SAMUEL WALLACE BOYLE

1908 - 1932

INTRO

The name Sammy was often heard in conversations between my mother Jessie and my grandmother Wilhelmina, who was Samuel Boyle's elder sister. It was evident from the talk that Sammy was a much loved figure, but apparently not about anymore. Out of curiosity one day I asked my mother to tell me about him. She described a man that reached out for a life beyond the small Scottish village of Clackmannan and, in the process, created adventure and wealth to compliment a charismatic disposition that had already attracted a wide friendship throughout the village. He was she said, all that any man could be and, then he was gone, lost forever to this world, his passing deeply mourned amongst family and friends. To my then five year old mind, it seemed like the world had made a terrible mistake and taken the wrong person, but my mother assured me that I would grow up to see it often, so that was that, and Sammy was forgotten.

In adulthood, Sammy was again to enter my life and so began a journey into the past. However, living in Australia and attempting to research someone that lived on the other side of the world in a bygone era is challenging indeed. When all seemed hopeless, a chance telephone conversation resulted in valuable and unstinting help from Maureen Cook who lives in Scotland. Maureen is the daughter of Sammy's younger sister, Margaret, and therefore she is my first cousin once removed. I am indebted to Maureen for taking an interest in this little bit of family history and, for sharing with me not just photo's and documentation, but the Boyle's family tree as well. During 2012 whilst in the UK for a wedding, I met up with Maureen at her seaside guesthouse where she presented me with Sammy's personal photo album. A wonderful gesture from a wonderful lady.

THE LEGEND

After three daughters, Samuel Wallace Boyle was the first son born to John Boyle and his wife Jessie Wallace at Buckhaven, Fifeshire. Nothing is known of his upbringing but it is presumed to reflect the working class status of his parents. At eighteen years old, tall and strong, he joined the Coldstream Guards, the highly decorated, world famous regiment with the conspicuous red tunics and oversized bearskin head-dress. The regiment is glorified with battle honours stretching right across the globe, as it represented the pointy end of the British Empire for which it was dispatched to extend, control and preserve. There were other famous regiments in which Sammy could have enlisted. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (which as the 93rd) won six (6) Victoria Crosses in one morning before breakfast during the siege of Lucknow. There's the legendary Black Watch and the famous Cameron Highlanders (my grandfathers regiment) to name a couple more, but Sammy chose the uniform that screamed to the world, Empire, Pride and Glory.

He was often to serve down in London to perform the "Changing of the Guard" for the summer crowds around Buckingham Palace, and at some stage it is said that he became a British spy. The story goes that he was often overseas but was captured and imprisoned by the Russians. He then served 2yrs before a swap was effected with one of theirs, but he was considered lucky not to have been shot.

Eventually Sammy accumulated sufficient wealth to buy the Royal Oak Hotel in Clackmannan. This was also the beginning of a memorable period for Wilhelmina, as Sammy was often hosting the kind of parties and functions that attracted the "great and good" from all around, and she was sometimes pressed into the role of hostess.

(I once heard her speak of what fun and enjoyment it was, except for, "that bliddy Russian" that was always "hingin aboot". We'll get to him soon).

Whoever the "great and good" were, was never really mentioned except that Sammy could count King Farouk of Egypt amongst his friends.

And back in an age when production and assembly lines were immature and motoring was an expensive luxury, Sammy had a car, a sports car no less, and he raced in international events. And if this wasn't enough, bringing even more cred to his public persona was his constant companion, a beautiful singer/dancer known as Rene Rintoul.

But the hidden hand that guides our destiny had ordained for Sammy a cruel fate, and it struck one night whilst he was driving towards Alloa on the Tullibody Road. At a point near the service entrance to Lornshill Farm, Sammy lost control of his vehicle and crashed, sustaining horrific head injuries that would end his life shortly before the new dawn. Fortunately his passenger survived the tragedy but suffered serious injuries nonetheless. Adding to his families grief, Sammy's racing suit and colours arrived the day following his funeral for a race in which he was to compete the following week in Germany.

Year 2005

My father had died in 1997 and so it fell upon me to escort my aged mother to Scotland and eventually to visit the Boyle family's burial plot in Clackmannan cemetery to lay a floral tribute. It was then I discovered that Sammy had died in 1932 at 24yrs of age, and I was astonished. How could he possibly have attained so much in so short a life? Addressing this issue with my mother, she was adamant that what I've just described above is correct and, despite my voicing some serious doubts, she remained resolute and indignant that I dare question his legacy.

