William Boyd

Biography

Born in Fife in 1930, William Boyd split his childhood between Glenalmond boarding school and the Fife District Asylum, where his father (William Boyd Sr.) was Medical Superintendent. He was involved in the running of the institution even as a very young boy, following his father around, going to the patients’ dances and getting to know the characters. In 1954, Boyd graduated from the University of Edinburgh where he had been a member of the Royal Medical Society. After his National Service in Korea, Japan and Singapore, Boyd trained as a psychiatrist at the Royal Edinburgh and became a founding member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Before he retired, he worked as a Mental Welfare Commissioner and led an inquiry into psychiatric patient suicides and homicides.

Details

• Date of interview: February 2006
• Archive reference: OBJ/ORA/1/3
• Interviewer: Morrice McCrae