David Luce

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Royal Navy Admiral (1906–1971)

title: "David Luce" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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"] description: "Royal Navy Admiral (1906–1971)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Luce" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Royal Navy Admiral (1906–1971) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]

FieldValue
honorific_prefixAdmiral
nameSir David Luce
honorific_suffix
imageDluce.jpg
image_size150px
captionAdmiral Sir David Luce
birth_date
birth_placeMalmesbury, Wiltshire
death_date
death_placeBath, Somerset
allegianceUnited Kingdom
branchRoyal Navy
serviceyears1919–1966
rankAdmiral
commandsFirst Sea Lord (1963–1966)
Far East Fleet (1960–1962)
Scotland and Northern Ireland (1958–1959)
Flotillas for the Home Fleet (1956–1958)
(1952–1953)
(1951–1952)
RNAS Ford (1946–1949)
(1940–1941)
(1939–1940)
(1938–1939)
(1935–1936)
battlesSecond World War
awardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order & Bar
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches
Grand Officer of the Order of Aviz (Portugal)
Order of the Two Rivers, Third Class (Iraq)
relationsRear Admiral John Luce (father)
Sir William Luce (brother)
::

| honorific_prefix = Admiral | name = Sir David Luce | honorific_suffix = | image = Dluce.jpg | image_size = 150px | alt = | caption = Admiral Sir David Luce | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = Malmesbury, Wiltshire | death_date = | death_place = Bath, Somerset | placeofburial = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = Royal Navy | serviceyears = 1919–1966 | rank = Admiral | unit = | commands = First Sea Lord (1963–1966) Far East Fleet (1960–1962) Scotland and Northern Ireland (1958–1959) Flotillas for the Home Fleet (1956–1958) (1952–1953) (1951–1952) RNAS Ford (1946–1949) (1940–1941) (1939–1940) (1938–1939) (1935–1936) | battles = Second World War

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 Royal Navy as a cadet in 1919 and, having been promoted to midshipman on 15 January 1924, he went to sea in the battleship .

Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 30 January 1927, Luce trained as a submarine specialist in 1927 and was posted to the submarine in April 1928. he transferred to the submarine in October 1929. 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.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/HMS_Swiftsure_anchored.jpg" caption="6}} in which Luce served as Executive Officer during the Second World War"] ::

Luce served in the Second World War, initially in command of the Rainbow and then, from June 1940, in command of the submarine . Promoted to commander 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. and was appointed Chief Staff Officer to the Naval Forces for the Normandy landings 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 cruiser in the British Pacific Fleet in August 1944 and was promoted to captain on 30 June 1945.

After the war, Luce became Chief of Staff (Operations) to the Commander-in-Chief, British Pacific Fleet.

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. he became Flag Officer, Flotillas for the Home Fleet in August 1956 and, having been appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1957 New Year Honours and promoted to vice admiral on 31 January 1958, he became Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland in July 1958. he became Commander-in-chief, Far East Fleet in April 1960 and, having received promotion to full admiral 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 in November 1962.

Luce became First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in August 1963. in protest over the decision by the Labour Secretary of State for Defence, Denis Healey, to cancel the CVA-01 aircraft carrier programme.

Later career

In retirement, Luce became President of the Royal Naval Association. He died, less than five years after his resignation from the Navy, at Lansdown Nursing Home in Bath, Somerset on 6 January 1971.

Family

In 1935, Luce married Mary Adelaide Norah Whitham; they had two sons.

References

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References

  1. "Portuguese Honorary Orders". President of Portugal.
  2. (2004). "Admiral Sir David Luce".
  3. "Admiral Sir David Luce". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives.
  4. "Sir David Luce". Unit Histories.
  5. {{London Gazette. (1 November 1927)
  6. Promoted to [[lieutenant]] on 16 October 1928,{{London Gazette. (6 November 1928)
  7. {{London Gazette. (10 November 1944)
  8. {{London Gazette. (17 July 1945)
  9. {{London Gazette. (16 July 1954)
  10. {{London Gazette. (28 December 1956)
  11. {{London Gazette. (9 May 1958)
  12. {{London Gazette. (4 October 1960)
  13. "The promised two new aircraft carriers".

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1906-births1971-deathsgraduates-of-the-royal-naval-college,-greenwichfirst-sea-lords-and-chiefs-of-the-naval-staffroyal-navy-admiralsroyal-navy-officers-of-world-war-iiroyal-navy-submarine-commandersroyal-navy-personnel-of-the-korean-warknights-grand-cross-of-the-order-of-the-bathofficers-of-the-order-of-the-british-empiregrand-officers-of-the-order-of-avizcompanions-of-the-distinguished-service-orderlords-of-the-admiraltymilitary-personnel-from-wiltshire