David Luce

John David Luce
Admiral Sir David Luce Crown Copyright
Born	23 January 1906(1906-01-23) Malmesbury, Wiltshire
Died	6 January 1971(1971-01-06) (aged 64)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1919 - 1966
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Liverpool HMS Birmingham Flotillas for the Home Fleet Scotland and Northern Ireland Far East Fleet
Battles/wars	World War II Dieppe Raid Invasion of Normandy Korean War Cold War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath; Distinguished Service Order & Bar; Officer of the Order of the British Empire; Mention in Despatches; Grand Officer of the Order of Aviz ; Order of Al-Rafidhain, Third Class (Iraq)

Admiral Sir John David Luce GCB, DSO & Bar, OBE (23 January 1906 – 6 January 1971) was First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy. He was the son of Admiral John Luce.

Naval career

David Luce joined the Royal Navy in 1919 and chose to become a submariner.

He commanded the submarines HMS H44 during 1936, HMS Rainbow from 1939 to 1940 and HMS Cachalot from 1940 to 1941.

In 1942 he took part in the Dieppe Raid for which he won an OBE and in 1944 he was appointed Chief Staff Officer to the Naval Forces for the D-Day landings where he won a bar to his DSO.

He was appointed Deputy Director of Plans at the Admiralty in 1948. He then went on the command the cruisers HMS Liverpool and HMS Birmingham from 1951 and 1952 respectively and then became Naval Secretary in 1954. In 1956 he was appointed Flag Officer, Flotillas for the Home Fleet and in 1958 went on to become Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In 1960 he was appointed Commander-in-chief, Far East Fleet and then served as First Sea Lord from 1963 to 1966 when he resigned from the Royal Navy along with Navy Minister Christopher Mayhew 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 he became President of the Royal Naval Association.

References

Military offices
Preceded by Richard Onslow	Naval Secretary 1954–1956	Succeeded by Alastair Ewing
Preceded by Sir John Cuthbert	Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland 1958–1959	Succeeded by Sir Royston Wright
Preceded by Sir Gerald Gladstone	Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet 1960–1962	Succeeded by Sir Desmond Dreyer
Preceded by Sir Caspar John	First Sea Lord 1963–1966	Succeeded by Sir Varyl Begg