BOYD Eric William
career soldier 1924 - 2005

Slim Boyd was born in Sydney on 1 January 1924. He joined the 2nd AIF underage on the 11th March 1941, mis-declaring that he was born in 1921.

He was posted to 2/23 Aust Inf Bn and went to North Africa and there listed as Missing in Action at Tell El Eisa near El Alamein on the 22 July 1942. He was imprisoned in Italy and officially reported as a Prisoner of War in September. Escaping from Italy he reached neutral Switzerland on 18 October 1943, remaining there until the liberation of France provided a border across which he and other escapees could be evacuated in September 1944.

Returning to Australia he was discharged in July 1945. He re-engaged in the AIF on the 18 March 1946 and was posted to the War Graves Maintenance Unit in New Guinea as a corporal. He returned to Australia in 1947 and was posted to HQ 1 Sup Res Dep in Sydney, transferring to the Interim Army, and then the Australian Regular Army in May 1948.

In 1948 he was posted to the Australian Army Staff in the United Kingdom and remained there until 1952. On return to Sydney he was posted to 4 Coy RAASC as Quartermaster Sergeant and in 1953 joined the Royal Visit Car Coy as a driver. Awarded a British Empire Medal in 1958 for service as QMS in 2 Div Coln, postings followed to Melbourne and Puckapunyal during the sixties, and in 1968 to the Amenities and Welfare Unit in Vietnam. 

Returning to Australia in 1969, Eric was promoted WO1 and posted as RSM of CARO in Melbourne. He retired from the Army in 1974 after serving over 32 years in the AIF, Interim Army and ARA.

Slim married Joan (deceased) whilst serving in the UK and they had three children: Michael, Kathleen and Phillip. Slim passed away at Byron Bay NSW on 12 June 2005.