Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force

Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force was the title of the head of the Ceylon Defence Force.[1] The post was created in 1888, replacing the position of General Officer Commanding, Ceylon, and existed until 1949.

## List of Commanders

[edit]

No.  | Portrait  | Rank  | Name  | Appointment  | Left office  | Unit  | Decorations

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Ceylon Volunteers (1888-1896)
1 |  | Lieutenant colonel | Francis Coningsby Hannam Clarke | 20 April 1888 | 27 August 1893 | Royal Artillery | CMG, psc, FRGS, FRCI, CLIV
2 |  | Lieutenant colonel | Henry Byrde | 28 August 1893 | 13 May 1896 | 57th Regiment of Foot | CLIV
Ceylon Volunteers Force (1896-1913)
3 |  | Colonel | A. F. C. Vincent | 13 May 1896 | 1902 | Scottish Rifles | CMG
|  | Major | H. G. Morris | 1902 | 1902 | Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry |
3 |  | Colonel | A. F. C. Vincent | 1902 | 14 March 1913 | Scottish Rifles | CMG
|  | Lieutenant colonel | Gorden Fraser | 14 March 1913 | 13 May 1913 |  | VD, CLI
3 |  | Colonel | A. F. C. Vincent | 13 May 1913 | 31 May 1913 | Scottish Rifles | CMG
Ceylon Defence Force (1913-1946)
4 |  | Brigadier general | R. B. Fell | 1 June 1913 | 6 March 1914 | Scottish Rifles | CB
|  | Lieutenant colonel | W. G. B. Dickson | 6 March 1914 | ? |  | CMR
|  | Honorary Lieutenant colonel | Edward James Hayward | 7 October 1914 | ? |  | CBE, VD, CAV
4 |  | Brigadier general | R. B. Fell | ? | 31 December 1919 | Scottish Rifles | CB
|  | Lieutenant colonel | Thomas Howard Chapman | 1 January 1920 | 21 July 1920 |  | OBE, VD
5 |  | Brigadier general | F. M. G. Rowley | 22 July 1920 | 8 February 1927 |  | CB, CMG, DSO
6 |  | Colonel | Albion Earnest Andrews | 9 February 1927 | 14 December 1928 | Hampshire Regiment | OBE
|  | Lieutenant colonel | G. B. Stevens | 14 December 1928 | 28 April 1929 | Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps | VD
7 |  | Colonel | Edward Bromfield Ferrers | 29 April 1929 | 3 March 1935 | Black Watch | DSO
8 |  | Colonel | Robert Burton Leslie | 3 March 1935 | 12 May 1937 | Royal Lincolnshire Regiment | MC
9 |  | Colonel | Gordon Calthrop Thorne | 13 May 1937 | 5 February 1939 | Royal Norfolk Regiment |
10 |  | Colonel | Reginald Strelley Moresby White | 6 February 1939 | 1 January 1942 | Leicestershire Regiment | OBE
11 |  | Colonel | T. G. Watson | 1 January 1942 | 1945 | 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars |
12 |  | Colonel | R. A. McGeorge | 1945 | 1946 | The Rifle Brigade |
Ceylon Defence Force & Ceylon Volunteers Force (1946-1949)
|  | Colonel | Randolph Jewell Francis Mendis | 6 April 1946 | 7 August 1949 |  | OBE, ED, BA

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Commandants". ceylondatabase.net. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Commandants Archived 2014-03-22 at the Wayback Machine

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Commanders of the Ceylon Defence Force

* 1 Clarke
* 2 Byrde
* 3 Vincent
* Morris
* 3 Vincent
* Fraser
* 3 Vincent
* 4 Fell
* Dickson
* Hayward
* 4 Fell
* Chapman
* 5 Rowley
* 6 Andrews
* Stevens
* 7 Ferrers
* 8 Lesley
* 9 Thorne
* 10 White
* 11 Watson
* 12 McGeorge
* Mendis

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