Admiral John Luce, (4 February 1870 – 22 September 1932) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy during and after the First World War. He played a significant role in the early development of British naval aviation and held command during the Battle of Coronel and the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Early and family life John Luce was born on 4 February 1870 at Halcombe, Malmesbury, in the English county of Wiltshire. In 1902, he married Mary Dorothea Tucker; and they had three children. The eldest, Alfred, born on 6 November 1903, also joined the Navy and was executive officer of during the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck. He died in a training exercise on 20 October 1941. Alfred had two daughters. Sir David Luce, born on 23 January 1906, joined the Navy and served as First Sea Lord from 1963 to 1966. Sir William Luce was born the following year and in later life became the Governor of Aden from 1956 to 1960. His great-granddaughter is comedian and actress Miranda Hart. Naval career Luce joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet in January 1883. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1892. From 25 January 1900 he was in command of the training brig , based at Portsmouth. He was with this ship when she took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII. In June 1909, Luce was promoted to captain and from October 1910 to January 1912 he was the captain of the battleship . In September 1912, Luce took command of , a light cruiser. and was still in command at the start of the First World War. In November 1914, he took part in the Battle of Coronel in the South Atlantic. During the battle, Glasgow together with the cruisers and engaged the German East Asia Cruiser Squadron, including the new cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau. The German light cruisers had only guns, which had left Glasgow relatively unscathed, but these were now joined by the 8.2-inch guns of Gneisenau. Luce determined that nothing was to be gained by staying and attempting to fight. It was noticed that each time he fired, the flash of his guns was used by the Germans to aim a new salvo, so he also ceased firing. One compartment