Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce
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Admiral of the Fleet Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce (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.
Early life
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.<ref name="TelegraphObituaries">Template:Cite news</ref> His two brothers were Philip Boyce, a professor of psychiatry in Australia, and Graham Boyce, a diplomat.<ref name="TelegraphObituaries" />
Naval career
Boyce was educated at Hurstpierpoint College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.<ref name=WW>Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, Template:ISBN.</ref> He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1961 and, having trained as a submariner,<ref name=WW/> was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 10 December 1965,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> promoted to lieutenant on 30 August 1966,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and saw service in the submarines Template:HMS, Template:HMS and Template:HMS.<ref name=WW/> He completed the Submarine Command Course in 1973,<ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref> became commanding officer of the submarine Template:HMS in the same year and, having been promoted to lieutenant commander on 8 January 1974,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> was given command of the submarine Template:HMS later that year.<ref name=WW/>
Promoted to the rank of commander on 30 June 1976,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Boyce became commanding officer of the submarine Template:HMS in 1979.<ref name=WW/> He was posted to the Directorate of Naval Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 1981 and appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 Birthday Honours,<ref name=bbc/><ref name=lg49008>Template:London Gazette</ref> before being promoted to captain on 30 June 1982.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was given command of the frigate Template:HMS in January 1983, and returned to the Ministry of Defence as captain, Submarine Sea Training in 1984.<ref name=WW/> He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1988 and then became Senior Naval Officer in the Middle East in 1989.<ref name=WW/> He went on to be Director of Naval Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence in August 1989. Following promotion to rear admiral, he became Flag Officer Sea Training in July 1991.<ref name=WW/> He became Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla and NATO Commander of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Force in November 1992.<ref name=WW/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Promoted to vice admiral in February 1994,<ref name=bbc/> Boyce was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1995 New Year Honours.<ref name=lg53893>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was promoted to full admiral on 25 May 1995, on appointment as Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command,<ref name=bbc/> and went on to be Commander-in-Chief Fleet as well as NATO Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic and NATO Commander Allied Naval Forces North West Europe in September 1997.<ref name=WW/>
Boyce became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in October 1998 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1999 Birthday Honours.<ref name=lg55513>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff in February 2001,<ref name=WW/> and in that role is believed to have had concerns about US plans for a national missile defence system.<ref name=bbc/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was appointed a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem on 27 November 2002,<ref name=lg56766>Template:London Gazette</ref> and retired as Chief of Defence Staff on 7 November 2003.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Later career
Boyce was created a life peer as Baron Boyce, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster, on 16 June 2003<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London on 19 December 2003.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was also appointed a non-executive director of WS Atkins plc in May 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports on 10 December 2004, succeeding Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in that role.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He became chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889) in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry on 3 December 2009.<ref name="BBC VII">Template:Cite news</ref> He was created a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in April 2011<ref name=garter>Template:Cite news</ref> and was a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Boyce was Patron of the Submariners Association,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dover College,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Dover War Memorial Project<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and of Kent Search and Rescue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as being an Elder Brother of Trinity House<ref name=WW/> and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.<ref name=rnli>Template:Cite web</ref> He took a keen interest in sports.<ref name=rnli/> In 2013, he was elected Master of the Drapers' Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has been the president of the Pilgrims Society, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Hastings charity, the Winkle Club,<ref name="HastObs">Template:Cite news</ref> as well as a trustee of the Naval and Military Club.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Boyce was appointed an honorary admiral of the fleet in the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 6 December 2021, Boyce was appointed Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Personal life and death
In 1971, Boyce married Harriette Gail Fletcher, with whom he had one son and one daughter.<ref name=WW/> Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Fleur Margaret Anne Rutherford (née Smith).<ref name=WW/> Lady Boyce died in 2016 at the age of 67.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Boyce died from cancer on 6 November 2022, at the age of 79.<ref name=death>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A service of thanksgiving was held at Westminster Abbey on 13 July 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sir Graham Boyce, brother, Admiral Sir George Zambellas and Colonel Oliver Lee paid tribute.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Honours
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Arms
References
External links
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Template:Chiefs of Defence Staff Template:First Sea Lord Template:Authority control
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- First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff
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