James Erroll Dunsford Boyd (November 22, 1891 – November 27, 1960) was a pioneering Canadian
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
. He was known as the "Lindbergh of Canada"
before becoming an American citizen in 1941.
Biography
James Erroll Dunsford Boyd, known to his family and friends as "Erroll", was born on November 22, 1891 in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
he was a flyer with the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
.
[
On October 9–10, 1930, Boyd became the first Canadian to fly an airplane from Canada to England (]Harbour Grace
Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America.
It is located about northwest ...
to Tresco, Isles of Scilly
Tresco ( kw, Enys Skaw, meaning "island of elder-trees") is the second-biggest island of the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall, England. It is in size, measuring about by .
History
In early times one group of islands was in the possession of a co ...
).["The Sad Side of 1960: Death Claims Many Prominent Canadians,"]
''Ottawa Journal,'' December 29, 1960, pg. 16.
He became an American citizen on March 28, 1941, in Hartford, Connecticut.
Boyd died on November 27, 1960 in Sharon, Connecticut
Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town i ...
.Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2 ...
.
Awards and honours
In 2017, Boyd was posthumously inducted into the Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame
Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...
.
Footnotes
Further reading
* Ross Smyth, ''The Lindberg of Canada: The Erroll Boyd Story.'' Burnstown, ON: General Store Publishing House, 1997.
External links
*
For Love and Liberty, a patriotic song and chorus
at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, J. Errol
1891 births
1960 deaths
People from Old Toronto
Canadian aviators
Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian emigrants to the United States