The Times/1914/Obituary/Reginald Jaffray Lucas

We announce with much regret the death which occurred in London on Saturday, of Mr. Reginald Lucas. Mr. Lucas was known to the public as for some time a member of the House of Commons, and as author of various books which gave him some claim to the title of historian. In private life the loss of his interesting and amiable personality will create a painful void, for he was a man of many friends.

Reginald Jaffray Lucas, second son of Sir T. Lucas and brother of Sir Arthur Lucas, was born in 1865 and educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. At Eton he was in the cricket XI. and was a fine player. Her served in the 3rd Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, from which he retired with the rank of Captain and proceeded to devote himself energetically to politics, doing duty as Private Secretary to the two Unionist Chief Whips, to the then Mr. Akers-Douglas from 1886 yo 1892, and to Sir W. H. Walrond from 1895 till the Dissolution in 1900, when he was returned as Conservative member for Portsmouth, a seat which he held till 1906. On certain questions Mr. Reginald Lucas was not in entire accord with his party and he did not seek re-election.

Turning his attention to literature, he contributed articles on various social subjects to journals, periodicals, and reviews, and wrote novels, the best known of which is probably "Felix Dorreen," a work which was appreciated by those for whom it was written, but which scarcely made a bid for extended popularity. Perhaps "George II. and his Ministers" may be described as Mr. Lucas's principal achievement. He was a diligent and conscientious worker, sparing no pains, and his researches were rewarded by the discovery of facts which threw fresh light on interesting episodes. Another book which received the commendation it merited was "Colonel Saunderson, M.P.: A Memoir." The Ulster leader evoked Mr, Lucas's warm sympathy and it was to him a labour of love to do justice to his hero.

"Another Point of View" gratified the author's admirers, and last year he produced a volume which occasioned no little discussion, "The Measure of One's Thoughts," put in the shape of letters addressed by the eldest son of a peer to his old tutor at Eton. The object of the work was to give the author's views on men ad things, serious and simple from impressions awakened by Mr. Arthur Balfour's "The Foundations of Belief," life and death, to condemnation of what the author—or one of his personages—regards as the disgusting habit of eating soup at lunch. Mr. Lucas's own lunch was a extremely frugal repast; for years he suffered from indigestion and declared that at ties a sardine would give him a painful feeling of repletion. But he was everywhere a welcome guest, and his appearance at one of his clubs was always a source of gratification. A man's clubs usually form an index to his taste. He was a member of the Carlton as a matter of course; but he belonged also to the Bachelors', to the Beefsteak (which he visited whenever possible), and though he was rarely seen on a racecourse, and seldom talked of racing affairs, was also a member of the Turf. At the tie of his death Mr. Lucas was engaged on another memoir, that of a friend, the late Lord Onslow, ex-Governor of New Zealand, a holder of Cabinet rank and for some years Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords. Lord Onslow left letters and diaries which provided material for what promised to be a book of considerable interest, but unfortunately little progress had been made with it.