[1] He joined the Ceylon Civil Service and in 1878 was appointed acting District Judge, Police Magistrate and Coroner in Kurunegala.
Their son, James, gained the rank of Colonel in the Royal Engineers, fought in Malay during the Second World War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
His elder brother, Colonel John Pennycuick, was a British Army engineer and civil servant, who also served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council.
As an engineer in the Public Works Department, he was responsible for the construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River in Kerala.
Pennecuick’s main claim to fame appears to be that, as Mayor, he considered objectionable the killing of stray dogs by drowning them in Beira Lake, so in 1894 he ordered the construction of a gas chamber for the purpose.