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Gerald Boyd (British Army officer)

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Sir Gerald Boyd
Born(1877-11-19)19 November 1877
London, England
Died12 April 1930(1930-04-12) (aged 52)
London, England
Buried
Putney Vale Cemetery, London
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1895–1930
RankMajor-General
UnitDevonshire Regiment
East Yorkshire Regiment
CommandsStaff College, Quetta
Dublin District
46th (North Midland) Division
170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Brigade
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Conduct Medal
Mentioned in Despatches

Major-General Sir Gerald Farrell Boyd, KCB, CMG, DSO, DCM (19 November 1877 – 12 April 1930) was a senior British Army officer who served as Military Secretary from 1927 to 1930.

Military career

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Educated at St Paul's School,[1] Boyd enlisted into the Devonshire Regiment in 1895. He fought in the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, and took part in the Relief of Ladysmith, including the actions at Colenso; and in the operations in Orange River Colony, including the action at Wittebergen. During the war, he was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment in May 1900,[2] and promoted to lieutenant in that regiment on 26 April 1902.[3] He was mentioned in despatches three times (including 25 April 1902),[4] received the Queen's South Africa Medal, and was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his war service.[5] The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, and he returned home on the SS Orotava in December 1902, when they were stationed at Aldershot.[6]

He went on to be brigade major of the 4th Division's 11th Infantry Brigade in September 1912.[2][7]

Boyd served in the First World War, which began in the summer of 1914, with the 11th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which was sent to the Western Front.[2] In February 1915 he became a general staff officer, grade 2 (GSO2) of the 1st Division,[8] and was promoted in March to major, when he transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment[9] and was advanced to the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel, "for distinguished service in the field", that same month.[10] In July he took over the position of general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1) of the 6th Division, in succession to Lieutenant Colonel John Shea.[11] In June 1916 he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and served as a brigadier general, general staff (BGGS) of V Corps.[12] He was promoted to brevet colonel in January 1917.[13] He was made commander of the 170th Infantry Brigade in France in July 1918 and, after being promoted to the temporary rank of major general in September,[14] was made general officer commanding (GOC) of the 46th (North Midland) Division.[2] He led the 46th Division when it successfully stormed the Hindenburg Line at Bellenglise during the Battle of St Quentin Canal.[1]

After the war Boyd was made a brigadier general on the general staff at general headquarters of British Army on the Rhine and then, after being promoted to substantive major general in June 1919,[15] GOC Dublin District in Ireland in 1920.[2] He was appointed commandant of the Staff College, Quetta, in 1923 and, after being appointed colonel of the East Yorkshire Regiment in December 1925,[16] and then military secretary in 1927.[2]

He died of cerebral spinal fever in 1930, at the age of 52.[1]

Family

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In 1913 Boyd married Grace Sophia Burdett and they went on to have two sons.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Boyd, Sir Gerald Farrell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Boyd, Sir Gerald Farrell". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. ^ "No. 27474". The London Gazette. 16 September 1902. p. 5962.
  4. ^ "No. 27428". The London Gazette. 25 April 1902. p. 2766.
  5. ^ "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6901.
  6. ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36957. London. 22 December 1902. p. 10.
  7. ^ "No. 28649". The London Gazette. 1 October 1912. p. 7193.
  8. ^ "No. 29107". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 March 1915. p. 2820.
  9. ^ "No. 29146". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 April 1915. p. 4147.
  10. ^ "No. 29152". The London Gazette. 4 May 1915. p. 4264.
  11. ^ "No. 29263". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 August 1915. p. 8105.
  12. ^ "No. 29675". The London Gazette. 21 July 1916. p. 7223.
  13. ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 15.
  14. ^ "No. 30949". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 October 1918. p. 12042.
  15. ^ "No. 31395". The London Gazette. 6 June 1919. p. 7421.
  16. ^ "No. 33131". The London Gazette. 9 February 1926. p. 984.

Further reading

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Military offices
Preceded by GOC 46th (North Midland) Division
1918–1919 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
L. R. Vaughan
 Commandant of the Staff College, Quetta
1923–1927 		Succeeded by
C. A. C. Goodwin
Honorary titles
Preceded by Colonel of the East Yorkshire Regiment
1925–1930 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Military Secretary
1927–1930 		Succeeded by
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