I was curious to find out more and contacted aunts and uncles to tell me what they knew. Except for one detail, the story remained unchanged. My Aunty Liz, Wilhelmina's youngest child, refutes that Sammy was a spy and states that it was just the impression everyone had, simply because he was always traveling abroad. I was aware that all whom I had questioned belonged to Wilhelmina's family, and therefore the story I was getting may well have been what Wilhelmina wanted it to be. But I was intrigued, after-all, here was a bloke that blethered with a king. I decided to find out more about this extraordinary man and I remember thinking, this shouldn't be too hard.....!!

a. Scotland's People is the official repository for Births Deaths and Marriages. Sammy's birth certificate is not there but all his siblings are; (He must be a spy, they've hidden him I remember thinking.)

b. The Foreign Office records from the 20s'-30s' period are on-line but the cataloging system is a lucky dip and many hours were wasted on this;

c. Sandhurst records show a Samuel Boyle of the same age. 4 quid later I discover he's an Irishman whose father was a colonel that worked for the Duke of Wellington;

d. I emailed the Registrar of the Rintoul family in Scotland seeking information on Rene. The reply stated there was no one called Rene in the family and therefore very likely a stage name;

e. Very limited information exists on racing drivers of that era, but there is a list of the top 50 and Sammy's not on it.

The years went by and I began to think that time and unseen forces had conspired to conceal him forever........... until !

On 30th June 2011, I received a telephone call from Maureen seeking any information I had regarding the Boyles for her genealogy project. During the course of our conversation I related my interest in Sammy and the hardship I found acquiring information. Maureen indicated that she might be able to help and, as acknowledged above, it has been her resourcefulness, kindness and wonderful generosity that has given insight into Sammy's life.

The Boyle's in the 1911 Census.

Sammy's Military Record.

Character - exemplary.

Sammy's enlistment.

What the record shows is that Sammy signed up for 12 yrs of military service, 3 of which was full-time service in uniform and the remainder as a reservist. His enlistment papers clearly states that he was a labourer prior to joining the regiment, and this implies he would not have specialist skills or knowledge that would be useful to military intelligence. Also, the papers show that during the 3 yrs spent in uniform, he did not rise beyond the rank of trooper (private). This is not unusual in any way, but during that 3 year period, had he been selected for higher duties it would have been reflected as a promotion in his docs (spies are generally commissioned officers). We can be certain that his service in the military never made him rich and, at the rank he held, he could not have been an intelligence officer.

And this now explains the hardship experienced in finding any official information about him. In the belief that he was a spy, all research had been directed towards publications, gazettes, officer training institutions and released Foreign Office records. We can now see that nothing exists about him for the simple reason that he was not a player in that world.

An aside to the above, Army record 4 should show the courses Sammy completed e.g. drill, weapons handling, field-craft, hand combat and other courses completed within his specialisation. There is nothing there, despite this being the information that commanders use to gauge the standard and readiness of their commands. You have to wonder then, what professionalism existed within the regiment at that time. In fact there are no entries from when he enlisted until he died. So are we to believe that all he did was stand in a sentry box at the Palace for 3yrs. Not likely, and this lack of professionalism from his superiors is quite surprising and certainly not what is expected from such an esteemed unit.

THE RUSSIAN

Wilhelmina's "Bliddy Russian", was in fact the the Oxford educated, author and film-director, Rudolph Putnam Messel. His first book, This Film Business, was published in 1928 and was followed by a second in 1933 titled, The Film in Russia. Although Messel went on to publish several more books, it's the latter that draws attention here. Photographs held in Sammy's personal photo album show both himself and Messel undertaking what appears to be 'documentary work' in various situations in Russia during 1931/32.

In an email to me, Maureen explains the basis of this liaison:

"The story I was told about Rudolph Messel, Sammy's friend, was that Sammy had met him in London and that he (Messel) was very drunk on the street. Sammy helped him home and they became good friends. Rudolph Messel had connections and was related to some high up people. I know Granny Boyle blamed him for Sammy's death. She felt that Sammy would not have owned a sports car if he had not met him".

