Gerald Boyd (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Major-General
Sir Gerald Farrell Boyd KCB
CMG
DSO
DCM
(19 November 1877 - 12 April 1930) was a senior British Army
officer who went on to be Military Secretary.
before he was commissioned into the East Yorkshire Regiment
in 1900. He went on to be Brigade Major for 11th Infantry Brigade in 1912.
He served in World War I
with 11th Infantry Brigade as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He became a General Staff Officer with 1st Division and with 6th Division before becoming a Brigadier-General on the General Staff
of 5th Army Corps in France
in 1916. He was made Commander
170th Infantry Brigade in France in July 1918 and General Officer Commanding
46th (North Midland) Infantry Division in September 1918. He led the 46th Division when it successfully stormed the Hindenburg Line
at Bellenglise
.
After the War he 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.
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Sir Gerald Farrell Boyd KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
DCM
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...
(19 November 1877 - 12 April 1930) was a senior British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer who went on to be Military Secretary.
Military career
Educated at St Paul's School, Boyd enlisted into the Devonshire Regiment in 1895 and fought in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
before he was commissioned into the East Yorkshire Regiment
East Yorkshire Regiment
The East Yorkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment , becoming The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of...
in 1900. He went on to be Brigade Major for 11th Infantry Brigade in 1912.
He served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
with 11th Infantry Brigade as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He became a General Staff Officer with 1st Division and with 6th Division before becoming a Brigadier-General on the General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
of 5th Army Corps in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1916. He was made Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
170th Infantry Brigade in France in July 1918 and General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
46th (North Midland) Infantry Division in September 1918. He led the 46th Division when it successfully stormed the Hindenburg Line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
at Bellenglise
Bellenglise
Bellenglise is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Geography:The village lies close to the N44, in a loop of the St Quentin Canal, nine kilometres north of St. Quentin.-History:...
.
After the War he was made a Brigadier General on the General Staff at General Headquarters of British Army on the Rhine and then General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
Dublin District in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1920. He was appointed Commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
of the Staff College, Quetta
Command and Staff College
The Command and Staff College was established in 1907 at Quetta, Balochistan, British Raj, now in Pakistan, and is the oldest and the most prestigious institution of the Pakistan Army. It was established in 1905 in Deolali and moved to its present location at Quetta in 1907 under the name of Quetta...
in 1923 and Military Secretary in 1927. He died of cerebral spinal fever in 1930.