Gerald Boyd (British Army officer)

British Army general (1877–1930)

Sir Gerald Boyd

Born	(1877-11-19)19 November 1877 London, England
Died	12 April 1930(1930-04-12) (aged 52) London, England
Buried	Putney Vale Cemetery, London
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1895–1930
Rank	Major-General
Unit	Devonshire Regiment East Yorkshire Regiment
Commands	Staff College, Quetta Dublin District 46th (North Midland) Division 170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Brigade
Battles / wars	Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Knight 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

Educated at St Paul's School, 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, and promoted to lieutenant in that regiment on 26 April 1902. He was mentioned in despatches three times (including 25 April 1902), received the Queen's South Africa Medal, and was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his war service. 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. He went on to be Brigade Major for 11th Infantry Brigade in September 1912.

Boyd served in the First World War with the 11th Infantry Brigade as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He became a General Staff Officer with 1st Division and with the 6th Division before becoming a Brigadier-General on the General Staff of 5th Army Corps in France in 1916. 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, was made general officer commanding (GOC) of the 46th (North Midland) Division. He led the 46th Division when it successfully stormed the Hindenburg Line at Bellenglise during the Battle of St Quentin Canal.

After the war Boyd was made a Brigadier General on the General Staff at General Headquarters of British Army on the Rhine and then General Officer Commanding Dublin District in Ireland in 1920. He was appointed commandant of the Staff College, Quetta, in 1923 and Military Secretary in 1927. He died of cerebral spinal fever in 1930.

Family

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

References

^ "Boyd, Sir Gerald Farrell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
^ "Boyd, Sir Gerald Farrell". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
"No. 27474". The London Gazette. 16 September 1902. p. 5962.
"No. 27428". The London Gazette. 25 April 1902. p. 2766.
"No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6901.
"The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36957. London. 22 December 1902. p. 10.
"No. 28649". The London Gazette. 1 October 1912. p. 7193.
"No. 30949". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 October 1918. p. 12042.

Military offices
Preceded byWilliam Thwaites	GOC 46th (North Midland) Division 1918–1919	Succeeded bySir Reginald Hoskins
Preceded byL. R. Vaughan	Commandant of the Staff College, Quetta 1923–1927	Succeeded byC. A. C. Goodwin
Honorary titles
Preceded byFrancis Seymour Inglefield	Colonel of the East Yorkshire Regiment 1925–1930	Succeeded byHenry Haggard
Military offices
Preceded bySir David Campbell	Military Secretary 1927–1930	Succeeded bySir Sidney Clive

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