General Sir Henry Charles Loyd, (12 February 1891 – 11 November 1973), nicknamed "Budget Loyd", was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the world wars, most notably during the Second World War as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Infantry Division during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

in May 1940.

Early life and First World War

Born on 12 February 1891 in Belgravia, Westminster, London, the son of Edward Henry Loyd, Charles Loyd was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the Coldstream Guards on 3 September 1910. Another future general, Arthur Smith, was among his fellow graduates. He served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

during the First World War with the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, then part of the

4th (Guards) Brigade The 4th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that served in both First and Second World Wars. During both world wars, it was part of the 2nd Infantry Division. History As the Second Boer War ended in 1902 the army was re ...

of the 2nd Division, and was wounded in action four times, thrice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, including on 1 January 1918, awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the Military Cross in 1915 and the French

Croix de guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

.Smart, p. 196 He was also, by war's end, a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and, as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

(CO) of the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, one of the youngest battalion commanders in the British Army. The citation for his MC reads:

Between the wars

After the war Loyd was selected for the first postwar course at the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

from 1919 to 1920. In 1922 he married Lady Moya Brodrick, the youngest daughter of the St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton; they had two children, a daughter, Lavinia Gertrude Georgiana, born on 21 December 1923, and a son, Julian St. John, born on 25 May 1926. In 1925 he returned to the Staff College, this time as an instructor, until 1926 when he was appointed CO of the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards. He was promoted to regimental commander, commanding the Coldstream Guards regimental district, in 1932.Generals.dk
/ref> In 1934, he became a staff officer at the War Office, moving on to be a brigadier on the General Staff of

British Troops in Egypt British Troops in Egypt was a command of the British Army. History A British Army commander was appointed in the late 19th century after the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882. The British Army remained in Egypt throughout the First World War and, after t ...

in 1936. In 1938, he was appointed commander of the

1st (Guards) Brigade First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, then part of the 1st Infantry Division. In June 1939 he was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Infantry Division, three months before the outbreak of the Second World War.Order of Battle
/ref>

Second World War

His division, comprising the

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th Infantry Brigades and supporting units, was sent to France soon after war began, where it formed part of Lieutenant General Sir John Dill's

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division fought in the

and the subsequent retreat to Dunkirk where it was withdrawn to England in the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

. However, on 16 May 1940, Loyd fainted during a conference and was evacuated to England, with command of the 2nd Division passing to Brigadier

Noel Irwin Lieutenant General Noel Mackintosh Stuart Irwin & Two Bars, MC (24 December 1892 – 21 December 1972) was a senior British Army officer, who played a prominent role in the British Army after the Dunkirk evacuation, and in the Burma campaign ...

, commander of the 6th Brigade. In 1941, after serving as Director of Infantry at the War Office in succession to Major General

Henry Willcox Lieutenant General Sir Henry Beresford Dennitts Willcox KCIE CB DSO MC (30 April 1889 – 15 August 1968) was a British Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. Early life and military career Born in New Zealand, Willcox ...

, he became Chief of Staff to General Sir Alan Brooke, the Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, who had been a fellow student at the Staff College shortly after the First World War and thought highly of "Budget" Loyd, before moving on to be General Officer Commanding (GOC) Southern Command in March 1942. Knighted the following year, his last appointment was as Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and GOC

London District London District (LONDIST) is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing the Greater London area. It was established in 1870 as ''Home District''. History In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in ...

in March 1944, a post which he held until he retired from the army, after the war, in 1947, after receiving a promotion to full general in 1946. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) on 30 January 1947.

Postwar

In retirement he was a Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk. He lived at

Geldeston Geldeston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Beccles and south-east of Norwich, on the north bank of the River Waveney. History Geldeston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and de ...

Hall in Norfolk. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the county in 1954, and from 1945 to 1966 he served as Colonel of the Coldstream Guards, after having his knighthood enhanced in 1965.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Loyd, Charles 1891 births 1973 deaths British Army generals Burials in Surrey Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies British Army cricketers British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Coldstream Guards officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy Lieutenants of Norfolk English cricketers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Eton College People from Belgravia Recipients of the Military Cross War Office personnel in World War II Military personnel from London Academics of the Staff College, Camberley