Admiral Sir Denis William Boyd, (6 March 1891 – 21 January 1965) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer who served as

Fifth Sea Lord The Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy. The post's incumbent had responsibility for naval aviation. History In 1805, for the first time, specific functions w ...

from 1943 to 1945, and as Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet from 1946 to 1949.

Naval career

Early career

Boyd joined the

as a midshipman in 1906 and was commissioned in 1910. After serving as Torpedo Officer in during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

,Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
/ref> he set off on a journey around the world aboard in 1922. He returned in 1923 and was then attached to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

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 in 1932, before joining the Tactical Division of the naval Staff in 1933 and becoming its Director in 1934. Boyd became Commanding Officer of and Captain (D) of the

2nd Destroyer Flotilla The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (also styled as Second Destroyer Flotilla) was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1946. History The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla originated in early 1907 as a part of a Home ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1936; a post that included responsibility for patrols off Spain during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

.Sir Denis William Boyd
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He was then made commanding officer of the Torpedo School in 1938, serving there until the outbreak of

World War II 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 opposing ...

World War II

During the Second World War, Boyd captained the aircraft carrier from 1940, seeing action at the

Battle of Taranto The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces, under Admiral Andrew Cunningham, and Italian naval forces, under Admiral Inigo Campioni. The Royal Navy launched ...

. Promoted to rear admiral in August 1941, he became admiral commanding aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Fleet. He moved to the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

in 1942 as admiral commanding aircraft carriers with as his flagship. He was appointed

and Chief of Naval Air Equipment in 1943, and was promoted to vice admiral in August 1944. He then became Admiral (Air) at the RN Air Station at Lee-on-Solent in January 1945.

Post-war service

Boyd became Commander-in-Chief of the

Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of the ...

in 1946. 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

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Denis 1891 births 1965 deaths Royal Navy admirals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Lords of the Admiralty Admiralty personnel of World War II Military personnel from Manchester