William Alfred "Alf" Boyd

  General Notes:

Extract from John Duncan's "We Are All Margaret Haldane's Bairns" :

Alf's usual address was given as 24 Maryfield Place, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, and his parent's as John Boyd, Master Grocer, and Rachel Boyd m.s. Calder.
{ Marriage Registered 30 June 1924., No 104 District of St Rollox, Glasgow.}

They emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in the 1930's, apparently together with (Isabella's sister) Elizabeth McMillan Duncan.

Alf Boyd was a Scottish merchant seaman officer , when resident in the U.K. and may have served in the British Navy in World War One.

During the second World War, he was an officer in the Australian Navy on one of their smaller vessels. From what he told me, he spent most of the war manning the harbour boom at Fremantle, Western Australia. The purpose of the boom was to keep enemy submarines and other craft out, and it had to be lifted to let friendly craft out of harbour.

After the war he was employed by the Melbourne Harbour Trust as a storeman, and later a desk job at their William St., Melbourne, Head office.

In 1951 he had a heart attack at his desk, and although he survived this, he had to be pensioned off work.

Isa and Alf were deeply involved with the female version of Freemasonry, i.e.
The Order of The Eastern Star, which took up a lot of their free time visiting other Orders, and on social outings with other members. They also enjoyed caravanning, again with O.E.S. members.

Before 1951 they operated some sort of boarding-house in Albert Park, South Melbourne where Joseph B. Hughes #86 with his sons and daughters lodged when they came to Australia, presumably in 1930.

William married Isabella Napier Stewart Duncan, daughter of Malcolm Duncan and Isabella Napier Stewart, 25th of June in 1924 in Her Mother's House, 27 Richmond St., Glasgow, Lanark, Sct. (Isabella Napier Stewart Duncan was born circa 1896 in SCT and died on 10 Dec 1985 in Blairgowrie, Vic. Au.)