Name
Henry Charles Loyd (Croix de Guerre)
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Not Yet Researched
Croix de Guerre
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Biography
Henry Loyd was born on 12th February 1891 in London. He was the youngest of three sons born to Edward and Clementina Loyd. His brother Reginald Percy also served in the War. In the 1891 Census the family was recorded living at Eaton Square in Belgravia, London, where they employed sixteen members of staff. In 1885 Edward’s father, William Jones Loyd, a London Banker died and left Edward Langleybury, a property in south-west Hertfordshire. William Loyd had purchased Langleybury House in 1856, and had lived there until his death. By 1901 the Edward had moved his family to Langleybury, where they employed thirteen staff to run the household.
Henry was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1910, and was listed in military records serving with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant with the 3rd Battalion, and based at the Tower of London Barracks.
The Abbots Langley Parish Magazine Roll of Honour first listed him in September 1914, serving as a Lieutenant with the Coldstream Guards. Henry was a serving soldier when War broke out on 4th August 1914, and was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force He disembarked on 12th August.
In October 1914 the Parish Magazine reported
“We regret very much to hear that one, though not resident in this ecclesiastical Parish, is very closely connected with it, Lieut. H.C. Loyd, is reported as "slightly wounded", but before that he went through many hair-breadth escapes and terrible experiences. We pray that he may soon be perfectly restored to health”.
In December 1915 the Parish Magazine recorded that Henry had been awarded the Military Cross
“Our readers will have been glad to read the following in the newspapers under the awards for the Military Cross for Bravery :- "Lieut (temporary Capt) Henry Charles Loyd, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, for conspicuous gallantry and ability on October 8th, 1915, near Loos. When his sap-heads and a large section of his front trench had been nearly levelled to the ground after a four hours' bombardment, his company repelled two determined bomb attacks in both of which the Germans nearly gained a footing in our trenches. The great personal bravery of Capt Loyd, his skillful organisation, and inspiriting example to those around him were largely instrumental in bringing about the success of his company”.
In January 1916 Henry was promoted to the rank of Captain, but from January 1918 through to the end of the War he was not recorded in the Parish Roll of Honour. By the end of the War his Medal Roll indicated that he had reached the rank of Brigadier Major with the Coldstream Guards, and had been awarded the French Croix de Guerre medal. He continued his Military career through to the Second World War, when he served with the rank of General, and was eventually Knighted.
Henry Loyd survived the War, however his brother Reginald Percy was killed in action on 1st December 1917 near Cambrai, serving as a Lieutenant with the 1st Hertfordshire’s.
Acknowledgments
Roger Yapp - www.backtothefront.org
