Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

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

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and politician. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as the Director of Medical Services of the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning of ...

. He was elected MP for

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

in 1924. Luce was for many years the senior surgeon and later the consulting surgeon to the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. He was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

, from where he went to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, gaining a first class honours in

natural science Natural 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 review and repeatab ...

. As a student at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital 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 King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 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 up ...

, 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) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

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, MiD) 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 ...

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 caregive ...

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 IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

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 IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

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

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, 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 t ...

, 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 historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

, 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 and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...

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 English medical doctors 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 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