William Luard

Admiral Sir William Garnham Luard, R.N., K.C.B. was a leading British naval figure during the latter half of the 19th century. Born in 1820, he was the eldest son of William Wright Luard J.P., D.L. of Witham Lodge, Witham, Essex (formerly of Hatfield Priory) and Anne Garnham, only child of Thomas Garnham of Felsham Hall, Suffolk. The Luards were a prominent family of Huguenot merchants who had fled to England in the late 17th century following the Edict of Nantes.

Luard entered the Royal Naval College at the age of 13 and later studied at Portsmouth Naval College. He served extensively and saw action in the South China Sea, for which he was recognized in dispatches and decorated for gallantry and bravery several times including being named Commander of the Bath (C.B).

After a distinguished career as a naval officer, including as captain and commander of HMS Formidable and HMS Conqueror(formerly HMS Waterloo (1833), he served as superintendent of the Sheerness dockyard and the Malta dockyard. From 1882 to 1885, he was President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

He was awarded the Burmese War Medal for dispersing the pirates of Chin-a-poo and received the Medal of the Legion of Honour, 4th Class, from Emporer Napoleon III. He was named Rear Admiral in 1875, Vice-Admiral in 1879 and Admiral in 1885.

Luard was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897, during her diamond jubilee year. The Luard Islands off the coast of Papua, New Guinea near Port Moresby were named after him.

Luard married Charlotte Du Cane in 1858. She was from another prominent Essex family of merchants and politicians having distinguished Huguenot descent, the Du Canes (formerly known as 'Du Quesne') of Braxted Park . Luard retired to his estate in Essex where he served as a Justice of the Peace and as an active member of the court of Quarter Sessions. He died in 1910 as a result of injuries sustained in a carriage accident.