Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton
Encyclopedia
Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL
(18 November 1904 – 8 March 1983) was a British
Conservative
politician.
, Dorset
and graduated from Christ Church, Oxford
, with a Master of Arts
. He served in the Second World War as a Lieutenant
in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
(MP) for Mid Bedfordshire
in 1931
(at the age of 26), and was admitted to Inner Temple
, as a barrister in 1941. He was a member of Winston Churchill
's peacetime government as Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation
from 1952 to 1954. In this post he once memorably opined that road accidents were the result not of the taking of large risks, but of the taking of small risks very large numbers of times.
In 1954 he became Secretary of State for the Colonies
, where he oversaw early stages of decolonisation, with the granting of independence to Cyprus
, Ghana
, Iraq
, Malaya
and Sudan
. He was in office during the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya
, and was persuaded to stay in office by Harold Macmillan
after being censured for the Hola massacre
. He talked openly about independence for the Federation of Malaya, and invited the then Chief Minister of Malaya, Tunku Sir Abdul Rahman Al-Haj and his friends to Lancester House to discuss the possibility of Malaya's becoming a sovereign nation. However, after the 1959 general election
he was replaced as Colonial Secretary by Iain Macleod
.
In September 1960 he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Boyd of Merton of Merton-in-Penninghame in the County of Wigtown. This caused a by-election for his Mid Bedfordshire constituency which was won by Stephen Hastings
. He was further honoured the same year when he was appointed a Companion of Honour. Being opposed to the line taken in Harold Macmillan
's Wind of Change speech, he subsequently became an early patron of the Conservative Monday Club
.
between 1954 and 1960 and Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall
in 1965. He was managing director of Arthur Guinness & Sons between 1959 and 1967, and was a Companion of Honour and Privy Councillor.
, the Governor of Kenya, who is alleged to have added a cover letter asserting that inflicting "violent shock" is the only way to deal with Mau Mau insurgents.
In April 2011 a Guardian report described a cache of government documents which may indicate that, despite clear briefings, Lennox-Boyd repeatedly denied that the abuses were happening, and publicly denounced those colonial officials who came forward to complain.
, on 29 December 1938. They had four children:
Lord Boyd died in March 1983, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Simon. Lady Boyd died in May 2001, aged 83.
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(18 November 1904 – 8 March 1983) was a 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...
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician.
Background, education and military service
Lennox-Boyd was the son of Alan Lennox-Boyd by his second wife Florence, daughter of James Warburton Begbie. He had an elder half-sister and three full brothers, two of whom were killed in the Second World War and one who died in Germany in April 1939. He was educated at Sherborne SchoolSherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
and graduated from Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, with a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
. He served in the Second World War as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
Political career
Lennox-Boyd was elected as Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Mid Bedfordshire
Mid Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Bedfordshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
(at the age of 26), and was admitted to Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, as a barrister in 1941. He was a member of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's peacetime government as Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
from 1952 to 1954. In this post he once memorably opined that road accidents were the result not of the taking of large risks, but of the taking of small risks very large numbers of times.
In 1954 he became Secretary of State for the Colonies
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
, where he oversaw early stages of decolonisation, with the granting of independence to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. He was in office during the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and was persuaded to stay in office by Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
after being censured for the Hola massacre
Hola massacre
The Hola Massacre is an event that took place during the Mau Mau Uprising against British colonial rule at a colonial detention camp in Hola, Kenya.- Event :...
. He talked openly about independence for the Federation of Malaya, and invited the then Chief Minister of Malaya, Tunku Sir Abdul Rahman Al-Haj and his friends to Lancester House to discuss the possibility of Malaya's becoming a sovereign nation. However, after the 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
he was replaced as Colonial Secretary by Iain Macleod
Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Early life:...
.
In September 1960 he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Boyd of Merton of Merton-in-Penninghame in the County of Wigtown. This caused a by-election for his Mid Bedfordshire constituency which was won by Stephen Hastings
Stephen Hastings
Sir Stephen Lewis Edmonstone Hastings, Kt, MC, MFH, was a war hero, former MI6 operative, Master of Foxhounds, author, painter, sculptor, and British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Member of Parliament for Mid Bedfordshire in a 1960 by-election caused by the elevation to the...
. He was further honoured the same year when he was appointed a Companion of Honour. Being opposed to the line taken in Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
's Wind of Change speech, he subsequently became an early patron of the Conservative Monday Club
Conservative Monday Club
The Conservative Monday Club is a British pressure group "on the right-wing" of the Conservative Party.-Overview:...
.
Other public positions and business career
Lord Boyd of Merton held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of BedfordshireBedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
between 1954 and 1960 and Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in 1965. He was managing director of Arthur Guinness & Sons between 1959 and 1967, and was a Companion of Honour and Privy Councillor.
Mau Mau rebellion
In June 1957, Lennox-Boyd, who was Secretary of State for the Colonies, received a secret memorandum written by Eric Griffiths-Jones, the attorney general of Kenya. The letter described the abuse of Mau Mau detainees. The memorandum was passed on by Sir Evelyn BaringEvelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale
Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale, KG, GCMG, KCVO was Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1942 to 1944 and Governor of Kenya from 1952 to 1959....
, the Governor of Kenya, who is alleged to have added a cover letter asserting that inflicting "violent shock" is the only way to deal with Mau Mau insurgents.
In April 2011 a Guardian report described a cache of government documents which may indicate that, despite clear briefings, Lennox-Boyd repeatedly denied that the abuses were happening, and publicly denounced those colonial officials who came forward to complain.
Family
Lord Boyd married Lady Patricia Guinness, daughter of Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of IveaghRupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh
Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh KG CB CMG VD ADC FRS, , was an Anglo-Irish businessman, politician, oarsman and philanthropist. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh...
, on 29 December 1938. They had four children:
- Simon Lennox-Boyd, 2nd Viscount Boyd of MertonSimon Lennox-Boyd, 2nd Viscount Boyd of MertonSimon Donald Rupert Neville Lennox-Boyd, 2nd Viscount Boyd of Merton is a British peer, the son of Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton....
(b. 7 December 1939) - Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd (b. 22 July 1941)
- Hon. Mark Lennox-BoydMark Lennox-BoydSir Mark Alexander Lennox-Boyd is a British Conservative politician and a son of the 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton.Lennox-Boyd was MP for Morecambe and Lonsdale from 1979 to 1983, and the Morecambe and Lunesdale from 1983 until his defeat by Labour's Geraldine Smith in 1997...
(b. 4 May 1943) - Hon. Lady Annie LennoxAnnie LennoxAnnie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
(b. Dec 1954)
Lord Boyd died in March 1983, aged 78, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Simon. Lady Boyd died in May 2001, aged 83.