Francis Duncan CB (1836 – 16 November 1888) was a

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

officer, lawyer, historian and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1885 to 1888.

Life

Duncan was born in Scotland, the son of John Duncan and his wife Helen. He was educated at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

(honours MA) and entered the

in 1855. He went to Canada, where he was awarded Honorary DCL from King's College in 1861. In 1864 he became a captain and in 1874 a major, receiving an Honorary LLD from the University of Aberdeen in the same year. He was an instructor at the School of Gunnery ( Royal Military Academy, Woolwich) from 1877 to 1882, becoming lieutenant-colonel in 1881, and received an Honorary DCL from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

in 1882. While at Woolwich, Duncan, together with Surgeon-Major Peter Shepherd, a fellow graduate of Aberdeen, established the concept of teaching first aid skills to civilians. Duncan was a deeply religious man with high humanitarian values, who strongly supported the principle of battlefield ambulance transport. He was employed with the Egyptian Army from 1883 to 1885 (3rd Class Osmanleh) and became a colonel in 1885. He was author of several works relating to military history. At the 1885 general election, Duncan was elected as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

. He was re-elected in the 1886 general election, but died in office in 1888. Most of his 59 interventions recorded in ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...

'' concerned military matters. Duncan married Mary K. Cogswell from

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. One of the original

Woolwich Free Ferry The Woolwich Ferry is a free vehicle and pedestrian ferry across the River Thames in East London, connecting Woolwich on the south bank with North Woolwich on the north. It is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of ...

vessels was named after him.

Publications

*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery'' 1872, John Murray (London)Open Library
/ref> *''The English in Spain or the Story of the War of Succession Between 1834 and 1840'' *''A Description of the Island of St. Helena: Containing Observations on Its Singular Structure''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Francis 1836 births 1888 deaths Royal Artillery officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People from Aberdeenshire