Major-General Charles Camac Luard, CB, CMG (14 September 1867 – 28 June 1947) was Commander of British Troops in South China.

Military career

Fourth in a line of British army officers, and born the son of

Richard Luard Lieutenant-General Richard George Amherst Luard (29 July 1827 – 24 July 1891) was a British Army officer who became General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada. Military career Born the eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Luard ...

and educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

, Luard was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

on 2 September 1885.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served as an Assistant Superintendent of Army Signalling in the

Zhob Zhob (; ), formerly known as Fort Sandeman is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It lies 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital ...

Field Force in 1890, and was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 13 February 1895. In late December 1901 he was placed in command of the Burma Mounted Infantry serving in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, with the local rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

whilst in command. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

(dated 8 April 1902) and received a brevet promotion as major in the South African Honours list published on 26 June 1902. Following the end of the war, he left South Africa on the , which arrived at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in October 1902. He later served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

commanding a Brigade in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

followed by 9th Infantry Brigade and was then deployed as part of the

Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force The Mesopotamian campaign or Mesopotamian front () was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the British Empire, with troops from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, Australia and the vast major ...

and then the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

. After the war he again became a Brigade Commander in India and moved on to be Commander of British Troops in South China in 1925: he retired in 1929.

Cricket

He was a keen

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and played for the

Europeans cricket team The Europeans cricket team was an Indian first-class cricket team which took part in the annual Bombay Tournament and Lahore Tournament. The team was founded by members of the European community in Bombay who played cricket at the Bombay Gymkh ...

and

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in India, playing four

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

in the 1892/3 and 1898/9 seasons.

Memory

Luard Road Luard Road () is a north–south running street in the Wan Chai District of Hong Kong. It runs from Gloucester Road to the north, to Johnston Road to the south. It passes by Southorn Playground to the east of the road. The street was named af ...

Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luard, Charles Camac 1867 births 1947 deaths Luard family People educated at Clifton College Durham Light Infantry officers British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath British Army major generals Military personnel from East Sussex Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George English cricketers Europeans cricketers Mumbai cricketers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People from Herstmonceux British expatriates in China