Educated at
St Paul's School, Boyd enlisted in the
Devonshire Regiment in 1895. He fought in the
Second Boer War of 1899–1902 and took part in the
Relief of Ladysmith, including the
actions at Colenso, and the operations in the
Orange River Colony, including the action at Wittebergen. During the war, he was
commissioned into the 2nd Battalion,
East Yorkshire Regiment in May 1900 and promoted to
lieutenant on 26 April 1902. He was
mentioned in despatches three times (including 25 April 1902), received the
Queen's South Africa Medal, and was appointed a Companion of the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his war service. The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, and he returned home on the SS
Orotava in December 1902, when they were stationed at
Aldershot. He went on to be
brigade major of the
4th Division's
11th Infantry Brigade in September 1912. Boyd served in the
First World War, which began in the summer of 1914, with the 11th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General
Aylmer Hunter-Weston, as part of the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which was sent to the
Western Front. and was promoted in March to major, when he transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment and was advanced to the
brevet rank of lieutenant colonel, "for distinguished service in the field," that same month. In July, he took over the position of general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1) of the
6th Division, in succession to Lieutenant Colonel
John Shea. In June 1916, he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and served as the general staff of
V Corps. He was promoted to brevet colonel, "for distinguished service in the field," in January 1917. He was made commander of the
170th Infantry Brigade in France in July 1918 and, after being promoted to the temporary rank of major general in September, was made
general officer commanding (GOC) of the
46th (North Midland) Division. became colonel of the Leinster Regiment in October and then GOC
Dublin District in Ireland in 1920. and, after being appointed colonel of the East Yorkshire Regiment in December 1925, relinquished this assignment in January 1927. He was then the
military secretary in the UK in March 1927. He died of cerebral spinal fever in 1930, at the age of 52. ==Family==