Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

The Lord Boyce
Boyce in 2002
Born	(1943-04-02) 2 April 1943 Cape Town, South Africa
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1961–2003
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Staff First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet Naval Home Command HMS Brilliant HMS Superb HMS Opossum HMS Oberon
Battles/wars	Iraq War
Awards	Knight of the Order of the Garter Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John Legion of Merit (United States)

Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce KG, GCB, OBE, DL (born 2 April 1943) is a former Royal Navy officer who now sits as a crossbench member of the House of Lords.

Boyce commanded three submarines and then a frigate before achieving higher command in the Navy and serving as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1998 to 2001 and then as Chief of the Defence Staff from 2001 to 2003. As Chief of Defence Staff he is believed to have had concerns about US plans for a national missile defence system. In early 2003 he advised the British Government on the deployment of troops for the invasion of Iraq, seeking assurances as to the legitimacy of the deployment before it was allowed to proceed.

Naval career

Hurstpierpoint College where Boyce was educated

The son of Commander Hugh Boyce DSC and Madeline (née Manley), Boyce was educated at Hurstpierpoint College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.^[1] He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1961 and, having trained as a submariner,^[1] was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 10 December 1965,^[2] promoted to lieutenant on 30 August 1966^[3] and saw service in the submarines HMS Anchorite, HMS Valiant and HMS Conqueror.^[1] He completed the Submarine Command Course in 1973,^[4] became commanding officer of the submarine HMS Oberon in the same year and, having been promoted to lieutenant-commander on 8 January 1974,^[5] was given command of the submarine HMS Opossum later that year.^[1]

Promoted to the rank of commander on 30 June 1976,^[6] Boyce became commanding officer of the submarine HMS Superb in 1979.^[1] He was posted to the Directorate of Naval Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 1981^[4] and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 Birthday Honours^[7] before being promoted to captain on 30 June 1982.^[8] He was given command of the frigate HMS Brilliant in January 1983, and returned to the Ministry of Defence as Captain, Submarine Sea Training in 1984.^[1] He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1988 and then became Senior Naval Officer in the Middle East in 1989.^[1] He went on to be Director of Naval Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence in August 1989. Following promotion to rear admiral he became Flag Officer Sea Training in July 1991.^[1] He became Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla and NATO Commander of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Force in November 1992.^[1]

Promoted to vice admiral in February 1994,^[4] Boyce was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1995 New Year Honours.^[9] He was promoted to full admiral on 25 May 1995, on appointment as Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command^[4] and went on to be Commander-in-Chief Fleet as well as NATO Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic and NATO Commander Allied Naval Forces North West Europe in September 1997.^[1]

The submarine HMS Superb which Boyce commanded in the late 1970s

Boyce became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in October 1998 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1999 Birthday Honours.^[10] He was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in February 2001^[1] and in that role is believed to have had concerns about US plans for a national missile defence system.^[4] In early 2003 he advised the British Government on the deployment of troops for the invasion of Iraq, seeking assurances as to the legitimacy of the deployment before it was allowed to proceed.^[11] He was appointed a Knight of Justice of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem on 27 November 2002,^[12] and retired as Chief of Defence Staff on 7 November 2003.^[13]

Later career

Boyce was created a Life Peer as Baron Boyce, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster, on 16 June 2003^[14] and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London on 19 December 2003.^[15] He was also appointed a non-executive director of WS Atkins plc in May 2004^[16] and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports on 10 December 2004, succeeding Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in that role.^[17] He became chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889) in 2004.^[18]

In May 2005 Boyce was among the several retired Chiefs of Defence Staff who spoke in the House of Lords about the risk to servicemen facing liability for their actions – for which he claims politicians are ultimately responsible – before the International Criminal Court.^[19] He gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry on 3 December 2009.^[20] He was created a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in April 2011^[21] and is currently a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation.^[22]

