Denis Boyd
{{Short description|Royal Navy Admiral (1891–1965)}}
{{distinguish|Dennis Boyd (disambiguation){{!}}Dennis Boyd}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix = Admiral
|name= Sir Denis Boyd
|honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|CBE|DSC}}
|image= Rear Admiral Boyd WWII IWM A 20056.jpg
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption= Rear Admiral Boyd at his desk as Fifth Sea Lord
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1891|03|06|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Manchester, England
|death_date= {{death date and age|1965|01|21|1891|03|06|df=yes}}
|death_place=
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= Royal Navy
|serviceyears= 1906–1949
|rank= Admiral
|unit=
|commands= Far East Fleet (1946–49)
Eastern Fleet Aircraft Carriers (1942)
Mediterranean Aircraft Carriers (1941)
{{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} (1941)
{{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} (1938–39)
2nd Destroyer Flotilla (1936–37)
{{HMS|Hardy|H87|6}} (1936–37)
{{HMS|Valentine|L69|6}} (1932)
|battles= World War I
World War II
|awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Cross
Mentioned in Despatches
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
Sir Denis William Boyd (6 March 1891 – 21 January 1965) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Fifth Sea Lord from 1943 to 1945, and as Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet from 1946 to 1949.
Naval career
=Early career=
Boyd joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1906 and was commissioned in 1910. After serving as Torpedo Officer in {{HMS|Fearless|1912|6}} during World War I,[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersB4a.html Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945] he set off on a journey around the world aboard {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} in 1922. He returned in 1923 and was then attached to the Royal Australian Navy from 1926. He was appointed Fleet Torpedo Officer in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1928 and, while serving with the Naval Equipment Department, he was promoted to captain in 1931. He was briefly Commanding Officer of the destroyer {{HMS|Valentine|L69|6}} in 1932, before joining the Tactical Division of the naval Staff in 1933 and becoming its Director in 1934.
Boyd became Commanding Officer of {{HMS|Hardy|H87|6}} and Captain (D) of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla at Malta in 1936; a post that included responsibility for patrols off Spain during the Spanish Civil War.[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/BOYD2.shtml Sir Denis William Boyd] Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He was then made commanding officer of the Torpedo School {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} in 1938, serving there until the outbreak of World War II.
=World War II=
During the Second World War, Boyd captained the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} from 1940, seeing action at the Battle of Taranto. Promoted to rear admiral in August 1941, he became admiral commanding aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Fleet. He moved to the Eastern Fleet in 1942 as admiral commanding aircraft carriers with {{HMS|Indomitable|92|6}} as his flagship. He was appointed Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Equipment in 1943, and was promoted to vice admiral in August 1944. He then became Admiral (Air) at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) in January 1945.
=Post-war service=
Boyd became Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Fleet in 1946.{{Cite web |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/micheal.overton/History%203.htm |title=HMS London's War Service |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929092551/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/micheal.overton/History%203.htm |archive-date=29 September 2009 |url-status=dead }} He was promoted to admiral in 1948 and retired in 1949.
Later life
In retirement, Boyd became Principal of Ashridge College. He died, aged 73, on 21 January 1965.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=Fifth Sea Lord | before=Vacant
(Last held by Sir Lumley Lyster) | after=Sir Thomas Troubridge | years=1943–1945}}
|-
{{succession box | title=Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet | before=Sir Bruce Fraser | after=Sir Patrick Brind | years=1946–1949}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Denis}}
Category:Royal Navy admirals of World War II
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
Category:Lords of the Admiralty
Category:Admiralty personnel of World War II