"We have pleasure in announcing that Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas, K.C.M.G., K.C.B., has accepted the Presidency of the Association for 1920, and will deliver his Presidentiaî Address on " Islands, Peninsulas and Empires " on Friday evening, January 9th, at the Day Training College, Southampton Row, London, W.C.1.
Details will be announced shortly, and the meetings will be spread over January 9 and 10. Sir Charles Lucas is well known, both as a Colonial Administrator and as a student of Historical Geography.
He presided over the Geographical Section of the British Association at Adelaide in 1914, and his work for the Royal Colonial Institute during the War has strengthened that valuable organisation in many ways. His chief writings are the History of Canada."
Lucas was born in Brecon, Wales. He was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford.
Lucas was called to the bar, in Lincoln's Inn, on 30 April 1885. He became a civil servant in the Colonial Office which led to his becoming head of the Dominion Department and, in 1907, to his knighthood.
He is one of a number of GA Presidents who came to the role following a distinguished career in Law or the Civil Service, or a Colonial administrator. Those years are perhaps gone now, and the 21st Century has moved more towards those with a closer connection to teacher education or academic geography.
His Presidential Address was on the theme of 'Islands, Peninsulas and Empires', and he also published other articles on the parts of the world which he knew the best. This was also a time when Presidential addresses sometimes focussed on particular parts of the world in detail - the era of the "expert" - Michael Gove would have hated it.
In his address, he discussed the significance of islands and peninsulas in geopolitics. He ended by saying "Perhaps air power may supersede both land and sea power."
In the same year, he produced a piece on 'The Place Names of Empire', which had been read at the Colonial Institute in April 1917.
He was thanked for his work in an issue of 'The Geographical Teacher', which he helped to produce.
His Obituary was published in the Times in 1931, outlining his work in a number of locations around the world, but not saying much about his time as President.
He was serving on the GA's Council until his death, so remained actively involved with the GA.
He is described as a Civil Servant and Historian.
He wrote about the Colonies.
References
Announcement in 'The Geographical Teacher': H.J.F. “[Editorial].” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 3, 1919, pp. 77–79. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555739.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Prestwood_Lucas
I have amended the entry to add his GA Presidential role, as I have with all the Presidents who have Wikipedia pages.
Presidential Address: Lucas, Charles P. “Islands, Peninsulas and Empires.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 4, 1920, pp. 126–130. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555032.
“SIR CHARLES PRESTWOOD LUCAS, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.” Geography, vol. 16, no. 2, 1931, pp. 153–153. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40557915.
Obituary in the Times:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Times/1931/Obituary/Charles_Prestwood_Lucas
Image credit: National Portrait Gallery
CC Attribution:
Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 11 August 1920
NPG x75124© National Portrait Gallery, London
References
Announcement in 'The Geographical Teacher': H.J.F. “[Editorial].” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 3, 1919, pp. 77–79. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555739.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Prestwood_Lucas
I have amended the entry to add his GA Presidential role, as I have with all the Presidents who have Wikipedia pages.
Presidential Address: Lucas, Charles P. “Islands, Peninsulas and Empires.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 4, 1920, pp. 126–130. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555032.
“SIR CHARLES PRESTWOOD LUCAS, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.” Geography, vol. 16, no. 2, 1931, pp. 153–153. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40557915.
Obituary in the Times:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Times/1931/Obituary/Charles_Prestwood_Lucas
Image credit: National Portrait Gallery
CC Attribution:
Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 11 August 1920
NPG x75124© National Portrait Gallery, London
He wrote a History of Canada.
If anyone knows any further information about Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas please get in touch to help expand this entry as it is rather brief and I couldn't find much about what he did while President.New #ebook @gutenberg_org: A history of Canada 1763-1812 by Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas https://t.co/7ta4g56Y5I
— Project Gutenberg (@gutenberg_new) June 17, 2022
Update March 2023
Updated August 2023
He lived from 1853-1931.
Given the importance of decolonising the curriculum currently, it's also interesting that Prestwood Lucas wrote about the history of Jamaica as a colony, including this section on the Maroons.
Article in Scottish Geographical Magazine
Sir Charles P. Lucas K.C.B. K.C.M.G. (1914) Man as a geographical agency, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 30:9, 449-467, DOI: 10.1080/14702541408541564
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