Boyce is also Patron of the Submariners Association,^[23] Dover College^[24] and of the Dover War Memorial Project^[25] as well as being an Elder Brother of Trinity House^[1] and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.^[26] He takes a keen interest in sports.^[26] In 2013 he was elected Master of the Drapers' Company.^[27] He is also the president of the Pilgrims Society and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum as well as a trustee of the Naval and Military Club.^[28]

He was appointed as an honorary admiral of the fleet in the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours.^[29]

Family

In 1971 Boyce married Harriette Gail Fletcher, by whom he had one son and one daughter.^[1] Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Fleur Margaret Anne Rutherford (née Smith).^[1]

Honours

	Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG)	2011[21]
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)	1999[10]
	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)	1995[9]
	Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)	1982[7]
	Knight of the Order of Saint John	27 November 2002[12]
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 [30]
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012[30]
	Commander of the Legion of Merit	(United States) [31]

Arms

Arms of Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

Notes Created a life peer as Baron Boyce in 2003 Coronet Coronet of a Baron Crest A Foul Anchor Or, pendent from the crossbar by its tail a Mouse Opossum Argent, the eye ring and claws Azure. Escutcheon Azure, three interlacing Annulets Or, each held in the mouth by an Heraldis Dolphin embowed all in pairle Argent, finned Or. Supporters On either side a Sea-Lion Argent, winged finned and navally gorged Or, each grasping with the interior paw a Sword Argent, hilt pommel and quillions Or. Motto IPSIS FRETUS IMPEDIMENTIS POSSUM (I can trust myself with hindrances) Orders Order of the Garter circlet The collar as Grand Cross Knight of the Order of the Bath (Appointed KCB 1995 & GCB 1999) The badge as Officer of the Order of the British Empire

References

Boyce's banner as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy First Naval Lords (1828–1904) Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr First Sea Lords (1904–present) Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher Sir Henry Jackson Sir John Jellicoe Sir Rosslyn Wemyss The Earl Beatty Sir Charles Madden, Bt Sir Frederick Field The Lord Chatfield Sir Roger Backhouse Sir Dudley Pound The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope Sir John Cunningham The Lord Fraser of North Cape Sir Rhoderick McGrigor The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Sir Charles Lambe Sir Caspar John Sir David Luce Sir Varyl Begg Sir Michael Le Fanu Sir Peter Hill-Norton Sir Michael Pollock Sir Edward Ashmore Sir Terence Lewin Sir Henry Leach Sir John Fieldhouse Sir William Staveley Sir Julian Oswald Sir Benjamin Bathurst Sir Jock Slater Sir Michael Boyce Sir Nigel Essenhigh Sir Alan West Sir Jonathon Band Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas

Current members of the Order of the Garter Ex officio Elizabeth II The Prince of Wales Knights and Ladies Companion The Lord Carrington The Lord Bramall The Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover The Lord Ashburton Sir Ninian Stephen Sir Timothy Colman The Duke of Abercorn Sir Erskine Gladstone of Fasque and Balfour, Bt The Lord Inge Sir Antony Acland The Duke of Westminster The Lord Butler of Brockwell The Lord Morris of Aberavon Sir John Major The Lord Luce Sir Thomas Dunne The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers The Lord Boyce The Lord Stirrup The Baroness Manningham-Buller The Lord King of Lothbury 3 vacancies Royal Knights and Ladies The Duke of Edinburgh The Duke of Kent The Princess Royal The Duke of Gloucester Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy The Duke of York The Earl of Wessex The Duke of Cambridge Stranger Knights and Ladies Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg The Queen of Denmark The King of Sweden King Juan Carlos I of Spain Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands The Emperor of Japan The King of Norway Officers The Bishop of Winchester (Prelate) The Duke of Abercorn (Chancellor) The Dean of Windsor (Registrar) Thomas Woodcock (Garter Principal King of Arms) The Clarenceux King of Arms (Secretary) David Leakey (Black Rod)