[2] He was seconded from his regiment in order to attend the Staff College, Camberley from January 1913 onwards[6] and was still there upon the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914.

He was promoted once again to temporary brigadier general in October[9] and to brevet lieutenant colonel[10] and led the brigade during the Battle of the Somme in 1916[11] and into 1917 before becoming commandant of the Machine Gun Corps Training Centre in 1918.

His letters home remain in the possession of his descendants and were shown on an episode of the BBC Television programme Antiques Roadshow.

[20][21] In 2014 Barbara Scully, a granddaughter of one of the IRA volunteers involved, George Power, published his recollections to his family of the kidnap in the Irish Times.

[23] Ireland's Defence Forces have published online Bureau of Military History witness statements by the IRA volunteers involved in the kidnap, as well as those who guarded General Lucas while he was held as a prisoner of war.

[25] Limerick Councillor Emmett O'Brien and other local people in March 2019 announced an intent to re-enact the capture, imprisonment, and release of General Lucas on the anniversary in 2020.