Dermot Boyle

{{short description|Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1904-1993)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]] | name = Sir Dermot Boyle | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCB|KCVO|KBE|AFC}} | image = Dermot Boyle.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Boyle in 1956 | nickname = | birth_date = {{birth date|1904|10|02|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Rathdowney]], [[County Laois|Queen's County]], Ireland | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|05|05|1904|10|02|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Sway, Hampshire]], England | burial_place = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = [[Royal Air Force]] | service_years = 1922–1960 | rank = [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]] | service_number = | unit = | commands = [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] (1956–59) [[RAF Fighter Command|Fighter Command]] (1953–56) [[No. 1 Group RAF|No.1 (Bomber) Group]] (1951–53) [[RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park|RAF Staff College]] (1947–48) [[No. 11 Group RAF|No.11 Group]] (1945–46) [[No. 85 Group RAF|No. 85 (Base) Group]] (1945) [[RAF Stradishall]] (1942–43) [[No. 83 Squadron RAF|No. 83 Squadron]] (1937, 1940–41) | battles = [[Second World War]] [[Suez Crisis]] | awards = [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] [[Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]] (3) [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Commander of the Order of the Crown]] (Belgium) [[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]] (Belgium) | relations = | other_work = }} [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]] '''Sir Dermot Alexander Boyle''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCB|KCVO|KBE|AFC}} (2 October 1904 – 5 May 1993) was a senior officer in the [[Royal Air Force]]. He served in the [[Second World War]] initially as a staff officer with the [[RAF Advanced Air Striking Force|Advanced Air Striking Force]] in [[Reims]] in which capacity he organised the evacuation of the Force through [[Brest, France|Brest]] in May 1940. His war service included tours as a bomber squadron commander, as a station commander and also as an air group commander. He was [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] in the late 1950s and, in that role, deployed British air power during the [[Suez Crisis]] in October 1956 and defended the RAF against the views of [[Duncan Sandys]], the Minister for Defence, who believed that the [[V bomber]] force rendered manned fighter aircraft redundant.

==RAF career== Born the son of Alexander Francis and Anna Maria (née Harpur) Boyle, Dermot was brought up in [[Abbeyleix]], [[County Laois|Queen's County]] and educated at [[St Columba's College, Dublin]].<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51502|title=Sir Dermot Alexander Boyle profile|date=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/51502 |access-date=14 July 2012 |last1=Probert |first1=Henry A. }}</ref>

Boyle joined the [[Royal Air Force]] on 14 September 1922 as a flight cadet at the [[Royal Air Force College Cranwell]].<ref name=air>{{cite web|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/BoyleD.htm |publisher=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation |title= Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Dermot Boyle|access-date=14 July 2012}}</ref> On successfully passing through the college, he was commissioned as a [[pilot officer]] on 31 July 1924 and immediately posted to [[No. 17 Squadron RAF|No. 17 Squadron]] at [[RAF Hawkinge]] where he flew [[Sopwith Snipe|Snipe]]s.<ref name=air/> He transferred to [[No. 1 Squadron RAF|No. 1 Squadron]] at [[RAF Hinaidi]] in [[Iraq]] to undertake air policing duties in December 1925<ref name=prob51>Probert, p. 51</ref><ref>Shaw, M. ''No 1 Squadron'' 1986 pp.46-9 with photos ISBN 0711015813</ref> and, having been promoted to [[flying officer]] on 31 January 1926,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33142|date=16 March 1926|page=1923}}</ref> he transferred again this time to [[No. 6 Squadron RAF|No. 6 Squadron]] at [[Mosul|RAF Mosul]] also in Iraq in November 1926.<ref name=air/>

