Duncan Gordon Boyes VC (5 November 1846 – 26 January 1869) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. The award was bestowed upon him for his actions during the Shimonoseki Expedition, Japan in 1864. He was later discharged from naval service as a result of ill-discipline and moved to New Zealand to work on his family's sheep station. Suffering from depression and alcoholism, he committed suicide at the age of 22 in Dunedin.

Early life

Duncan Gordon Boyes was born on 5 November 1846 in Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, to John and Sabina Boyes, who had married in Hobart, Tasmania. His father was a merchant, and Boyes was one of nine children. In 1860, Boyes' sister, Louisa Mary, married

Thomas James Young Captain Thomas James Young, VC (1827 – 20 March 1869) was a Royal Navy officer and a 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. Details ...

, who received a Victoria Cross for his actions at

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, India, in 1857. At least one of his brothers also served in the Royal Navy. Boyes completed his schooling at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

before joining the

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 ...

at the age of 14. He was assigned to HMS ''Euryalus'', joining the ship in 1862 when it was serving as part of the East Indies station. NavalBrigade&MarinesatShimonoseki

Victoria Cross

Boyes received his VC at the age of 17, for his part in action at Shimonoseki, Japan on 6 September 1864. During the fighting, he carried the

Queen's Colour In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

as part of the company leading the assault on the Japanese stockade. Boyes was credited with keeping the colours flying despite heavy fire that inflicted numerous casualties. Along with Colour Sergeant

Thomas Pride Colonel Thomas Pride (died 23 October 1658) was a Parliamentarian commander during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, best known as one of the regicides of Charles I and as the instigator of Pride's Purge. Personal details Thomas Pride was bor ...

who was badly wounded, Boyes continued pressing forward and only stopped his advance when ordered to do so. The citation was published in the '' London Gazette'' of 21 April 1865 and read: Sir

Ernest Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow, (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist. Satow is better known in Japan than in Britain or the other countries in which he served, where he was known as . He was a key fig ...

mentioned Duncan Boyes in his memoirs entitled ''A Diplomat in Japan'' (London, 1921) in the following terms: "Lieutenant Edwards and Crowdy of the Engineers were ahead with a middy idshipmannamed D.G. Boyes, who carried the colours most gallantly; he afterwards received the V.C. for conduct very plucky in one so young." Boyes, William Seeley, and Thomas Pride were invested with their Victoria Crosses on 22 September 1865 by Admiral Sir Michael Seymour GCB (Commander-in-Chief to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

) on the Common at

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

Later life

After ''Euralyus'' was paid off, Boyes was reassigned to HMS ''Wolverine'', a corvette serving in North American waters. On 9 February 1867, he and another midshipman, Marcus McCausland, were court-martialled for breaking into the Naval Yard at

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. On the night of the incident, the two men had been ashore drinking and upon their return had been refused entry at the main gate as they did not have the required passes. Both men admitted they were guilty of the offence and were discharged from the Navy as a result of the incident. Following this, Boyes suffered from depression and alcoholism. He subsequently moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to join two of his brothers on their

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

at Kawarau Falls near Queenstown, but after his father died, he suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. On 26 January 1869, Boyes committed suicide jumping to his death from the window of a house in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. He was aged 22 years and 2 months. The official cause of death was listed as delirium tremens. He was buried locally in the

Dunedin Southern Cemetery The Southern Cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin was the first major cemetery to be opened in the city. The cemetery was opened in 1858, ten years after the founding of the city in an area known as Little Paisley. This area lies at the ...

with a stone at his head and feet, though on 4 May 1954 the Dunedin branch of the

Royal New Zealand Returned Services' Association The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisation A veterans' organization, also known as a ...

(RSA), in consequence of his VC, reburied him in the servicemen's section of Andersons Bay Cemetery in Anglican Southern Section, Block 6, Plot 24.

The medal

Between 1978 and 1998, the medal was held by Cheltenham College. The Boyes V.C. sold for 51,700 pounds at auction by Spink, the auctioneers in London, on behalf of Cheltenham College for the purpose of establishing a scholarship in Boyes' name. Lord Michael Ashcroft bought the medal at the auction in 1998 for his collection. It is now in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum.

Commemoration

A series of posters of Duncan Boyes VC and other medal recipients was put on view on the

Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely underg ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 11 November 2004.

References

External links

Duncan BOYES VC – a man more sinned against than sinning?
''(biography and background)''
Find a Grave entry
for Duncan Boyes

in ''The Cruise of the Flying Squadron 1869–70'' by Marcus McCausland {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyes, Duncan Gordon 1846 births 1869 deaths British expatriates in Japan People educated at Cheltenham College People from Cheltenham British recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy officers Suicides by jumping in New Zealand Alcohol-related deaths in New Zealand Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel of the Shimonoseki campaign Burials at Andersons Bay Cemetery 19th-century Royal Navy personnel