Born on 23rd July 1891 in Kensington, London, Lieutenant Boyd-Wallis died of his wounds received in action near Chocques, France, on 23rd July 1915. It was his 24th birthday.

He was the fifth son of the late Henry Boyd Wallis (1840-1908) and Edith Wallis (nee Grice, 1850-1922), of Graylands, Horsham, Sussex, and 48 Holland Park, London. Mr Wallis was involved in the diamond industry in South Africa.

He had five brothers: Harry (1876-1946), Charles (1878-1940), Bertram (1882-1951), Percy (1885-1961), and Gordon (1897-1966).

He also had four sisters: Amy (1877-1959), Katherine (1879-1963), Frances (1883-1936) and Dorothy (1883-1936).

He joined Saint Ronan’s in January 1902, alongside John Tanner. His younger brother, Gordon, also attended the school.

In August 1903, The Ronian reported on Duncan’s footballing talents: “D.B. Wallis. Has considerable possibilities”. In 1904 he was appointed Prefect.

In January 1905 he was awarded the Form Prize. He also earned his Colours for Football. In the same year, The Ronian reported on his cricket: “Wallis is much the best bat in the school with a sound defence; he can hit hard all round the wicket, and is one of the only two boys who sand up and don’t draw away” and “as regards individuals, Wallis has been by far the most successful bat, as will be seen by the averages; he is very strong on the leg, has a good defence, and has the great virtue of watching the ball, ar remark which does not apply to many members of the team”.

In September 1905, he went on to Cheltenham College where he was in Hazelwell House until he left in July 1910. He joined the Classical rather than the Military side of the College and went through Classes 1C to Special 52. In Easter 1908 he was awarded a form prize for being in first position in his class. He was also Prefect and played for the College XV.

In October 1911, Duncan went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he undertook a degree in engineering. ‘

In January 1912, The Ronian reported on a visit made by Saint Ronan’s to Cambridge: “We had the privilege of having lunch and tea with J.M. de Slubicki and D.B. Wallis respectively. They are both making their mark at work and in games”.

In February 1915, Duncan was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant (on probation) to the Connaught Rangers, 3rd Battalion, attached to the Royal Munster Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion.

The Connaught Rangers arrived from India on 3rd February 1915 with Second Lieutenant Wallis arriving on 6th February. On 6th April he was promoted to Lieutenant.

On 13th May 1915, Lieutenant Wallis, as part of the 3rd Battalion, proceeded to join the Expeditionary Force in France. He was attached to Royal Munster Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion the next day.

The 2nd Battalion had landed in France in August 1914, and remained on the Western Front until the end of the War. In 1914 it had taken part in the Retreat from Mons, the First Battle of Ypres and the Defence of Givenchy. It also took part in the Battles of Aubers Ridge (1915), the Somme (1916), Passchendaele (1917), the Somme (1918) and also in the final advances of 1918.

On 19th July 1915, Lieutenant Wallis was reported wounded. He tragically died of his wounds on 23rd July 1915, his 24th birthday.

In September 1915, The Ronian reported his death:
“D.B. Wallis, son of Mr. and Mrs Boyd Wallis, left us in 1905, and went to Cheltenham. He had recently come down from Pembroke, Cambridge, when war broke out and obtained a Commission in the Connaught Rangers. He was a Prefect at S.Ronan’s, and the best bat in the 1905 cricket team; he was also in the Football XI. He was one of the best of good fellows, and a fairly frequent visitor at the School. We had the privilege of seeing his Colonel’s letter, and it would be difficult to imagine words more appreciative than those used by him. Duncan was evidently held in the same affection by his Regiment as by all those who knew him.”

Lieutenant Wallis is also commemorated on the Warnham Memorial, near the family home in Sussex, as well as being listed in Ireland’s Memorial Records, 1915-1918.

His brothers also served and survived the War: Harry was a Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps, Charles served as a Captain with the Cameronian (Scottish Rifles), Bertram served as a Second Lieutenant with the Royal Engineers and Percy was a Surgeon in the Royal Navy.

Duncan’s sisters also prospered: Amy married Maurice Dewing and went to live in New Zealand; Katherine married a farmer, Henry Leslie Havers and went to live in Argentina, before returning to England; Frances, “Alice”, married Herbert MacVicar and lived in Somerset. Following her death in 1936, her home, a house called The Elms, and gardens were given in trust to the City of Bath by her husband and are now a public park, named Alice Park.

Evelyn, Alice, Amy and Dorothy