Orders, Decorations and Medals

A C.M.G., C.I.E. group of ten awarded to Rear-Admiral Hector Boyes, Royal Navy

The Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels; The Order of the Indian Empire, C.I.E., 3rd type neck badge, gold and enamels; China 1900, 1 clasp, Relief of Pekin (Midsn., R.N. H.M.S. Centurion); 1914-15 Star (Lt. Commr., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, with small M.I.D. oak leaf (Commr., R.N.); Italy, Order of the Crown, Officer’s breast badge, gold and enamels; Portugal, Order of Aviz, 2nd class neck badge and breast star by Da Costa, silver, silver-gilt and enamels; Norway, Order of St Olaf, 3rd class neck badge by Spink & Son, silver-gilt and enamels; War Medal, King Haakon VII, bronze; together with Borough of Portsmouth Tribute Medal, ‘Naval Brigade North China 1900’, silver and enamels, hallmarked 1901, in its case of issue, the China medal with an edge bruise and light contact marks, otherwise good very fine or better (12) £1600-1800

Hector Boyes was born in 1881, son of Admiral Sir George Boyes. He served as Midshipman of Centurion with the International Expedition under command of Sir Edward H. Seymour for the relief of the Pekin Legations, 10th-26th June 1900, and in subsequent operations at Tientsin. He was mentioned in despatches London Gazette September 1900, received the China medal with clasp, and was specially promoted to Lieutenant. He qualified as a French Interpreter in 1905 and was awarded the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1911. Boyes served during the Great War and was in command of the gunboat Thistle from August 1915, and still shown in that ship in 1918 (C.M.G., despatches seven times, 2nd class Order of Aviz of Portugal). He was lent to the Australian Government as Captain of Flinders Naval Depot, 1924-26; Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, 1927-30; Captain-in-Charge Simonstown, 1931-33; Chief of Staff and Manitenance Captain to C-in-C The Nore, 1933-34; Rear-Admiral and retired list, 1934; Naval Attaché: Oslo and Stockholm, 1939-40; Tokyo, 1941-42; Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, San Domingo, Haiti, 1942-46. Rear-Admiral Boyes died on 23 October 1960.