Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce

Admiral The Lord Boyce
Boyce in 2002
Born	2 April 1943 (1943-04-02) (age 68) Cape Town, Union of South Africa
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1961 - 2003
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Oberon HMS Opossum HMS Superb HMS Brilliant Naval Home Command Fleet
Battles/wars	Cold War Falklands War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Admiral Michael Cecil Boyce, Baron Boyce, KG, GCB, OBE, DL (born 2 April 1943), is a cross bench member of the British House of Lords. Lord Boyce is a former First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy and Chief of the Defence Staff. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa.

Naval career

Educated at Hurstpierpoint College, Boyce joined the Royal Navy in 1961. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant (from acting sub-lieutenant) in 1965,^[1] lieutenant in 1966^[2] and lieutenant-commander in 1974.^[3] He was a submariner who went on to command the submarines HMS Oberon and HMS Opossum.^[4]

He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1976, during which time he commanded the submarine HMS Superb.^[5] In 1982 he was promoted to captain.^[6] His next job was to take command of the frigate, HMS Brilliant before returning to the Ministry of Defence in 1986.^[5] He became Senior Naval Officer Middle East in 1988, Director of Naval Staff Duties at the Ministry of Defence in 1989 and Flag Officer Sea Training in 1991.^[5] From 1992 to 1995 he was Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla and from 1995 to 1997 he was Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command.^[7]

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief Fleet in 1997, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in 1998 and, then, Chief of the Defence Staff in 2001,^[7] he retired from that position in 2003.^[8]

Boyce was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[9] He was knighted in the 1995 New Year Honours, as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).^[10] In 2002 he was made a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John.^[11] He was created a life peer as Baron Boyce, of Pimlico in the City of Westminster in 2003 after retiring as Chief of the Defence Staff.^[12] In 2004 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London.^[13] He is a former chairman of the Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889).^[14] He was created a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in April 2011.^[15]

Honours

	Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG)	April 2011
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)
	Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
	Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John	2002
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
	Commander of the Legion of Merit	(United States)

Later career

In retirement he was one of the several retired Chiefs of Defence Staff who spoke out 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.^[16]

In May 2004 Lord Boyce was appointed a non-executive director of WS Atkins plc.^[17]

In July 2004 he was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports,^[18][19] to succeed the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Lord Boyce was the first former Chief of the Naval Staff to hold this appointment.

On 3 December 2009, Boyce gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry.^[20]

Boyce is currently a member of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation, established in October 2009.^[21]

Patronage

In 2004, Lord Boyce became patron of Dover College.^[22]

On 18 March 2011 Lord Boyce became patron of The Dover War Memorial Project.^[23]

References

Flag of Admiral Lord Boyce, as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

1. ^ London Gazette: no. 43836. p. 11545. 10 December 1965. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
2. ^ London Gazette: no. 44099. p. 9588. 30 August 1966. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
3. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46174. p. 264. 7 January 1974. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
4. ^ Navy News Biography
5. ^ ^{a b c} Profile: Admiral Sir Michael Boyce BBC News, 8 October 2001
6. ^ London Gazette
7. ^ ^{a b} Submariners Association
8. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57019. p. 13881. 11 November 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
9. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49008. p. 5. 11 June 1982. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
10. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53893. p. 2. 30 December 1994. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
11. ^ London Gazette: no. 56766. p. 14391. 27 November 2002. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
12. ^ London Gazette: no. 56977. p. 7693. 20 June 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
13. ^ London Gazette: no. 57172. p. 209. 8 January 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
14. ^ Royal Navy Club of 1765 & 1785 (United 1889)
15. ^ "Lord Phillips and Admiral Boyce made Knights of Garter". BBC News. 23 April 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13168587. 
16. ^ Why Britain's top Serviceman would not end up in the Dock
17. ^ Atkins Board of Directors
18. ^ London Gazette: no. 57496. p. 15732. 15 December 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
19. ^ Appointment as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
20. ^ "The US 'assumed' UK participation in Iraq, inquiry told". BBC News (BBC). 3 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8392344.stm. Retrieved 28 January 2010. 
21. ^ Nuclear-free world ultimate aim of new cross-party pressure group
22. ^ Dover College
23. ^ The Dover War Memorial Project

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Michael Layard	Second Sea Lord 1995–1997	Succeeded by Sir John Brigstocke
Preceded by Sir Peter Abbott	Commander-in-Chief Fleet 1997–1998	Succeeded by Sir Nigel Essenhigh
Preceded by Sir Jock Slater	First Sea Lord 1998–2001	Succeeded by Sir Nigel Essenhigh
Preceded by Sir Charles Guthrie	Chief of the Defence Staff 2001–2003	Succeeded by Sir Michael Walker
Honorary titles
Preceded by HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother	Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 2004–Present	Succeeded by Current Incumbent
Heraldic offices
Preceded by Sir Brian Kenny	King of Arms of the Order of the Bath 2009–Present	Succeeded by Current Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Boyce, Admiral The Lord
Alternative names
Short description	Naval officer
Date of birth	1943-04-02
Place of birth	Cape Town, South Africa
Date of death
Place of death