Boyle attended the Flying Instructor's Course at the [[Central Flying School]] in March 1927 and then became a Qualified Flying Instructor there the following month.<ref name=air/> Dermot Boyle and [[Richard Atcherley]] together formed the school's display team while they were resident at the Central Flying School at this time.<ref name=prob51/> Boyle was made Assistant Adjutant at [[No. 601 Squadron RAF|No. 601 (County of London) Squadron]] at [[RAF Hendon]] on 5 October 1929 and was promoted to [[flight lieutenant]] on 13 October 1929.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33551|date=12 November 1929|page=7308}}</ref> [[File:Sopwith Snipe.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Sopwith Snipe]], a type flown by Boyle in the 1920s]] Boyle became a Qualified Flying Instructor at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in January 1930 and then returned to No. 601 (County of London) Squadron as Adjutant in January 1931.<ref name=air/> He joined the Personnel Staff at Headquarters [[Indian Air Force|RAF India]] in April 1933 and then attended the [[RAF Staff College, Andover|RAF Staff College]] in 1936.<ref name=air/> Promoted to [[squadron leader]] on 1 October 1936,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34329|date=6 October 1936|page=6367}}</ref> he became Officer Commanding [[No. 83 Squadron RAF|No. 83 Squadron]] at [[Edinburgh Airport|RAF Turnhouse]] flying [[Hawker Hind|Hind bombers]] in January 1937.<ref name=air/> He went on to be Chief Flying Instructor at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in July 1937<ref name=air/> and was awarded the [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]] on 8 June 1939.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34633|date=6 June 1939|page=3874|supp=y}}</ref>

Boyle served in the [[Second World War]], initially as a Staff Officer at Headquarters of the [[RAF Advanced Air Striking Force|Advanced Air Striking Force]] in [[Reims]],<ref name=air/> and was promoted to the temporary rank of [[Wing commander (rank)|wing commander]] on 1 January 1940<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34765|date=2 January 1940|page=24}}</ref> (made permanent in April 1942).<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35525|date=14 April 1942|page=1649}}</ref> In May 1940, when the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] broke through, he organised the evacuation of the Force through [[Brest, France|Brest]].<ref name=prob52>Probert, p. 52</ref> He joined the Air Staff responsible for operations at Headquarters [[RAF Bomber Command]] in June 1940 and again became Officer Commanding No. 83 Squadron in November 1940 now based at [[RAF Scampton]] and flying [[Handley Page Hampden|Hampden bombers]].<ref name=air/> He went on to be Assistant Secretary of the [[Committee of Imperial Defence]] in February 1941<ref name=air/> and was [[mentioned in despatches]] on 1 January 1941<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35029|date=31 December 1940|page=33|supp=y}}</ref> and again on 24 September 1941.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35284|date=23 September 1941|page=5569|supp=y}}</ref> Promoted to the temporary rank of [[group captain]] on 1 December 1941,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35383|date=16 December 1941|page=7110|supp=y}}</ref> he became Station Commander at [[RAF Stradishall]] in January 1942 and Senior Air Staff Officer at [[No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (United Kingdom)|No. 83 Group]] in May 1943.<ref name=air/> He was mentioned in despatches again on 2 June 1943<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36033|date=28 May 1943|page=2453|supp=y}}</ref> and promoted to group captain on a [[Substantive rank#Types of rank|war substantive basis]] on 17 November 1943.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36438|date=21 March 1944|page=1381|supp=y}}</ref>

Boyle was appointed [[Air Aide-de-Camp]] to [[George VI|the King]] on 1 January 1944<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36396|date=22 February 1944|page=943|supp=y}}</ref> and a Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] in the [[1945 New Year Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36866|date=29 December 1944|page=18|supp=y}}</ref> He became [[Air Officer Commanding]] [[No. 85 Group RAF|No. 85 (Base) Group]], responsible for the various support units within [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|Second Tactical Air Force]],<ref name=prob53>Probert, p. 53</ref> with the acting rank of [[air vice marshal]], on 26 April 1945<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37078|date=11 May 1945|page=2515|supp=y}}</ref> and went on to be Air Officer Commanding [[No. 11 Group RAF|No. 11 Group]] in July 1945.<ref name=air/> He appointed a [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Commander of the Order of the Crown with Palms]] and awarded the [[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palms]] by the [[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders|Prince Regent of Belgium]] on 11 July 1947 for his role in liberating [[Belgium]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38013|date=11 July 1947|page=3207}}</ref>

