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 A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

appointed to command all

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

units stationed in the island of

Ceylon 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 ...

during the British colonial administration of the island. The post was succeeded by the Commander of the Ceylon Army.

History

The post entitled the holder a seat in the

Executive Council of Ceylon The Executive Council of Ceylon was the Executive Council created in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon in March ...

and the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...

, advised the

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of ...

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 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 colony ...

if mobilized. However mobilization could be carried out only under orders from the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Following independence in 1948, the command was split. With the creation of the

Ceylon Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

, 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 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 ...

and had the

General's House, Nuwara Eliya General's House is a country house in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. It is the vacationing and country residence of Members of Parliament. Located within the limits of the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council along the Grand Hotel Drive, next to The Hill C ...

as a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

List of General Officers Commanding, Ceylon

References

External links

British Commanders
{{British Ceylon period topics Military personnel of the British Empire Senior appointments of the British Army British military commanders in chief

History

Official Residence

List of General Officers Commanding, Ceylon

See also

References

External links