Edward Boyle, correspondence and papers
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: Edward Boyle, correspondence and papers
Classmark: MS 1760
Creator(s): Boyle of Handsworth, Edward Boyle Baron (1923-1981); Boyle, Sir Edward Gurney (1878-1945); Boyle, Lady Constance Jane (1855-1944)
Date(s): 1896-1972
Language: English; French; Russian
Size and medium: 8 boxes containing manuscript, typescript, and printed material, plus photographs, postcards, and objects.
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/6825
Description
Printed books and other volumes, 1913-1943, including journals and news cuttings of Sir Edward Boyle (Box 1); Personal papers and correspondence, 1903-1945, mainly of Sir Edward Boyle and Lady Constance Boyle (Box 2); Papers and correspondence, newspapers and news cuttings, 1896-1949, relating to Balkan affairs (Box 3); Papers and correspondence, 1915-1972, relating to Sir Edward Boyle's exemption from military service, the British Mission in Corsica, and the work of the Serbian Red Cross (Box 4); TS and MS material, general papers and correspondence, 1915-1938, relating to Serbia and the Balkan Committee (Box 5); Administrative records of the Balkan Committee, 1923-1941 (Box 6); Artefacts including diaries of Sir Edward Boyle, photographs, passports/identity cards, a scarf, armbands and badges, chiefly belonging to Lady Constance Boyle (Boxes 7 & 8). The bulk of the collection covers the period of Sir Edward Boyle's lifetime; the exceptions are correspondence concerning the winding-up of
the Balkan Committee; an undated letter to Lord Boyle regarding his father's private correspondence; and a resumé [obituary] of Ivan Stancioff, marked 'from U.S.A. newspapers', dating from c.1972.
Biography or history
The Balkan Committee was a non-governmental special interest group in existence between 1903 and 1949, based in London. It was composed of Members of Parliament, journalists, and other interested parties, with the shared objective of preserving Balkan unity. It held regular meetings and talks with guest speakers, and individual members, including Sir Edward Gurney Boyle, acted in an advisory capacity, both publicly and in private contact with the Foreign Office and the various Balkan governments.
Sir Edward Gurney Boyle, 2nd Baronet, was born on 12 June 1878. He was the only son of the first baronet, Sir Edward Boyle, K.C., M.P., and Constance (née Knight). Boyle married Beatrice (née Greig) in 1920. A lawyer, he was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1902 although he did not practice a great deal. Boyle was a director of Richard Thomas and Co. Limited and various private companies and was an associate of the Surveyors' Institute. In 1909 he succeeded his father and became second baronet of Ockham, Sussex.
The Balkans were one of Boyle's main interests and he acquired a wide knowledge of the area and its people. He travelled widely in the Balkans often in the company of his mother, Lady Constance. In the early days of the First World War Boyle became honorary treasurer of the Serbian Relief Fund and was appointed acting British Commissioner for Serbia in 1915. Boyle was a prominent member of the Balkan Committee and became chairman in 1924. An active spokesman on behalf of Balkan interests, he had extensive contacts amongst politicians and statesmen at home and abroad.
In 1927 he served as High Sheriff of Sussex. Boyle was the father of Edward Charles Gurney Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth (1923-81) who became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds. He died in Dorchester on 31 March 1945.
Lady Constance Boyle (c.1855-1944), the mother of Sir Edward Gurney Boyle, was also interested in Balkan affairs. She travelled throughout the area and worked on behalf of Serbian refugee organisations during and after the First World War.
Access and usage
Access
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