David Hugh Montgomerie Boyle (1 September 1883 – 5 October 1970) was a British diplomat, intelligence officer and

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or Sovereign state, state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate coat of arms, armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremo ...

Biography

Boyle was the son of Henry David Boyle, who was involved in mining in Rhodesia and Russia, and Emma Chambres Robinson. After being educated at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and ...

, he briefly attended

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

but left before graduating in order to take the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

examinations. He subsequently worked for the Chinese Customs Service in

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and in Ceylon and Burma. In 1911 he was made Gold Staff Officer to the

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eig ...

, and officiated at the coronations of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In 1912 he was made an Assistant District Commissioner in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. In October 1914 he attempted to join the army, but was directed by the British government to return to Africa. In 1916 he was made Acting District Commissioner in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...

and by 1917 he was Assistant Colonial Secretary in Accra. He returned to the UK later in 1917 and was briefly Private Secretary to Sir Everard im Thurn, before leaving the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

and joining the army; it was likely at this time that he was recruited by the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

. He received a commission in the 4th

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

in 1918. In October 1919, Boyle was posted to the United States and then to Dublin in August 1920 as part of the

Auxiliary Division The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC), generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary unit of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) during the Irish War of Independence. It was founded in July 1920 by Major ...

, running the Police Adviser's Office. In January 1921, he took over the running of Auxiliary Division's Special Branch in Dublin, but resigned in September of that year. In February 1922 he was listed in the intelligence section of the Special Reserve of Officers. Between 1922 and 1924 he travelled to Canada, the United States, Japan, China and Malaya. In August 1924 he accompanied the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

on a visit to New York as his Assistant Private Secretary. He subsequently became a company director, including for Anchor Line and

Dawnay Day Dawnay Day is a privately owned financial services group. Founded in 1928, the London-based group, employs more than 1,000 employees and claims to own gross assets of more than $4-billion. It has offices in Europe, the Middle East, India, the Unit ...

. In 1933 he was removed from the Reserve of Officers upon reaching the age limit. In 1938 he was Personal Assistant to

Hugh Sinclair Admiral Sir Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair, (18 August 1873 – 4 November 1939), known as Quex Sinclair, was a British intelligence officer. He was Director of British Naval Intelligence between 1919 and 1921, and he subsequently helped to se ...

and running Section N at MI6. He was sent to Berlin on 23 August 1939 on the eve of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ostensibly as a

King's Messenger The Corps of King's Messengers (or Corps of Queen's Messengers during the reign of a female monarch) are couriers employed by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). They hand-carry secret and important documents to Br ...

. He then served as Personal Assistant to

Stewart Menzies Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, (; 30 January 1890 – 29 May 1968) was Chief of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), from 1939 to 1952, during and after the Second World War. Early life, family Stewart Graham Menzies wa ...

during the war. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, a ...

, his citation stating "attached to a department of the Foreign Office". He was appointed

Falkland Pursuivant Falkland Pursuivant of Arms is a Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The title was first mentioned in 1493 and it is derived from the Royal Palace of the same name located in Fife. The title is often used for a Pursuivan ...

''in Extraordinary'' in the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All A ...

four times, in 1953, 1955, 1962 and 1963.The Court of the Lord Lyon: Falkland Pursuivant Extraordinary
Retrieved 24 November 2022. He married Laura Grant Tennant, daughter of James Tennant and Henrietta Grant Fergusson, on 27 April 1916. Their son was the diplomat Ranald Boyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, David Hugh Montgomerie 1883 births 1970 deaths Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British colonial officials British Intelligence personnel during the Irish War of Independence Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Interwar-period spies People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Royal Irish Constabulary officers Scottish officers of arms