Alastair Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock
Encyclopedia
Alastair Ivor Gilbert Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock (11 May 1927 – 19 March 2009) was a British
writer, Hispanophile
, and Chief of the Clan Boyd
.
and King's College, Cambridge
and was commissioned into the Irish Guards
in 1946. He served with them until 1948, including a spell in Palestine
.
(with whom she had three children: Philip Amis, the novelist Martin Amis
, and Sally Amis
), and later to D. R. Shackleton Bailey
. Boyd and Bardwell had one son, James Charles Edward Boyd, known as "Jaime," who was born in 1972. After the end of Kingsley Amis's second marriage, he came to live with Lord Kilmarnock and his ex wife Hilly.
Boyd lived for much of his life at Ronda
in Andalusia
, first with Diana, and later with Hilly and their son James. Boyd's younger brother, Robin Boyd, 8th Baron Kilmarnock, Robin Jordan Boyd, (born 1941), succeeded to the peerage in 2009. He has two sons, Simon John Boyd, born 1978, and Mark Julian Boyd, born 1981. The heir apparent is the elder of his two sons, Simon John Boyd, who has a son, Lucian Michael Boyd (born 2007).
His essay, The Quest (2006), on the paintings of his friend Miles Richmond
(1922–2008), appeared in catalogues that accompanied exhibitions by Richmond at the Convento de Santo Domingo, Ronda (2006) and the Galeria Italcable, Malaga
(2008). Richmond had arrived at Ronda in 1954 to work beside his teacher, David Bomberg
, in Bomberg's last years. He and Boyd first met at Ronda in 1957, when Richmond and his wife Susanna, both painters, introduced Boyd and Diana to the 'pleasure and practicability of getting around the countryside on horseback'.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer, Hispanophile
Hispanophile
Hispanophile is a word with two meanings. The first meaning refers to a person who is fond of Spain, its people, or its cultures, and it can also be the corresponding adjective. The second meaning generalizes the first one to all Spanish-speaking countries...
, and Chief of the Clan Boyd
Clan Boyd
Clan Boyd is a Lowland Scottish clan from Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland.-Origins of the clan:The origin of the Boyd family name may be either from the Gaelic language or from the Normans, but in both cases translates as 'fair', 'blonde', 'yellow or fair,' etcetera...
.
Early life
He was educated at Bradfield CollegeBradfield College
Bradfield College is a coeducational independent school located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire.The college was founded in 1850 by Thomas Stevens, Rector and Lord of the Manor of Bradfield...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
and was commissioned into the Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
in 1946. He served with them until 1948, including a spell in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
Personal life
Boyd married Diana Mary Gibson in 1954 but the marriage was dissolved in 1970. Gibson died in 1975. He married for a second time, in 1977. His new wife, Hilary Bardwell ("Hilly"), had been married twice before: first to Kingsley AmisKingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
(with whom she had three children: Philip Amis, the novelist Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
, and Sally Amis
Sally Amis
Sally Myfanwy Amis was the youngest child of the writer Sir Kingsley Amis, and his wife, Hilary "Hilly" Bardwell, now Lady Kilmarnock...
), and later to D. R. Shackleton Bailey
D. R. Shackleton Bailey
David Roy Shackleton Bailey, FBA, was a British scholar of Latin literature who spent his academic life teaching at the University of Cambridge, the University of Michigan, and Harvard...
. Boyd and Bardwell had one son, James Charles Edward Boyd, known as "Jaime," who was born in 1972. After the end of Kingsley Amis's second marriage, he came to live with Lord Kilmarnock and his ex wife Hilly.
Boyd lived for much of his life at Ronda
Ronda
Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about West from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is approximately 35,000 inhabitants.-History:...
in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, first with Diana, and later with Hilly and their son James. Boyd's younger brother, Robin Boyd, 8th Baron Kilmarnock, Robin Jordan Boyd, (born 1941), succeeded to the peerage in 2009. He has two sons, Simon John Boyd, born 1978, and Mark Julian Boyd, born 1981. The heir apparent is the elder of his two sons, Simon John Boyd, who has a son, Lucian Michael Boyd (born 2007).
Writing
His publications include Sabbatical Year (1958); The Road from Ronda (1969); The Companion Guide to Madrid and Central Spain (1974); The Essence of Catalonia (1988); The Sierras of the South (1992); The Social Market and the State (1999); and Rosemary: A Memoir (2005).His essay, The Quest (2006), on the paintings of his friend Miles Richmond
Miles Richmond
Miles Peter Richmond was a British artist.Born Peter Richmond, in Isleworth, Middlesex, he added the name Miles in the 1980s, and became generally known as such. From 1940 to 1943 he attended Kingston School of Art, and then, as a conscientious objector worked on the land...
(1922–2008), appeared in catalogues that accompanied exhibitions by Richmond at the Convento de Santo Domingo, Ronda (2006) and the Galeria Italcable, Malaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
(2008). Richmond had arrived at Ronda in 1954 to work beside his teacher, David Bomberg
David Bomberg
David Garshen Bomberg was an English painter, and one of the Whitechapel Boys.Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art under Henry Tonks, and which included Mark Gertler, Stanley Spencer, C.R.W. Nevinson and Dora Carrington...
, in Bomberg's last years. He and Boyd first met at Ronda in 1957, when Richmond and his wife Susanna, both painters, introduced Boyd and Diana to the 'pleasure and practicability of getting around the countryside on horseback'.