Duncan Gordon Boyes
Encyclopedia
Duncan Gordon Boyes VC
(5 November 1846 – 26 January 1869) was an English
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces. He won the award during the Shimonoseki Expedition, Japan in 1864.
, Gloucestershire
, the son of John Boyes and his wife Sabina on November 5, 1846. His sister Louisa Mary was later to marry Thomas James Young
, who won a Victoria Cross at Lucknow
, India in 1857.
Duncan was educated at Cheltenham College
(hence their reason for having the Cross from 1978 until 1998) and joined the Royal Navy
. He was assigned to HMS Euryalus
on the East Indies station.
, Japan on September 6, 1864.
Midshipman Boyes of HMS Euryalus
. He carried the Queen's Colour into action with the leading company attacking the enemy's stockade. He kept the colours flying in spite of direct fire which killed one of his colour sergeants. Boyes and Colour Sergeant Thomas Pride
who was badly wounded, were only prevented from going further forward by direct orders from their superior officer.
The citation was published in the London Gazette
of 21 April 1865 and read:
Sir Ernest Satow 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 [midshipman] named D.G. Boyes, who carried the colours most gallantly; he afterwards received the V.C. for conduct very plucky in one so young." (A Diplomat in Japan, first edition, p. 112).
The toast of the Royal Navy
, Duncan Boyes was invested with his Victoria Cross on September 22, 1865 by Admiral Sir Michael Seymour GCB (Commander-in-Chief to Portsmouth
) on the Common at Southsea
, along with William Seeley
and Thomas Pride
who also won their VCs at Shimonoseki. Hugh Talbot Burgoyne VC
, John Edmund Commerell VC
and others who had already won the medal also attended the ceremony.
Duncan's short life was to take a turn for the worse from then on. On 9 February 1867, he and another midshipman were court-martialled for disobedience of the Commander-in-Chief's Standing Order by breaking into the Naval Yard at Bermuda
after 11pm, after they had been previously refused admittance by the Warder at the main gate for not having a pass. Both admitted their guilt and were sentenced to be dismissed from the service. There is some speculation that there was more to this to warrant such a harsh penalty.
The disgrace of this was too much to bear for Boyes and he began to suffer tremendously from fits of depression and began drinking heavily. For the sake of his health he went to New Zealand
to work with his brother on his sheep station
, but the scandal appears to have followed him, for he was to suffer a complete nervous breakdown and he committed suicide by jumping from the window of a house on 26 January 1869 at Dunedin
, aged 22 years and 2 months. On his death certificate
, the cause was listed as delirium tremens
.
He was buried locally in the Dunedin Southern Cemetery
with a stone at his head and feet, though on May 4, 1954 the Dunedin branch of the Royal New Zealand Returned Services' Association (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 original grave exists still in the southern cemetery, though looking quite weathered and scruffy.
for the purpose of establishing a scholarship in Boyes' name.
Currently the medal is believed to be in the hands of the private collector who bought the medal at the auction in 1998. A replica of the Boyes medal is on permanent display in Big Modern, the library of Cheltenham College
.
in London
on 11 November 2004.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(5 November 1846 – 26 January 1869) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
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...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces. He won the award during the Shimonoseki Expedition, Japan in 1864.
Early life
Duncan Gordon Boyes was born at 3 Paragon Buildings, CheltenhamCheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire 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 son of John Boyes and his wife Sabina on November 5, 1846. His sister Louisa Mary was later to marry Thomas James Young
Thomas James Young
Captain Thomas James Young VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, who won a Victoria Cross at Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, India in 1857.
Duncan was educated at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
(hence their reason for having the Cross from 1978 until 1998) and joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. He was assigned to HMS Euryalus
HMS Euryalus (1853)
HMS Euryalus was a fourth-rate wooden-hulled screw frigate of the Royal Navy, with a 400HP steam engine that could make over 12 knots. She was launched at Chatham in 1853, was 212 feet long, displaced 3125 tons and had a complement of 515...
on the East Indies station.
Victoria Cross
He won his VC at the age of 17, for his part in action at ShimonosekiBombardment of Shimonoseki
The Battles for Shimonoseki refers to a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control Shimonoseki Straits by joint naval forces from the Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū, which took place off and on the...
