Owen Tudor Boyd
Owen Tudor Boyd | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 August 1889 London, England |
| Died | 5 August 1944 (aged 54) London, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army (1909–18)
 Mentioned in Despatches (2) |
Education and pre-war career
Born in
First World War
Boyd was promoted temporary Captain, Indian Army, to date from the 1 September 1915 in the London Gazette of 28 July 1916. From 25 April 1916, ge saw service in the First World War as a flying officer with the Royal Flying Corps. Later in 1916, he was a pilot on the Western Front with No. 27 Squadron; on 9 July, he was promoted to flight commander.[2] He was awarded the Military Cross in the London Gazette of 18 August 1916.
Boyd stayed on the Western Front and continued to earn promotion. On 26 October, he was made officer commanding of a squadron and on 19 January 1917, took command of No. 66 Squadron.[2]
In June 1917, he was moved to a
By 7 July 1918, Boyd was in Mesopotamia as officer commanding No. 72 Squadron.[2]
Inter-war years
From 18 January 1919, Boyd was an officer commanding and a staff officer (acting lieutenant colonel). On 1 August, he was awarded a permanent commission as a major. By 21 January 1920, he was a staff officer with the Mesopotamian Wing Headquarters. He was also involved as a staff officer with the Directorate of Operations and Intelligence.[2]
On 23 October 1922, Boyd was once again commanding a squadron, this time
On 26 February 1923, he was made the Commandant of the School of Army Co-operation. Starting 21 January 1926, he attended the
On 4 January 1930, Boyd became the deputy director of staff duties.[2]
On 7 August 1931, Boyd was the officer commanding, RAF Aden. By 16 April 1934, he was Secretary of State for Air for the Headquarters Fighting Area. By 24 October 1935, he was air officer commanding, Central Area.[2]
On 1 May 1936, Boyd was promoted to air commodore of No. 1 Group RAF. He was appointed director of personal services at the Air Ministry in December 1936.[2]
Second World War
In 1938, as an
On his way to Egypt, Boyd was to stop in Malta. However, the aircraft in which he and his staff were passengers was forced down over enemy-controlled Sicily by a group of Italian fighter aircraft. There was some concern over his capture as Boyd had had access to "Ultra" intelligence and was aware of the advantage being gained from the breaking of some German codes. This led to fears he could reveal these secrets.[4] One history book refers to "the reported circumstance is a navigation error and consequent fuel shortage" in the flight that led to Boyd's capture.[5]
After destroying his confidential papers by setting his own aircraft on fire, Boyd became a prisoner of war (POW). He spent much of the war in the Castle Vincigliata (Castello di Vincigliata) camp near Florence, Italy.[6]
When Italy capitulated in September 1943, Boyd and two British Army generals (
Of all of RAF Bomber Command's wartime group commanders, Boyd spent the shortest time in command of his appointed group. In late July 1944, he was divorced. Little more than a week later, on 5 August, he was dead from a heart attack.[2]
References
- ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation : Air Marshal O T Boyd". Retrieved 29 November 2008.
- ^ Indian Army List January 1915
- ^ Wilfrid Freeman: The Genius behind Allied Survival and Air Supremacy, 1939 to 1945 by Anthony Furse
- ^ Royal Air Force 1939–45 by Denis Richards; Vol. 1, Chap IX, p270
- ^ "Prize Catch". Time Magazine. 2 December 1940. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
- ^ "Lieutenant-Colonel Pat Spooner - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 10 November 2014.
External links
- Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal O T Boyd
- "Prize Catch". Time Magazine. 2 December 1940. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- "Generals Free". Time Magazine. 31 January 1944. Archived from the original on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
