Cavendish Boyle

Sir Cavendish Boyle
Sir Cavendish with the badge of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
Personal details
Born
Charles Cavendish Boyle

29 May 1849
Bridgetown, Barbados,[1] British Windward Islands
Died29 May 1916(1916-05-29) (aged 67)
London, England
CitizenshipBritish
Spouse
Judith Sassoon
(m. 1914)
ProfessionColonial administrator

Sir Charles Cavendish Boyle KCMG AMInstCE (29 May 1849 – 17 September 1916) was a British civil servant, magistrate, and colonial administrator who served as Colonial Governor of Newfoundland, Mauritius and British Guiana.[2] He wrote the lyrics for the anthem of the Dominion and later Province of Newfoundland, "Ode to Newfoundland".

Early life and education

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Known as Cavendish Boyle, he was born in Barbados into an ancient Irish family, the son of Capt. Cavendish Spencer Boyle and Rose Susan Alexander, daughter of Lt-Col. C. C. Alexander. He was the grandson of Sir Courtenay Boyle and the great-grandson of the Seventh Earl of Cork and Earl of Orrery.[2] His elder brother, Sir Courtenay Edmund Boyle, was also a civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Board of Trade.[3]

Boyle was educated in London at Charterhouse, and later studied colonial administration and law.[1]

Career

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Sheet music produced for the debut of "Ode to Newfoundland" in 1902.

Boyle joined the British Colonial Office and was made magistrate in the Leeward Islands in 1879.[1] He served as Colonial Secretary of Bermuda from 1882 to 1888 and in Gibraltar from 1888 to 1894. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint John (CMG) in 1889,[4] and granted a knighthood in the same order in the 1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours.[5]

In 1894 he moved to British Guiana, where he was Government Secretary and acted as Governor several times.[2]

In March 1901, he was appointed Governor of Newfoundland,[6] where he arrived in St. Johns in mid-June.[7] He stayed as such until 1904, and wrote poems to the island's rugged beauty including the Ode to Newfoundland which was adopted as the dominion's national anthem. As governor, Boyle donated a trophy, the Boyle Challenge Cup, to the Newfoundland Hockey League.

He continued his colonial career with a posting as the 19th Governor of Mauritius from 20 August 1904 to 10 April 1911, after which he retired to Brighton, England.[2]

Personal life

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In 1914, Boyle married to Louise Judith Sassoon MBE, daughter of Reuben David Sassoon (1835-1905). They had no children. He died in London in 1916 after undergoing an operation. His widow, who was 25 years his junior, lived to be 90, dying in 1964.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Boyle, Sir Charles Cavendish (1849-1916)". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sir Cavendish Boyle". The Times. 18 September 1916. p. 11.
  3. ^ a b Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 900. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  4. ^ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1904). Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, Including All the Titled Classes. p. 180. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  5. ^ "No. 26947". The London Gazette. 14 March 1898. p. 1679.
  6. ^ "No. 27290". The London Gazette. 1 March 1901. p. 1499.
  7. ^ "Court and Social". The Times. No. 36483. London. 17 June 1901. p. 11.
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Government offices
Preceded by Governor of British Guiana, acting
1895–1896
Succeeded by
Preceded by Colonial Governor of Newfoundland
1901–1904
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Mauritius
1904–1911
Succeeded by