The Lord Boyce | |
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Born | Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa | 2 April 1943
Died | 6 November 2022 | (aged 79)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1961–2003 |
Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
Commands held |
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Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Awards | |
Other work |
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Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce, KG, GCB, OBE, KStJ, DL (2 April 1943 – 6 November 2022) was a British Royal Navy officer who also sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords until his death in November 2022.
Boyce commanded three submarines and then a frigate before achieving higher command in the Navy and serving as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1998 to 2001 and then as Chief of the Defence Staff from 2001 to 2003. As Chief of Defence Staff he is believed to have had concerns about US plans for a national missile defence system. In early 2003 he advised the British Government on the deployment of troops for the invasion of Iraq, seeking assurances as to the legitimacy of the deployment before it was allowed to proceed.
Michael Cecil Boyce, the first son of Commander Hugh Boyce DSC and his Afrikaner wife, Madeline (née Manley), was born in Cape Town on 2 April 1943.[1] His two brothers were Philip Boyce, a professor of psychiatry in Australia, and Graham Boyce, a diplomat.[1]
Boyce was created a life peer as Baron Boyce, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster, on 16 June 2003[16] and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London on 19 December 2003.[17] He was also appointed a non-executive director of WS Atkins plc in May 2004[18] and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports on 10 December 2004, succeeding Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in that role.[19] He became chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889) in 2004.[20]
In May 2005, Boyce was among the several retired Chiefs of Defence Staff who spoke in the House of Lords about the risk to servicemen facing liability for their actions – for which he claims politicians are ultimately responsible – before the International Criminal Court.[21] He gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry on 3 December 2009.[22] He was created a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in April 2011[23] and was a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation.[24]
Boyce was Patron of the Submariners Association,[25] Dover College,[26] the Dover War Memorial Project[27] and of Kent Search and Rescue[28] as well as being an Elder Brother of Trinity House[2] and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.[29] He took a keen interest in sports.[29] In 2013, he was elected Master of the Drapers' Company.[30] He has been the president of the Pilgrims Society, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Hastings charity, the Winkle Club,[31] as well as a trustee of the Naval and Military Club.[32]
Boyce was appointed an honorary admiral of the fleet in the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours.[33]
On 6 December 2021, Boyce was appointed Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom.[34]
In 1971, Boyce married Harriette Gail Fletcher, with whom he had one son and one daughter.[2] Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Fleur Margaret Anne Rutherford (née Smith).[2] Lady Boyce died in 2016 at the age of 67.[35]
Boyce died from cancer on 6 November 2022, at the age of 79.[36][37]
A service of thanksgiving was held at Westminster Abbey on 13 July 2023.[38] Sir Graham Boyce, brother, Admiral Sir George Zambellas and Colonel Oliver Lee paid tribute.[39]
Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG) | 2011[23] | |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) | 1999[12] | |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) | 1995[11] | |
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) | 1982[8] | |
Knight of the Order of Saint John | 27 November 2002[14] | |
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | 2002[40] | |
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | 2012[40] | |
Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with 4 Bars | 2016[41] | |
Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) | 1999[42] |
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