General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Henry Renny (1815–1900) was a British Army officer who was the 24th

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 ...

. He was appointed General Officer Commanding, Ceylon in 1869 and succeeded by

John Alfred Street General John Alfred Street, CB (1822 – 5 December 1889) was a British Army officer who was the 25th General Officer Commanding, Ceylon. Early life Street was the second child and eldest of three sons of Captain John Street (1791-1829), of the ...

in 1874.

Career

Born 9 September 1815, Henry Renny was the second surviving son of Alexander Renny-Tailyour of Borrowfield and Elizabeth Bannerman Ramsay. He entered the army as Ensign in 1833. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1835, Captain in 1844, Lieutenant-Colonel in 1853, Colonel in 1854, Major-General in 1867, Lieutenant-General in 1874, and General in 1877. He commanded the 81st Regiment throughout

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. For this service and others performed by the 81st Regiment, he was made a Companion of the Star of India (C.S.I.), and the 1857 Medal. He commanded the 1st Brigade in the Sittana Expedition of May 1858, under Sir Sydney Cotton, obtaining medal with clasp. In 1875, he was given the colonelcy of the

35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881. History ...

, transferring in 1879 back to the

81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) The 81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot to form the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment in ...

until their amalgamation with the

47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

to form

The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire R ...

in 1881. He was then colonel of the 2nd Battalion of the Loyal North Lancs until his death. He was made full general on 1 October 1877. He married Eleanor Anne, third daughter of Robert Rickart Hepburn of Rickarton and had two sons and a daughter. He died in 1900.

References

, - , {{DEFAULTSORT:Renny, Henry 1815 births 1900 deaths British Army generals General Officers Commanding, Ceylon 81st Regiment of Foot officers Companions of the Order of the Star of India British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857