பேரே ஏரி, translit. ''Pērē ēri'') is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large ...

, so in 1894 he ordered the construction of a gas chamber for the purpose.

References

External links

Sri Lanka Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennycuick, Charles Edward Ducat 1844 births 1902 deaths Postmasters General of Sri Lanka Mayors of Colombo Treasurers of Ceylon People from Pune British people in colonial India