Owen Tudor Boyd

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Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd CB, OBE, MC, AFC (born 30 August 1889; died 5 August 1944) was an officer in the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during most of World War I and the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the end of World War I, the interwar period, and World War II.

1 Education and pre-war
2 World War I
3 Interwar years
4 World War II
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Education and pre-war

Boyd was educated at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On 20 January 1909, he was appointed to a commission on the unattached list before entering the Indian Army in the same year. Boyd was an officer with the Indian Army's 5th Cavalry.

[edit] World War I

From 25 April 1916, Boyd saw service in World War I as a flying officer with the RFC. Later in 1916, he was a pilot on the Western Front with No. 27 Squadron and, on 9 July, Boyd was promoted to Flight Commander.

Boyd stayed on the Western Front and continued to earn promotion. On 26 October, he was made Officer Commanding of a squadron. On 19 January 1917, he was made Officer Commanding of No. 66 Squadron.

In June 1917, Boyd was promoted to Staff Officer and, on 2 December, he was made a Staff Officer, 2nd Class, RFC (Captain - graded as Brigade Major).

By 7 July 1918, Boyd was in Mesopotamia as Officer Commanding of No. 72 Squadron.

[edit] Interwar years

After the war, on 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, Boyd was a Staff Officer with the Mesopotamian Wing Headquarters. He was also involved as a Staff Officer with the Directorate of Operations and Intelligence

On 23 October 1922, Boyd was once again an Officer Commanding of a squadron. This time he commanded No. 24 Squadron.

On 26 February 1923, Boyd was made the Commandant of the School of Army Co-operation. Starting 21 January 1926, he attended the Army Staff College, Camberley. By 21 January 1928, Boyd was directing staff at the Army Staff College, Camberley.

On 4 January 1930, Boyd became the Deputy Director of Staff Duties.

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. And by 24 October 1935, Boyd was Air Officer Commanding, Central Area.

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.

[edit] World War II

In 1938, as Air Vice-Marshal, Boyd became Commander-in-Chief RAF Balloon Command. On 1 December 1940, he was replaced by Air Marshal Sir Leslie Gossage at RAF Balloon Command. Boyd was then promoted to Air Marshal and appointed Deputy to the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Middle East.

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 fighters. After destroying his confidential papers by setting his own aircraft on fire, Boyd became a prisoner of war. He spent much of the war in the Castello di Vincigliata camp near Florence, Italy. ^[1]

When Italy capitulated in September 1943, Boyd and two British Army generals (Philip Neame and Richard O'Connor, both captured in North Africa in 1941) made use of the general confusion and escaped from their Italian captors. After some time in the Italian countryside, all three men successfully reached Allied lines. ^[2]

Of all of RAF Bomber Command's wartime group commanders, Boyd spent the shortest time in command of his appointed group. His life was cut tragically short at the age of fifty-four, six months into his appointment as Air Officer Commanding of 93 (Operational Training Unit) Group.

Boyd's life took a turn for the worse upon his return to England after captivity in Italy. In late July 1944, he was divorced. Little more than a week later, on 5 August, he was dead from a heart attack.