In World War I, Richard Lucas served as a 2nd lieutenant in 1915 in the Royal Artillery. When he studied at Oxford, he won the silver medal with the Leander eights at the 1920 Olympics, coming within half-a-length of winning. In 1921, Lucas rowed for Oxford when they lost the Boat Race. Five times, he won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley and twice (1920, 1922) the Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup together with Guy O. Nickalls. With his wife, Lucas later recovered abandoned boats, one of which was a yacht which they eventually used as a houseboat. Lucas died of a heart attack on his dinghy during a sailing trip.