Messel most certainly belonged to society's elite. "The Peerage" is a genealogical listing of the peerage of Britain as well as the European royals and Rudolph is listed at Person Page 14281. But he was also a socialist and at least one of his productions, "The Road to Hell" in 1933, was propaganda in support of the Communist Party and financed by the Socialist Film Council in London. Extras for the film was provided by trade union volunteers. During this period, Stalin ruled Russia and had instigated the first of his 5yr plans in 1928. Referring back to Sammy's album, the photos strongly suggest that Messel may have been commissioned by the Socialist Film Council to travel to Russia and document progress under the plan, and to obtain the footage needed for the film. Messel's book "The Film in Russia" would be the authoritative source for all of this, but only 2 copies are publicly available today, one in the U.S. and the other in London.

Rudolph Messel - Russia 1931 .

Sammy supervising the luggage at what appears to be their destination.

Messel at work. The woman with him appears in several of Sammy's photos.

Serious business -That news-reel movie camera was state of the art in 1930.

Man on right looks like he's wearing a uniform. Might be an official escort .

Anyway he looks pretty bored with it all.

Snapshots of farming activities from Sammy's album.

Messel, back to camera and his interpreter and again below.

Building works were part of the 5 yr plan

The mass movement of people was part of the plan too.

The infamous and unsuccessful Five-Year Plans were aimed at industrializing Russia and making the country more economically productive. The peasants had to work on "collective farms," owned by the Communist state, or in factories, building sites and so on. Those who attempted to work their own farms and resist the Communist takeover were either executed or transported to the Siberian prison camps. There are quite a few photos in Sammy's collection that show activities to do with shipping, building sites, farming and sport, so it appears they had a free hand to record whatever they pleased.

The only photo of Sammy (left) and Messel together, pity about the camera shake.

It's difficult to see how this film project could have created any significant wealth for Sammy, so where did the money come from ? Well, when they went to make the film, some 13 yrs after the imposition of communism, Russia was a basket case economically and closed off to the west in terms of trade. It was a police state. Permission to film the project would likely have been through dialogue between the Socialist Film Council in London and the ruling comrades. As bona fide servants of socialist ideology, its quite easy to speculate that both men had the confidence of communist officialdom and that they may have been prevailed upon to organise a supply of quality western goods and luxury items for the local apparatchiks. And if this was so, it would explain the basis of Sammy's wealth. His army record states that he was trustworthy, keen and could always be relied upon, and the photo above shows him to be a well built and powerful man. Sammy obviously had the physical attributes and the self confidence instilled through army training to ensure that any scheme that he set up ran smoothly, leaving the film-maker to make history with his cameras and writings. This speculation fits with the bootlegging stories thats been whispered about in some quarters of the family, even from my mother I'm now told (although she never mentioned it to me), it would certainly explain Sammy's sudden wealth and frequent travel.

However things came about, it really must have been a wonderful time for Sammy. Hobnobbing with aristocracy, travel, money, managing the Royal Oak and hosting the arty types that Messel needed for his productions. One can imagine that those were the "great and the good" that was mentioned earlier, rather than the local sheep farmers, bricklayers and chimney sweeps. On the other hand, the notion that King Farouk dropped in for a pint of bitter and a game of darts is one thats left to more fertile minds. There is nothing to support that Sammy was imprisoned by the Russians, nor is there any evidence to support that he had a serious racing career, although he may have had, but unlikely considering the manner of his death. There is though, much about him we don't know, and those that do know now lie with him, concealing for all time the story of his short journey on this earth.

WE STILL HAVE A HERO

The excitement and colour that was Sammy, is I think, a little less saturated than the image that was held in memories elsewhere, but the story is not yet finished. After Sammy's death the Royal Oak was taken over by his sister Jean and her husband, Archibald Gibson. One night there was a fire and it was Sammy's dog Pedro that raised the alarm, resulting in all of the guests evacuating safely. Pedro was awarded a medal for his actions.

Photos courtesy of Maureen Cook.

HISTORIC

Hotel in Sammy's day, one wonders at the magnitude of his parties ! A guesthouse and how it looked in 2005.

Rolls show Sammy the owner 1932/33

NOTES

1. The newspaper clipping names Susan Harrison as the other casualty in the car accident. She recovered and married to produce 2 children, a boy and girl and died aged 68 yrs. Other information about her makes it highly improbable that she is the "Rene" described above.

2. In 1935, Rudolph Messel contested the seat of Birmingham Aston for the Labour Party and was defeated by approx.10,000 votes. He married the Hon. Judith Horatia Birdwood, the daughter of Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, the First Baron Birdwood. Her portrait is in the National Gallery. Rudolph died in 1958 aged 53.