Charles Loyd

General Sir Henry Charles Loyd, (12 February 1891 – 11 November 1973), nicknamed "Budget Loyd", was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the world wars, most notably during the Second World War as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Infantry Division during the Battle of France in May 1940. Military career Born on 12 February 1891 in Belgravia, Westminster, London, the son of Edward Henry Loyd, Charles Loyd was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Coldstream Guards on 3 September 1910. Another future general, Arthur Smith, was among his fellow graduates. He was promoted to lieutenant in April 1912. He served on the Western Front during the First World War with the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, then part of the 4th (Guards) Brigade of the 2nd Division. Promoted to captain in July 1915, he was wounded in action four times, thrice mentioned in despatches, including on 1 January 1918, awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the Military Cross in 1915 and the French Croix de guerre. He was also, by war's end, a brevet lieutenant colonel and, as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, one of the youngest battalion commanders in the British Army. The citation for his MC reads: After the war Loyd was selected for the first postwar course at the Staff College, Camberley from 1919 to 1920. In 1922 he married Lady Moya Brodrick, the youngest daughter of the St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton; they had two children, a daughter, Lavinia Gertrude Georgiana, born on 21 December 1923, and a son, Julian St. John, born on 25 May 1926. In 1925 he returned to the Staff College, this time as an instructor, until 1926 when he was appointed CO of the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards.