Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir John David Luce, (23 January 1906 – 6 January 1971) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer. He fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

commander before taking part in the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...

and becoming Chief Staff Officer to the Naval Forces for the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

. He also commanded a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He served as

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

and Chief of the Naval Staff in the mid-1960s and in that role resigned from the Royal Navy along with Navy Minister

Christopher Mayhew Christopher Paget Mayhew, Baron Mayhew (12 June 1915 – 7 January 1997) was a British politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1950 and from 1951 to 1974, when he left the Labour Party to join the Liberals. In 1981 ...

in March 1966 in protest over the decision by the Labour

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...

, to cancel the

CVA-01 CVA-01 was a proposed United Kingdom aircraft carrier, designed during the 1960s. The ship was intended to be the first of a class that would replace all of the Royal Navy's carriers, most of which had been designed before or during the Second ...

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

programme.

Naval career

Born the son of Rear Admiral John Luce and Mary Dorothea Luce (née Tucker), Luce was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He joined the

as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

in 1919 and, having been promoted to

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on 15 January 1924, he went to sea in the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 30 January 1927, Luce trained as a

specialist in 1927 and was posted to the submarine in April 1928. Promoted to

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 ...

on 16 October 1928, he transferred to the submarine in October 1929. He joined the battleship in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

in December 1930 and became First Lieutenant in the submarine on the China Station in September 1933. Having attended the

Submarine Command Course The Submarine Command Course (SMCC), previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course (COQC), is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine. It is informally known as The Perisher. Created by the ...

in Summer 1935, he was given command of the submarine in August 1935. Promoted to lieutenant commander on 16 October 1936, he attended the Royal Naval Staff College in Spring 1937 and then became Staff Officer (Operations) for the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station in January 1938. He was given command of the submarine in December 1938 and the submarine in March 1939. HMS Swiftsure anchored

Luce served in the

, initially in command of the Rainbow and then, from June 1940, in command of the submarine . The hazardous patrols he undertook in these submarines led to him being awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) on 12 November 1940. Promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 31 December 1940, he was posted to the Plans Division of the Admiralty in March 1941 and then became Naval Raid planner on the staff of the Naval Adviser at

Combined Operations Headquarters Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during Second World War to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces. History The comm ...

. He took part in the

in August 1942 for which he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

on 2 October 1942 and was appointed Chief Staff Officer to the Naval Forces for the

in June 1944 as a result of which he won a Bar to his DSO on 14 November 1944. He went on to be Executive Officer of the

in the British Pacific Fleet in August 1944 and was promoted to

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 30 June 1945. After the war, Luce became Chief of Staff (Operations) to the Commander-in-Chief, British Pacific Fleet. He went on to be Commanding officer of Royal Naval Air Station Ford in September 1946 and became deputy director of Plans at the Admiralty in December 1948. After that he became Commanding Officer of the cruiser in 1951 and then commanded the cruiser in 1952 in coastal bombardment operations during the

for which 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 ...

on 19 May 1953. Luce became Director of the Royal Naval Staff College in March 1953 and was appointed Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 7 July 1954 before moving on to be Naval Secretary in August 1954. Promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 7 January 1955, he became Flag Officer, Flotillas for the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

in August 1956 and, having been appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the 1957 New Year Honours and promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 31 January 1958, he became Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland in July 1958. Advanced to Knight Commander of the

in the 1960

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, he became Commander-in-chief, Far East Fleet in April 1960 and, having received promotion to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on 22 August 1960, he became Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in the Far East and UK Military Adviser to the

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal insti ...

in November 1962. He was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

in the 1963 Birthday Honours. Luce became

and Chief of the Naval Staff in August 1963. He resigned from the

along with Navy Minister

on 15 March 1966 in protest over the decision by the Labour

, to cancel the

programme.

Later career

In retirement, Luce became President of the Royal Naval Association. He was appointed an Officer of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

on 3 January 1969. He died, less than five years after his resignation from the Navy, at Lansdown Nursing Home in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

on 6 January 1971.

Family

In 1935, Luce married Mary Adelaide Norah Whitham; they had two sons. His younger brother, Sir William, was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

(1956–1960). William's son, Richard Luce, Baron Luce, was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP (1971–1992),

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

(1997–2000) and

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(2000–2006).Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, David 1906 births 1971 deaths Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders Royal Navy personnel of the Korean War Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Grand Officers of the Order of Aviz Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Lords of the Admiralty Military personnel from Wiltshire