General Notes

This man is an enigma.  His obituary is pasted into my parent's scrapbook with no comment.  It would suggest that he may have been a relation.  On the other hand. he may have been just a friend.

His gravestone in Aghadowey Presbyterian Church reads as follows:
109 Boyd-Gilmore-KennedyCage
In loving memory of
Alfred Edgar Boyd, died 25 July 1936, aged 59 years
and his wife, Margaret Elizabeth, died 30 January 1961, aged 79 years
and their son, Ringland Gilmore, Lt. Co., M.C.R.A.M.C., died 17 August 1950. aged 33 years
also their daughter, Anna Christina, died 9 July, 1974, aged 63 years
their granddaughters
Trudy and Katie, 1939 and 1981
Kathleen Bryce Kennedy Cage, nee Boyd, died 6 October 1982, aged 70 years
Horace Arthur James Cage, died 12 November 1986, aged 84 years.

I am beginning to think that this man was only a friend of my parents and that was why his obituary appears in their scrapbook.  He was after all born the same year as my mother so he is very much a contemporary.  I think it is so far back to Mary Boyd - 100 years and four generations (to reach her parents), that neither he nor they, nor either sets of parents would have known any connection between their ancestors and my Mary Boyd.

I have found an Ali Gallup, whose tree is on the MyHeritage website, who gives the following information on the siblings of Ringland Boyd (I think she may be descended from another sibling whose details are blanked out):
John McAlister Boyd
Eleanor Beatrice "Bea" Boyd
Aileen Jane Boyd
William Archibald Boyd
Margaret Elizabeth Furey Boyd
Mary Gladys Boyd 1909-
Anna Christina Patterson Boyd 1911-74
Catherine Boyce Kennedy Boyd 1912-82
Ringland etc
Alfred Boyd 1920-

I emailed Ali but the email was returned.

He won his MC in Tunisia in 1943 according to another newspaper cutting in my parents' scrapbook, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  He was Senior Assistant Medical Officer for Gloucestershire, when he was killed in a car accident aged only 33.  His funeral was a huge event in Garvagh and then his burial in Aghadowey because he was such a famous local personality.  This may have been why my parents had his obituary pasted into their scrapbook.

I now have the marriage record of Ringland's grandfather, John Boyd and it shows that John's father was indeed Kennedy Boyd.  This means that IF Kennedy Boyd is the brother of my great great grandmother, Mary Boyd, as I suspect, then Ringland Boyd was a third cousin of my father.  I wonder did he know that and is that why he had the obituary in his scrapbook, or did he just know they were somehow kin and kept the cutting because Ringland was so well known in Garvagh.

In fact, it now seems that Kennedy Boyd was the cousin not brother of my Mary Boyd, which pushes back the family connection another generation, if there is one at all.  I am still prepared to believe that my father knew of a family connection and maybe it was this combined with the tragedy in a well known local family that inspired him to put the cutting in his scrapbook.

From: support@tribalpages.com [mailto:support@tribalpages.com]
Sent: 23 July 2012 19:13
To: boydgray26@utvinternet.com
Subject: Message from Jill Hind
Dear Boyd Gray
you have received a message from Jill Hind
Jill Hind said ..
Hello,
I was doing some searching trying to find photos especially and information on a Boyd I never knew, when I came across your site.  I smiled when I read that Ringland Gilmore Boyd is something of an enigma.   
My mother-in-law is the fiancee noted in the obituary.  Her name at the time was Margaret Pitchford, having lost her husband, Jack, in the war.  On the day Paddie (sp) (Ringland's nickname - not very original!)died, he had been out on a last minute call to a patient, before returning back to get mum and then over to Ireland to meet his parents for the first time for mum, but he didn't make it home.
There is more to the story, but for now I will close this message and hope to hear from you.
Jill
Message forwarded by TribalPages Support
on behalf of jhind@shaw.ca
More............
Although I was born in Nottinghamshire, England, I've lived in Canada for 30 years now (still have the accent though).  I live with my husband Robb in Kaleden, in the South Okanagan in British Columbia.
Mum is 94 years old and lives about 10 minutes drive from us.  She is in great health, physically and mentally, has a good sense of humour, and memories she would love to share.
More...............
Thanks for your quick email.  It's late here, and although I could answer some of your questions  from the stories I've heard, I ask that you be patient whilst I send all of this to mum via email - she got "into" computers at 89 - with an explanation of what's happened, as well as printing it out for her to read in hard copy (she doesn't wear reading glasses - just ticks me off!).  She will be excited, I'm sure, to pass on her memories.  Once I've spoken with her, we'll be in touch.
I was looking for Ringland Boyd only.  We have no connection otherwise with the Boyds.
By the way, mum was devastated when Paddy (most likely spelling) died and emotionally tore up all the pictures she had of him.  She very much regrets that, but it was a difficult time.  I'll be interested to see her reaction to the picture in the newspaper clipping.
More.................
Mum is my mum-in-law, and she was indeed Ringland's fiancé. Her memories of him are clear, and she laughs as she recalls what a "charmer" he was.  All of the nurses at the hospital where he worked had a crush on him.
Her husband, Jack, had been sent to Burma in the war just a couple of weeks after they married.  He was last seen by his men after being injured in the legs and unable to make it out of the fighting going on.  Mum waited for years for the Japanese camps to be emptied and finally the telegram came that said "you are a widow", since no trace could be found of him.  I will ask mum to tell the story of how she and Paddy met.
I was looking for images of Ringland, since mum destroyed the ones she had in her sorrow at the time.  She will be shocked and delighted to see the image you sent.
Jill