Major General Sir Richard Harman Luce, (13 July 1867 – 21 February 1952) was a British surgeon,

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and politician. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he served as the Director of Medical Services of 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 ...

. He was elected MP for

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in 1924. Luce was for many years the senior surgeon and later the consulting surgeon to the

Derbyshire Royal Infirmary The Derbyshire Royal Infirmary was a hospital in Derby that opened in 1810. It was managed by the Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Following the transfer of community services to the London Road Community Hospital located further ...

. He was 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 ...

, from where he went to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, gaining a first class honours in

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

. As a student at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he qualified in 1893. He later made his home in Derby.

Life and career

Luce was born at Halcombe,

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

, the second son of Colonel Charles Richard Luce and Mary Visger, daughter of Harmon Visger.Luce, Richard Harman
lib.cam.ac.uk He was the elder brother of Rear Admiral John Luce. Luce was appointed surgeon-lieutenant in the 1st Volunteer Battalion the Sherwood Foresters, (Derbyshire Regiment), 27 October 1897. While in the Territorial Force Reserve, Army Medical Service, he was appointed to the Honorary Colonelcy of the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

of the Territorial Force in the North Midland Territorial Division, 5 November 1913. Luce served in the

in Egypt, Gallipoli and Palestine, 1914–19 as Assistant Director, Deputy Director and Director of Medical Services and, in 1918–1919, he was made a major general, becoming Director of Medical Services in the

. His war service was illustrious, being

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 ...

and he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

on 3 June 1916, a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

in 1918 and was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1919. At the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, Luce built up a reputation as an operating

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, where he was active in promoting plans for new building work. He was also a surgeon to the

Derbyshire Children's Hospital Derbyshire Children's Hospital is a children's hospital in Derby, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. It was the only entirely new children's hospital built in th ...

, as well as Ripley and Wirksworth cottage hospitals. In 1924, Luce was elected as a Unionist MP for his adopted town of

. He was Mayor of Romsey, 1935–37. He wrote books about Malmesbury Abbey and Romsey Abbey. He also published a Paper (RAMC/2031) in the ''Journal of the

'', 1936–1937, on "War experiences of a Territorial Medical Officer (ADMS, 2nd Mounted Division, Egypt, 1915–1919)" with photographs. Luce retired to

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

, where he died in February 1952, and was buried in the churchyard of

Romsey Abbey Romsey Abbey is the name currently given to a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was the church of a Benedictine Order, Benedictine nunnery. The surv ...

.Major General Richard Harman Luce Memorial, Malmesbury Abbey
flickr.com He was described in his obituary as being a man who had "exceptional energy and enthusiasm but was always courteous, modest and kindly in demeanour".
thisisderbyshire.co.uk. 9 March 2011 Luce's great-great-niece is actress and comedian

Miranda Hart Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won three Royal Television Society awards, four British Comedy Awards, and four BAFTA nominations for her self-driven semi-autobiographical ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Richard Harman 1867 births 1952 deaths Military personnel from Wiltshire 19th-century British Army personnel Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1924–1929 Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge People educated at Clifton College 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century British surgeons British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Mayors of places in Hampshire 20th-century mayors of places in the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Royal Army Medical Corps officers Sherwood Foresters officers British Army regimental surgeons British Army major generals Burials at Romsey Abbey