The General's House is the

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

Commander of the Sri Lanka Army The Commander of the Army ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ යුද්ධ හමුදාපති, śrī laṁkāvē yuddha hamudāpati) is the title of the professional head of the Sri Lanka Army. The current Commander of the Army is ...

, located in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

History

The British Colonial Government of Ceylon constructed several Class “A” type quarters to house government officials along Bullers Road. These houses have a large drawing room, dining room, office room and four large bedrooms. These quarters are semi-detached, being divided by a hollow wall to prevent the passage of sound. Special attention have been given to ventilating the rooms, each house was provided with electric lights, fans, bells, modern sanitary fittings and was connected to the water-carriage system. One of these houses was used by the senior British Naval officer in Colombo, hence it was known as the “Captain’s House”. According to a letter dated 19 June 1947, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands temporarily handed over the dwelling, then known as the Captain's House, to the then Commander of the Ceylon Garrison Force.

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

James Roderick Sinclair, the Earl of Caithness, was appointed the first Commander of the Ceylon Army in 1949 and played a major role in establishing it as a regular army from the volunteer

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colon ...

till 1952. He and his wife Gabrielle, the Countess of Caithness and their children Lady Bridget, Lady Margaret and Malcolm settled in well at “Captain’s House” at Bullers Road. Later on

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Richard Udugama Major General Deshamanya Alexander Richard Udugama, MBE (11 November 1911 – 14 May 1995) was a Sri Lankan military leader, politician and diplomat. Former Army Commander (1964–1966), he was elected as Member of Parliament for Matale from ...

decided to change the name of the Commander of the Army's official residence at Bullers Road (now Bauddhaloka Mawatha) from “Captain’s House” to “General’s House”. From the time of the Earl of Caithness, this became the official residence of the Commander of the Army with a short interruption when the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

moved in there between Brigadier Sir Francis Reid’s departure in 1955 and Brigadier Muttukumaru’s return in January 1956.

Guard

A ceremonial guard is mounted at the gates of the house when the commander is present in Colombo during day time. Traditionally the guard is drawn from the commanders parent regiment.

External links

Columns - Political Column
Government buildings in Colombo Official residences in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Army bases British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka World War II sites in Sri Lanka Houses in Colombo {{SriLanka-struct-stub

History

Guard

See also

External links