, Japan on September 6, 1864.
Midshipman Boyes of HMS Euryalus
HMS Euryalus (1853)
HMS Euryalus was a fourth-rate wooden-hulled screw frigate of the Royal Navy, with a 400HP steam engine that could make over 12 knots. She was launched at Chatham in 1853, was 212 feet long, displaced 3125 tons and had a complement of 515...
. He carried the Queen's Colour into action with the leading company attacking the enemy's stockade. He kept the colours flying in spite of direct fire which killed one of his colour sergeants. Boyes and Colour Sergeant Thomas Pride
Thomas Pride (VC)
Thomas Pride VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a serviceman in the British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
who was badly wounded, were only prevented from going further forward by direct orders from their superior officer.
The citation was published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
of 21 April 1865 and read:
Sir Ernest Satow 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 [midshipman] named D.G. Boyes, who carried the colours most gallantly; he afterwards received the V.C. for conduct very plucky in one so young." (A Diplomat in Japan, first edition, p. 112).
The toast of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, Duncan Boyes was invested with his Victoria Cross on September 22, 1865 by Admiral Sir Michael Seymour GCB (Commander-in-Chief to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
) on the Common at Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
, along with William Seeley
William Henry Harrison Seeley
William Henry Harrison Seeley VC was an American recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
and Thomas Pride
Thomas Pride (VC)
Thomas Pride VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a serviceman in the British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
who also won their VCs at Shimonoseki. Hugh Talbot Burgoyne VC
Hugh Talbot Burgoyne
Captain Hugh Talbot Burgoyne VC RN was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross. Born in Dublin, he was the son of John Fox Burgoyne and the grandson of John Burgoyne....
, John Edmund Commerell VC
John Edmund Commerell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Edmund Commerell VC GCB was an English Royal Navy officer who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
and others who had already won the medal also attended the ceremony.
Later life
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
after 11pm, after they had been previously refused admittance by the Warder at the main gate for not having a pass. Both admitted their guilt and were sentenced to be dismissed from the service. There is some speculation that there was more to this to warrant such a harsh penalty.
The disgrace of this was too much to bear for Boyes and he began to suffer tremendously from fits of depression and began drinking heavily. For the sake of his health he went to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
to work with his brother on his sheep station
Sheep station
A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...
, but the scandal appears to have followed him, for he was to suffer a complete nervous breakdown and he committed suicide by jumping from the window of a house on 26 January 1869 at Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, aged 22 years and 2 months. On his death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
, the cause was listed as delirium tremens
Delirium tremens
Delirium tremens is an acute episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol, first described in 1813...
.
He was buried locally in the Dunedin Southern Cemetery
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"...
with a stone at his head and feet, though on May 4, 1954 the Dunedin branch of the Royal New Zealand Returned Services' Association (RSA), in consequence of his VC, reburied him in the servicemen's section of Andersons Bay Cemetery
Andersons Bay Cemetery
Andersons Bay Cemetery is a major cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the southeast of the city centre, on a rocky outcrop which forms the inland part of Lawyer's Head, a promontory which juts into the Pacific Ocean...
in Anglican Southern Section, Block 6, Plot 24. The original grave exists still in the southern cemetery, though looking quite weathered and scruffy.
The medal
The Boyes V.C. realised GBP 51,750 and was sold at Spink, the auctioneers in London, on July 21, 1998 (lot 212) on behalf of Cheltenham CollegeCheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
for the purpose of establishing a scholarship in Boyes' name.
Currently the medal is believed to be in the hands of the private collector who bought the medal at the auction in 1998. A replica of the Boyes medal is on permanent display in Big Modern, the library of Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
.
Recent developments
A series of posters of Duncan Boyes VC and other medal winners was put on view on the Victoria lineVictoria Line
The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 11 November 2004.
External links
- Duncan BOYES VC - a man more sinned against than sinning? (highly detailed biography and background)
- Find a Grave entry for Duncan Boyes
- Spink on Victoria Crosses and their sales
- VC medal auction details
- Mention of the suicide of Boyes in The Cruise of the Flying Squadron 1869-70 by Marcus McCausland