Edward Courtney Boyle
{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{other people|Edward Boyle}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Edward Courtney Boyle
|image= File:Edward Courtney Boyle aboard HMS E14 (cropped).jpg
|image_size=235px
|alt=
|caption= Commander Boyle aboard {{HMS|E14}}. Photo by Ernest Brooks
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1883|03|23|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Carlisle, Cumberland, England
|death_date= {{death date and age|1967|12|16|1883|03|23|df=yes}}
|death_place= Ascot, Berkshire, England
|placeofburial= Woking Crematorium, Surrey, England
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= Royal Navy
|serviceyears= 1897–1932
1939–1943
|rank= Rear Admiral
|unit=
|commands= Flag Officer-In-Charge, London (1939–42)
{{HMS|Iron Duke|1912|6}} (1929–31)
{{HMS|Carysfort|1914|6}} (1924–25)
{{HMS|Birmingham|1913|6}} (1923)
{{HMAS|Platypus|1917|6}} (1918–20)
{{HMS|J5}} (1916–18)
{{HMS|E14}} (1914–16)
{{HMS|D3}} (1914)
{{HMS|D2}} (1911–13)
{{HMS|C29}} (1910–11)
{{HMS|C4}} (c.1907–08)
|battles= First World War
Second World War
|awards= Victoria Cross
Mentioned in Despatches
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy)
Legion of Honour (France)
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
Rear Admiral Edward Courtney Boyle, VC (23 March 1883 – 16 December 1967) was a Royal Navy officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Early life
Edward Courtney Boyle, "one of the most distinguished submariners of his generation", was born on 23 March 1883 in Carlisle, then part of Cumberland, and educated at Cheltenham College.{{sfn|Snelling|2012|p=107}}
Naval career
Boyle joined the Royal Navy, and HMS Britannia, in 1897. He joined the submarine service in July 1904 when he was sent to the depot ship {{HMS|Thames|1885|6}}. He was soon promoted lieutenant and given command of one of the Holland-class submarines. He served in the surface fleet on {{HMS|Ocean|1898|6}} from November 1908 until January 1910 when he returned to submarines.{{cite journal |last1=Simner |first1=Mark |title=Edward Courtney Boyle |journal=History of War |date=November 2019 |page=68 }}
Boyle was 32 years old, and a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC, the citation was gazetted on 21 May 1915:
{{quote|Admiralty, 21st May, 1915.
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant-Commander Edward Courtney Boyle, Royal Navy, for the conspicuous act of bravery specified below:
For most conspicuous bravery, in command of Submarine E. 14, when he dived his vessel under the enemy minefields and entered the Sea of Marmora on the 27th April, 1915. In spite of great navigational difficulties from strong currents, of the continual neighbourhood of hostile patrols, and of the hourly danger of attack from the enemy, he continued to operate in the narrow waters of the Straits and succeeded in sinking two Turkish gunboats and one large military transport.{{London Gazette|date=3 August 1860|issue=29169 |page=4894}}}}
The large transport sunk by {{HMS|E14||2}} was the Gul Djemal, which was sunk in shallow waters with the loss of 2000 troops and a battery of artillery. Its sinking ended Ottoman attempts to reinforce Gallipoli by sea.Hough. The Great War at Sea: 1914–1918. page 484 In addition to Boyle's VC, Edward Geldard Stanley and Acting Lieutenant Reginald Wilfred Lawrence were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and all the ratings were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
Boyle made at least two more tours into the Sea of Marmara aboard E14 during the Gallipoli campaign.{{cn|date=May 2021}}
Personal life
Boyle married Marjorie Leigh in Marylebone, London in 1912.{{Cite web|url=http://rnsubs.co.uk/crew/vc-winners/boyle.html|title=Lieutenant Edward Courtney Boyle|last=Hillbeck|first=Ian|website=rnsubs.co.uk|access-date=2018-10-28}}
Later life
Boyle retired with the rank of rear admiral in 1932, but was recalled to serve in the Second World War. He served as Flag Officer-in-Charge, London, from 1939 to 1942.{{Cite web|url=https://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersB4a.html|title = Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945 -- B}}{{sfn|Snelling|2012|p=108}}
In December 1967 Boyle was knocked down by a lorry driver on a pedestrian crossing and died of his injuries. For the last few years before his death he had resided at the Station Hotel in Sunningdale, near to Sunningdale Golf Club, where he golfed several times a week.{{sfn|Snelling|2012|p=109}} The collision occurred a hundred yards from his hotel whilst he was crossing the A30.{{cn|date=May 2021}}
His VC is displayed at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, Hampshire.{{sfn|Snelling|2012|p=109}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Snelling|first=Stephen|title=Gallipoli|series=VCs of the First World War|orig-date=1995|year=2012|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0752456539}}
- {{cite book|last=Hough|first=Richard|title=The Great War at Sea: 1914–1918|year=2001|publisher=Birlinn|isbn=1841580538|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/greatwaratsea00houg}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Edward Courtney}}
Category:Military personnel from Carlisle, Cumbria
Category:British Gallipoli campaign recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Royal Navy rear admirals
Category:Royal Navy submarine commanders
Category:People educated at Cheltenham College
Category:People from Carlisle, Cumbria
Category:Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Royal Navy officers of World War I
Category:Royal Navy admirals of World War II
Category:Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Category:Pedestrian road incident deaths