Edward Charles Gurney Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth, (31 August 1923 – 28 September 1981), known as Sir Edward Boyle, 3rd Baronet, between 1945 and 1970, was a British Conservative Party politician and

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

Early life and career

Boyle was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the eldest son of Sir Edward Boyle, 2nd Baronet, and succeeded to his father's

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

cy in 1945.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

accessed 26 July 2009 He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and graduated from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, in 1949 with a third-class BA (later converted to an MA) in history. From 1942 to 1945, he was a temporary junior administration officer at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. He worked at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

in intelligence.University of Leeds Library
Catalogue of Correspondence of Edward Boyle

Political career

The then Sir Edward Boyle entered Parliament in 1950 as MP for Birmingham Handsworth, a seat he would hold until his retirement in 1970. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Under-Secretary of State for Air from 1951 to 1952 and to the

Under-Secretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

for Defence in 1952, Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Supply Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

from 1954 to 1955,

Economic Secretary to the Treasury The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General a ...

from 1955 to 1956 (he resigned from this role in protest of the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

), Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from 1957 to 1959,

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

from 1959 to 1962,

from 1962 to 1964 and Minister of State for Education and Science in 1964. In 1957 he opened the new teaching block and science block extension at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

University of Leeds

Boyle was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds in 1970. He was a Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

from 1970 to 1981 and Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of UK Universities from 1977 to 1979. In 1977 he had been due to deliver the

Reith Lectures The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contrib ...

for the BBC. Despite 2 years preparation time, he withdrew with 3 months notice.The Independent 4 June 2008
Robert Hanks: The Week in Radio Boyle died from cancer in Leeds on 28 September 1981, aged 58. He was unmarried and childless and whilst his life peerage became extinct at his death, his baronetcy passed to his brother,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Honours

On his retirement from parliament in 1970, Boyle was awarded a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age as Baron Boyle of Handsworth, ''of

Salehurst Salehurst is a village in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It lies immediately to the north-east of the larger village of Robertsbridge, on a minor road; it is approximately ...

in the County of Sussex''. Boyle was awarded the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LLD) by the following universities: * University of Leeds (1965) *

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

(1965) *

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

(1968) *

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

(1972) *

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

(1981) Boyle also received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

in 1977. Boyle was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) on 13 June 1981.

Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor, and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comedy music, comic ...

satirically cited "Edward Boyle's Law" : The greater the external pressure, the greater the volume of hot air.

Edward Boyle Memorial Trust Foundation Scholarship

Th
Edward Boyle Memorial Trust
was established in the wake of the death of the Lord Edward Boyle, in September 1981. Its aims were the advancement of education, learning and music and its guidelines are as follows: * support will be given to talented young people at a time when they are in most need; * the Trust does not intend to do what institutions or individuals should do for themselves. It will help those with proven talent who have shown that they deserve help and are prepared to make their own substantial contribution; * the Trust will support originality and excellence; * administration costs will be kept to a minimum; * because some donors have indicated ways in which they wish their contributions to be used the Trustees will endeavor to meet their requests. The Trust offered the following support: * Ove Arup/Edward Boyle Scholarships, intended for students from Hong Kong, Singapore or Malaysia following an undergraduate course in mechanical or electrical and electronic engineering, and * Medical Elective Bursaries intended for Commonwealth students.

Publications

*''The politics of education: Edward Boyle and Anthony Crosland in conversation with Maurice Kogan (Penguin education specials)'', ed. M. Kogan, Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1971. *''The Bedside 'Guardian' 22 (1972–73)''. Introduction, London: Collins, 1973.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Edward 1923 births 1981 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Bletchley Park people British Secretaries of State for Education Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Deaths from cancer in England Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 People educated at Eton College Presidents of the Association for Science Education Presidents of the Oxford Union Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association Trustees of the British Museum UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs who were granted peerages Vice-chancellors of the University of Leeds Foreign Office personnel of World War II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Presidents of the Classical Association