After the War Boyle stayed in the RAF, being appointed a Companion of the [[Order of the Bath]] in the [[1946 New Year Honours]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37407|date=28 December 1945|page=6}}</ref> and relinquishing his rank of acting air vice marshal on 19 March 1946.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37518|supp=y|page=1626|date=29 March 1946}}</ref> He attended [[Royal College of Defence Studies|Imperial Defence College]] in 1946 and became Assistant Commandant of the [[RAF Staff College, Bracknell]] in January 1947 before being promoted to the [[air commodore]] on 1 July 1947.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38015|supp=y|page=3255|date=11 July 1947}}</ref> He became Director-General of Personnel at the [[Air Ministry]] with the acting rank of air vice marshal on 26 July 1948<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38374|supp=y|page=4426|date=6 August 1948}}</ref> and Director General of Manning at the Air Ministry in August 1949.<ref name=air/> He went on to be [[Air Officer Commanding]] [[No. 1 Group RAF|No.1 (Bomber) Group]] in April 1951<ref name=air/> and was advanced to Knight Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] in the 1953 [[New Year Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39732|supp=y|page=9|date=30 December 1952}}</ref> He became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at [[RAF Fighter Command]] with the acting rank of [[air marshal]] on 7 April 1953<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39818|date=3 April 1953|page=1939|supp=y}}</ref> and, having attended the [[coronation]] of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] in June 1953,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40020|date=17 November 1953|page=6228|supp=y}}</ref> he was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] on 16 July 1953<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39912|date=14 July 1953|page=3917|supp=y}}</ref> and confirmed in the rank of air marshal on 1 January 1954.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40061|date=29 December 1953|page=63|supp=y}}</ref>

Boyle became [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] and was promoted to [[air chief marshal]] on 1 January 1956,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40666|date=27 December 1955|page=7307|supp=y}}</ref> the first graduate of the RAF College Cranwell to be appointed to this post.<ref name=prob51/> In this role he deployed British air power during the [[Suez Crisis]] in October 1956 and defended the RAF against the views of [[Duncan Sandys]], the Minister for Defence, who believed that the [[V bomber]] force rendered manned fighter aircraft redundant.<ref name=prob54>Probert, p. 54</ref> He was advanced to [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] in the 1957 [[New Year Honours]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40960|date=28 December 1956|page=3|supp=y}}</ref> and promoted to the rank of [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]] on 1 January 1958<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=41266|date=27 December 1957|page=7593|supp=y}}</ref> before retiring in January 1960.<ref name=air/>

==Later career== [[File:Uniform and medals of Sir Dermot Boyle, RAF Museum London 2026-05-19.jpg|thumb|Boyle's uniform and medals at the [[Royal Air Force Museum London]]]] In retirement Boyle became vice-chairman of the [[British Aircraft Corporation]].<ref name=prob55>Probert, p. 55</ref> He was instrumental in founding the [[Royal Air Force Museum London|RAF Museum]] at [[Hendon]] and became the first chairman of its trustees.<ref name=prob55/> He was also vice-chairman of the [[RAF Benevolent Fund]] for most of the 1970s and President of the [[Royal Air Force Club]].<ref name=prob55/> He died at [[Sway, Hampshire|Sway]] in [[Hampshire]] on 5 May 1993.<ref name=odnb/>

==Family== Boyle married Una Carey in 1931; they had two sons and a daughter.<ref name=odnb/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== *{{cite book|last=Probert|first=Henry|year=1991|title=High Commanders of the Royal Air Force|publisher=HMSO|isbn=978-0-11-772635-2}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[John Cole-Hamilton]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Air Officer Commanding]] [[No. 11 Group RAF|No. 11 Group]]|years=1945–1946}} {{s-aft|after=[[Somerled Macdonald]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Edmund Hudleston]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Air Officer Commanding [[No. 1 Group RAF|No. 1 (Bomber) Group]]|years=1951–1953}} {{s-aft|after=[[John Whitley (RAF officer)|Sir John Whitley]]}} |- {{succession box|title=Commander-in-Chief [[RAF Fighter Command|Fighter Command]] |before=[[Basil Embry|Sir Basil Embry]] |after=[[Hubert Patch|Sir Hubert Patch]] |years=1953–1956}} {{succession box|title=[[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Air Staff]] |before=[[William Dickson (RAF officer)|Sir William Dickson]] |after=[[Thomas Pike|Sir Thomas Pike]] |years=1956–1959}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Dermot}} [[Category:1904 births]] [[Category:1993 deaths]] [[Category:People from Abbeyleix]] [[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Chiefs of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)]] [[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]] [[Category:Marshals of the Royal Air Force]] [[Category:Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell]] [[Category:Irish Anglicans]] [[Category:Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies]] [[Category:Military personnel from County Laois]] [[Category:Irish officers of the Royal Air Force]]