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 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 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 and the Legislative Council of Ceylon, 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, 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 m ...

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.

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