Major-General Cuthbert Henry Tindall Lucas, (1 March 1879 – 7 April 1956) was a British Army officer who commanded the 4th Division during the final months of World War I, and also served in the Second Boer War and the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

, during which he was captured by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Early life

Lucas was born in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

, Hertfordshire, on 1 March 1879. He later attended

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Military career

Lucas was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into 2nd Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment, on 7 May 1898.Cuthbert Lucas
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served with the battalion in South Africa during the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902, taking part in operations in the Orange Free State from February to July 1900, in Transvaal from July to November 1900, and later in Cape Colony south of Orange River. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 August 1900, while in South Africa.Hart's Army list, 1903 After the end of the war in June 1902, Lucas and the rest of the 2nd battalion was sent to Egypt, where they arrived on the SS ''Dominion'' in November 1902. He later served in the Egyptian Army and Sudan Civil Service. He served in World War I with the British Expeditionary Force and fought at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915 where he was promoted to command the 87th Brigade of the 29th Division. He led the brigade during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

and into 1917 before becoming Commandant of the Machine Gun Corps Training Centre in 1918. He was appointed General Officer Commanding 4th Division in October 1918 during the closing stages of the War. On 30 June 1919, Lucas was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. He was made Commander of 17th Infantry Brigade in Ireland, and of Fermoy Barracks, on 30 October 1919, and on 26 June 1920, during the

, he was captured by the IRA while he was fishing on the Munster Blackwater near Fermoy along with Colonels Tyrell and Danford. After Danford was wounded during an unsuccessful attempt to escape from a moving car the same day, the volunteers freed Tyrell to attend to Danford's wounds. Both Colonels were subsequently taken to a military hospital at Fermoy. General Lucas was subsequently held in West Limerick and East

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. A letter from his wife, announcing the birth of their child, and addressed simply "to the IRA", was delivered to him and his captors allowed a subsequent exchange of letters between the couple. His letters home remain in the possession of his descendants and were shown on an episode of the BBC Television programme '' Antiques Roadshow''. The IRA moved him to East Limerick from where Lucas escaped four weeks later. It is believed his captors purposely relaxed the guard to allow him to escape rather than be faced with the possibility of executing him. While being transferred from Pallas RIC barracks to Tipperary military barracks in a routine army patrol they were ambushed and Lucas received a slight injury. In 2014 Barbara Scully, a granddaughter of one of the IRA volunteers involved, George Power, published his recollections to his family of the kidnap in the Irish Times. This brought a friendly reply from General Lucas' granddaughter, Ruth Wheeler, in which she stated that General Lucas risked a court martial for stating that during his kidnap and time in captivity he was treated as “a gentleman by gentlemen” and was held by “delightful people". Ireland's Defence Forces have published online Bureau of Military History witness statements by the IRA volunteers involved in the kidnap, as well as those who guarded General Lucas while he was held as a prisoner of war. In 2020 Lucas' granddaughter, Ruth Wheeler, and other members of the Lucas family published the letters he wrote and received while in captivity online. Limerick Councillor Emmett O'Brien and other local people in March 2019 announced an intent to re-enact the capture, imprisonment, and release of General Lucas on the anniversary in 2020. Lucas became Assistant Adjutant General at

Aldershot Command Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in 1924 and served with the staff at General Headquarters, British Army of the Rhine from 1927 before he retired to

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

in 1932. He died on 7 April 1956 and is buried in Graveley, Hertfordshire.

Family

He married Joan Holdsworth in October 1917, who died on 6 September 1979 and is also buried in Graveley, Hertfordshire.

References

External links

Letters from Captivity, family website with General Lucas' letters and other information on his time as a prisoner of war of the IRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Cuthbert 1879 births 1958 deaths Burials in Hertfordshire British Army generals of World War I Royal Berkshire Regiment officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel of the Irish War of Independence Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire People educated at Marlborough College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Military personnel from Hertfordshire British Army major generals